Why Do You Use Deep Bedding/Why Do You NOT Use Deep Bedding?

[TJAnonymous]

Staple some chicken wire to the bottom of the trusses to block their access there.

Actually that is what I did in the tack room in the barn and it has worked wonderfully... I don't know that I need to block them from EVERY truss but at least the ones in the center aisle and above the door. It's not very amusing when you walk into the coop at night to make sure everyone is accounted for only to have a chicken poop on your head. Luckily I was wearing a ball cap that time....

 

[Happy hen lover]

 

[21hens-incharge]

I don't do deep bedding or deep litter.

No deep litter because my coops have floors.
No deep bedding because I cannot stand that poop accumulates until an infrequent cleaning happens. I just cannot leave it sit there.

I tried droppings boards. While catching that poop meant the bedding lasted longer on the floor it also gave a few silly girls the idea that the far back corner under the board was the best place to put eggs.

Now I clean under the roosts every week and move the slightly soiled bedding from the main space to under the roosts. Then the now empty main space gets fresh bedding. Nest boxes are on the weakly dump and clean schedule of course.

 

[Justy59]

Hmm curious to see if all of you use a solid floor? I use hardware cloth and clean it with a sprayer or a nice stiff broom. The stuff that goes through is landing on shredded cardboard(cheap because I shred it myself) and put into the compost. I have an elevated coop and it is very warm where I live so ventilation is a must.

 

[Happy hen lover]

Hmm curious to see if all of you use a solid floor? I use hardware cloth and clean it with a sprayer or a nice stiff broom. The stuff that goes through is landing on shredded cardboard(cheap because I shred it myself) and put into the compost. I have an elevated coop and it is very warm where I live so ventilation is a must.

I have solid floor covered with linoleum when we built it.

 

[Misfits Farm 92]

Hmm curious to see if all of you use a solid floor? I use hardware cloth and clean it with a sprayer or a nice stiff broom. The stuff that goes through is landing on shredded cardboard(cheap because I shred it myself) and put into the compost. I have an elevated coop and it is very warm where I live so ventilation is a must.

I have a dirt floor (I use deep litter.) There's a random late wire cage that my younger chickens like to sleep on. They poop right through it which I guess is better than pooping right where they are and sitting in it. Oddly, I only have three chickens who use the big roost bars that I gave them. The rest of them either roost on the wire cage, on top of the chick pens, or on top of the always open barn doors.

 

[3KillerBs]

No deep bedding because I cannot stand that poop accumulates until an infrequent cleaning happens. I just cannot leave it sit there.

I will include distaste for the idea of manure accumulating as a reason to not use this method in my article.

Hmm curious to see if all of you use a solid floor?

Where are you located? You can put your general location in your profile.

In my area I don't get extended cold weather, but I do get occasional winter storms where I wouldn't want cold, wet air blowing up under the roost. How do you prevent cold drafts? Or are you in a warm enough climate that this is never an issue?

My Little Monitor Coop has an elevated floor since it was originally built to offer chickens maximum space in an in-town backyard. The monitor roof offers excellent ventilation over the birds' heads.

My new coop will be an open-air, walk-in style with a dirt floor.

 

[Justy59]

I will include distaste for the idea of manure accumulating as a reason to not use this method in my article.



Where are you located? You can put your general location in your profile.

In my area I don't get extended cold weather, but I do get occasional winter storms where I wouldn't want cold, wet air blowing up under the roost. How do you prevent cold drafts? Or are you in a warm enough climate that this is never an issue?

My Little Monitor Coop has an elevated floor since it was originally built to offer chickens maximum space in an in-town backyard. The monitor roof offers excellent ventilation over the birds' heads.

My new coop will be an open-air, walk-in style with a dirt floor.

I live in Southwest Arizona and have used this method before and the chickens were just fine. The heat is the killer and they need plenty of ventilation.

 

[K0k0shka]

I use deep bedding and I LOVE it!!!!! I cannot even express how much I love it. I clean it out twice a year and don't do any cleaning in-between, which is the best thing about it. I really don't like the idea of scooping poop every day (or every week, or whatever). I have a solid floor with oilcloth on it (the plastic stuff), and a very deep layer of pine shavings. The poop sinks into the fluff and it takes months for it to first start looking poopy. When it does, I add a layer of fresh shavings on top and some PDZ. I stir it occasionally with a small rake. I repeat as necessary (adding a new layer maybe about once a month). Once in the spring and once in the fall I clean everything out down to the floor and give it a fresh restart. My coop is a good size walk-in that's not overcrowded - it's 5x7 and I have 5 chickens in it, and they only sleep and lay in there, which helps minimize poop buildup. I also have 9 square feet of ventilation that's open year-round in all weather (I more than double that in the summer) so the space is well ventilated. And it doesn't smell, in any season! So I'm happy. Yes it does look like animals live and poop in it - it's not spotless - but there are no mounds of poop either, it's just dried-up poop mixed with shavings to different degrees. I'm okay with that. As long as it dries out and doesn't smell, it doesn't bother me and it doesn't bother the chickens either.

A note on deep bedding vs. deep litter: I prefer deep bedding, because I don't have to worry about whether I have the correct conditions for composting. With deep litter, you need to have moisture in there, which complicates things and raises the risk of smell (if you're not doing it right) or frostbite (if it's too moist). I don't feel like putting in the work to maintain the correct balance to get the composting going. So I prefer to keep everything dry. I bury it all in the garden in the fall, and it can do its own composting there.

So, to recap, I use it and love it because:

- I only clean it twice a year (I don't like cleaning poop)
- it's easy
- it saves time, effort and money
- It doesn't smell
- everybody seems happy with it - both myself and the chickens

Here's what it looks like under the roosts, 5 months after the last big cleaning. I added fresh shavings a couple of weeks ago. Yes you can see some poop in there, but it's not too bad. When I start to see more than this, I give it a quick stir.

 

[gimmie birdies]

My coop-(and my neighbor who built it.) Since he made it,I have made the ends into sunrooms.

I use deep litter. And then clean it to the floor boards, when the deep litter is soft. The under area is just dirt. I do rake out the underareas also though.