What are you putting on your coop floor this winter???

[rcentner]

I have used both straw and shavings, in my opinion....straw doesn't keep the temp any warmer in the coop and it doesn't do a good job with the odor or absorbing moisture. This year I will NOT use straw or the deep litter method. I also have had 2 impacted crops after I introduced straw to my young ones when I put out a nest box for them to practice in, they tore all the straw out of it and ate every bit. My older chickens seemed to know it was not entirely edible and they did fine but I doubt my young ones learned their lesson.

the deep litter method was a royal pain to clean when spring hit and when the weather got passed the freezing point it smelled bad, now I did not use the DE...that may have helped. Shavings for me for ever! I have a few bales of straw remaining and I will use those for wind block and around the outside of the coop for insulation.

 

[Jeezmcrow]

I use a mixture of wood shavings from my shop and a little extra hay for these colder months. But I live in Washington and it isnt as cold as much as it is wet.

 

[PulletPalace]

We use straw because we get it free from our farmer neighbor (well, we give him eggs in return). He gave us a huge round bale when we first started with chickens 18 mos. ago and we still have about 1/4 of it left. Works great with the deep litter system. Yes, it is a pain cleaning all that out in the spring, but it's great compost for the garden. Just keep adding fresh all winter long and it absorbs the ammonia and makes the coop smell great. Haven't had any problems with impacted crops.

 

[Beekissed]

I found that hay and straw form a "cap" if used as deep litter in the winter months. They are hard to turn or fluff when damp. I started using pine bedding last year, using the deep litter method, and I won't use any other method from now on.

I was amazed at how dry it stayed, how much the chickens loved scratching around in it or just lying down in it, how much better my coop smelled and how I didn't have any frost bite even though last winter was the most severe we've had in many a long year.

I also add shredded paper to the pine bedding throughout the winter and let the birds fluff it in. I use more pine shavings than paper. I throw BOSS down in the bedding every now and again so that the birds will turn the bedding for me...they do a much better job.

I used to just rake out the coop every other day. Now I only clean out my coop twice a year...once in the spring, once in the fall. What a luxury to be able to let things ride and still have a better smelling coop!

 

[ZooMummzy]

Just white shavings for me but no deep litter method. Living here in the PNW I just find it is too dirty and too wet no matter how much you add to the mixture. I tried last year and all the stall dry and DE added too much dust to the coop over a period of time which effected my chicken's breathing. I stirred and added, stirred and added...it was just a big mess with all the rain and much they track in. This year, thick layer clean shavings every week even in the pouring down rain

 

[darkmatter]

Quote:
Yes, you have seen the light. Why anyone would not use DLM is a mystery to those of us that do. The Coop smells nice and you get wonderful compost for the Garden with cleanout only once or twice a year! (See my BYC page for Coop pics) Dropping boards? Who ever came up with that abomination of poo collection?

 

[TreeHugger]

I just double up the amount of pine shavings in the winter. Straw seems to turn the coop into a messy disaster in the winter so I avoid it.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

My coop is about 18 inches off the ground (pictures on my page). It gets wicked cold here. I was unsure whether I was going to place hay bales around the outside of the coop to minimize wind blowing under it. Part of me wants to do it, but I'm afraid rodents or other pests will take a liking to a nice dry warm(ish) area. Also, the girls go under the coop a lot and I don't want to prohibit them from doing that.
I did add some rubber stall mats from TSC to most of the coop's wood floor, then covered in shavings. Hopefully this will help insulate my floor a bit.
I tried the DLM this summer and found I had some pretty bad ammonia odors. I'm not sure what I did wrong, all I can think of is that all the chickens (33 of them) sleep in the 8x8 coop section. They don't like the addition for sleep. I'm going to attempt to try it again.

Otherwise I plan on just adding more and more pine shavings.

I do plan on scattering some hay on the snow when it falls, outside.

 

[bburn]

Rubber stall mats from TSC....I was wondering about those.

I have a dirt floor. I am in Arkansas and although it gets cold here sometimes it is never for long. Really cold I mean. But I have stopped and looked at the mats several times and keep thinking they might be good for us in the floor of the coop? Could you get them out in the spring and hose/power wash them down?

Or am I simply better off with deep litter for the winter?

 

[Beekissed]

Deep litter provides so many benefits and low cost perks that I would advocate it. My birds free range all year but, due to last years deep snows, were forced to stay in the coop for about 3 weeks. The deep litter was a resting place, a place to fulfill the need to scratch and forage and it kept them from getting cold.

They seemed so content to be coop bound that it was comical...usually you can't get them to stay in the coop no matter what the weather! They really seemed to love lounging about in the fluffy mixture and loved looking for the black oil sunflower seeds I would cast down for them.

I've read that they also can glean more protein for their diet in a deep litter floor, as well the culture of the flora and fauna being good pathogens for their immune system development.