TIL the hard way: deep litter method vs. weekly cleaning

I used to strip out all the bedding from my coop every Sunday without fail, hauling bags to the curb for months. Then last winter I tried the deep litter method after reading about it online, and my girls stayed warmer and I cut my work down to twice a season. So which way do you lean for your flock, a fresh start each week or letting it build up over time?

3 comments

3 Comments

ninab9518d ago

Yeah but isn't that basically the whole point? You're just letting nature do the work instead of fighting it every week. I've been doing deep litter for about two years now and the key is making sure you've got enough carbon material mixed in, otherwise it gets stinky and wet. Once I figured out the right balance of pine shavings to chicken poop it just turned into this low-maintenance setup.

skyler_white18d agoMost Upvoted

Deep litter is just composting with extra steps and chicken tax.

kevin_bailey18d ago

Isn't it funny how people overcomplicate stuff that basically runs itself if you'd just get out of your own way? It's the same with most things in life - spend half your energy trying to fix it or just step back and let it do its thing.