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I love my deep litter. Stays pretty clean too. Sprinkle in a little DE to help keep it dry and there is no smell! I don't turn mine - the girls do that when they're scratching around. Toss in some BOSS and they're really going to scratch it up.
Keep your ventilation up high - above the roosts if you can. The heat/smell/condensation will rise up and out. Do not need a fan - chickens are VERY dusty, especially if you use deep litter, and the dust will just clog up your fan and it could become a fire hazard. I don't think your weather out there warrants a heat source. The birds are plenty warm. A chickens' body temperature normally runs at 102-103 degrees F. It's condensation that will be your enemy if you get a freeze.
As far as nipple waterers, i built one a month ago and LOVE it! This blog has the easiest access to pictures I could find, but there are hundreds of ideas if you type "nipple waterers" in the search box upper right corner. I built mine a bit more fancy than Jackie's, but hers is the basic idea. Check it out about 2/3 the way down her page. http://jackiessecretgarden.blogspot.com/search/label/chickens
Happy Chickening!
I love my deep litter. Stays pretty clean too. Sprinkle in a little DE to help keep it dry and there is no smell! I don't turn mine - the girls do that when they're scratching around. Toss in some BOSS and they're really going to scratch it up.
Keep your ventilation up high - above the roosts if you can. The heat/smell/condensation will rise up and out. Do not need a fan - chickens are VERY dusty, especially if you use deep litter, and the dust will just clog up your fan and it could become a fire hazard. I don't think your weather out there warrants a heat source. The birds are plenty warm. A chickens' body temperature normally runs at 102-103 degrees F. It's condensation that will be your enemy if you get a freeze.
As far as nipple waterers, i built one a month ago and LOVE it! This blog has the easiest access to pictures I could find, but there are hundreds of ideas if you type "nipple waterers" in the search box upper right corner. I built mine a bit more fancy than Jackie's, but hers is the basic idea. Check it out about 2/3 the way down her page. http://jackiessecretgarden.blogspot.com/search/label/chickens
Happy Chickening!