getting ready for winter today!

[ElaineS585]

This will be my second winter with chickens and using the deep litter method. I live in WI where it's very cold. My coop has a wood floor covered by linolium (sp). My first layer is about 2 inches of sand, then I add 2-3 inches of peat moss, then about 2 inches of shavings and then every week or so I top it with dried leaves (bagged) from our yard. I dust with DE probably once a month or so. The chickens love to dig through the leaves searching for bugs, crumbs, etc. They do a great job of mixing everything together. During the winter, I periodically throw in treats for them to dig for, too. They also seem to love it for dust bathing as when they want to do that they just dig down to the peat.. My coop never smells and I LOVE that! (I think the peat & sand absorb all the moisture from the chickens' waste.)
Elaine