Frozen Coop Bedding

[littlecoopnextdoor]

I only know about this from reading because of my climate, but it seems that the poop itself will often freeze into the bedding during prolonged spells of below-freezing weather.

When I was collecting information for my Deep Bedding article, people in cold climates said that one of the reasons they liked Deep Bedding was that they could just keep tossing more on top of the frozen poop and not have to try to break it up until spring.

exactly this. I am in a cold climate and the only parts that freeze are the poops, but they get turned into the dry bedding often.

 

[aart]

Probably didn’t have good brown/green ratios.

Are you trying to compost in the coop?
If so, that takes moisture...and of course moisture will freeze.

 

[akf93]

Are you trying to compost in the coop?
If so, that takes moisture...and of course moisture will freeze.

Yes, I’ve been doing deep bedding, only changing out twice a year. I’m new to this though and was trying to figure out if that’s a sign I was doing it wrong. If I’m doing it wrong, I will increase my clean outs in order to keep it drier. But if this is inevitable and not necessarily a bad thing, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing. No smell and my birds seem happy and healthy!

 

[WIchickMama]

exactly this. I am in a cold climate and the only parts that freeze are the poops, but they get turned into the dry bedding often.

This is me too. Makes it easy to just clean out the clumps of frozen poop and what is left is clean dry bedding.

 

[3KillerBs]

Yes, I’ve been doing deep bedding, only changing out twice a year. I’m new to this though and was trying to figure out if that’s a sign I was doing it wrong. If I’m doing it wrong, I will increase my clean outs in order to keep it drier. But if this is inevitable and not necessarily a bad thing, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing. No smell and my birds seem happy and healthy!

Deep Bedding and Deep Litter are commonly confused.

Deep Bedding: A dry, non-composting system where you keep adding bedding to the coop as it becomes soiled -- managing it by turning it as necessary (or getting the chickens to turn it for you) -- and clean it out only infrequently when the bedding has become both thoroughly soiled and piled up to the point of not being able to add more. Usually used above a floor in the coop but *can* be done in a covered run over dirt in a favorable climate.

Deep Litter: A moist (not wet, moist), system where the lower layers of material are actively composting while new, dry material is continually added to the top. *Can* be done on any floor surface but is most readily accomplished on a dirt floor because the dirt will seed the material with the beneficial composting organisms.

If your coop has a wooden floor you don't want to be doing Deep Litter because the active compost problem will actually attack the floor and eat it away.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

 

[jreardon1918]

Yes, I’ve been doing deep bedding, only changing out twice a year. I’m new to this though and was trying to figure out if that’s a sign I was doing it wrong. If I’m doing it wrong, I will increase my clean outs in order to keep it drier. But if this is inevitable and not necessarily a bad thing, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing. No smell and my birds seem happy and healthy!

It sounds like we have similar setups. Additionally we have 8 girls. They spend most of their day in the enclosed run. The coop bedding remains quite dry all year. We do have a monitor inside the coop. it generally is close for temperature and humidity of outside the coop. Here are the current readings.