- Jan 16, 2010
- 45
- 0
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Hi this is my first post to this amazing site. I have chickens for the first time this year so this is my first winter with them. I live in Michigan where it gets pretty cold and snowy. Because of that I decided to go with the deep litter method through the winter months. Everything was going great and about a week or so ago I went into my coop and thought -Wow this really smells like a barn- in a good way. The last week though all I can smell is strong ammonia smells. I have recently bought a new waterer that sits on a heater and some but not alot of water leaks out of it each time I refill it. Could the extra dampness be causing it? My coop isn't exremely well ventilated but, I leave the doors open for most of the day to compensate for that. I use pine shavings as litter and while I have a good 6 inches of depth, I add some fresh every week to keep it looking clean to me. Should I not be adding to it? I don't want my chickens to have to smell this all of the time. I have 15 chickens and my coop is approximately 8 x 6 so I feel like they have enough space especially as they spend a lot of time outdoors. Any input would be appreciated.