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.