How do you all afford the Deep Litter Method? Questions about Winter?

[PortageGirl]

I have had one bale of shavings that has hung around all summer, which I've mostly used to refresh the next boxes. I'll dump that into the general coop area soon, and expect to use one or maybe two more this winter depending on the weather... I have a poop board under the roosts that I scrape off once a week in the summer, probably two or three times a week over the winter.

I scraped down to the boards just last week to check on dryness or dirtiness and it's nice and dry and relatively clean. I suspect this next spring I'll clean down to the boards. Otherwise, it barely costs me 3 bales a year. What's to afford? They're chickens, a little dirt isn't the end of the world. They don't care about it, you do. If you want it all spotless, that's on you, though I'm extra careful of the nest boxes. ((( not to say I want a nasty coop, my birds are darned clean compared to some I've seen. It's extremely dry, no muck, no smell. ... ok,

very little smell. )))

 

[TheFeatheredTempest]

Tall Chick

 

[BlackBart]

Quote:
Haven't heard of too many people using it for chickens. Don't know one way or another.

A while back it was a short trend for horse stalls which I never thought was a good idea. Some horses did get "the cough" from the fine particles.
Having worked in the Greenhouse Horticulture business for years, I'm not too fond of peatmoss for a whole other reason.
I would think it would be OK if it the top layer was watered down a bit but then it sort of defeats the purpose, I guess.

 

[NickyPick]

I want to do the Deep Litter Meathod for the winter but my coop is 6 ft x 11 ft. So I would need A LOT of shavings/bedding and a bag of shavings is $6. So if I bought 10 bags that would be $60!!!!!!!!!! What do you guys do for bedding in the winter? Can I use leaves as bedding? What else can I do to keep my chicken coop warm? I will probably use a heat lamp but should I wrap it with anything? Like tarps/blankets? Are coop is made of all wire but it is inside a big barn with big barn doors. But the barn is still gets pretty cold in the winter.

So, don't use all shavings. Or if you do, you'd only need it once. Or once every year or three. Toss in dirt, fall leaves, grass clippings when you mow, etc. Any of that organic material will be excellent for a deep litter.

I'm scared to death to use lamps. Way too many people have lost entire barns/coops/flocks and more to a heat lamp. And what do you do for the poor animals that are accustomed to a heat lamp when the power goes out for a week? Most animals don't need it. As long as they have a draft free environment and sufficient bedding, they'll be fine.

My 100 chickens & turkeys did just fine with our recent polar vortex/freeze in their 24x24x15 coop. Very airy because we usually have more issues with heat (Texas) than cold. I had no lamps, but the birds did just fine in the single digit cold temperatures. They would fluff up and huddle in groups. That's all they really need. Just cut out the drafts and they'll be fine. If your coop is mostly wire, I would tarp it up when it really gets cold, but inside a barn, they're probably out of the drafts/winds anyway. Birds can handle cold much better than we can. We're naked!!