[Beekissed]

I spent time sitting in the coop today, watching the chickens while they ate.  I tossed some corn into the deep litter to give them some fun in looking for it and that also gets the litter moved around a little at the surface.

The litter was nice and dry on the surface and slightly moist in the layers underneath, just as it should be.  I noted that the kitchen scraps I had been throwing in the litter are nowhere to be seen now, even the onions and potato peelings that the chickens won't eat. 

Manure disappears just as rapidly, as I can turn it under in the area under the roosts on one day and a couple of days later do it again and find no evidence of the manure turned under just two days previously.  There is no smell in this coop and I can pick up the litter right under the roosts and place it up to my face, take a deep whiff and only smell composted leaf material.  Smells like the forest. 

I'm very happy with the way the DL is working this winter and it seems to have just the right amount of moisture retention while staying dry at the surface, where the chickens walk.  The level of ventilation in the coop seems to be working well also and has been easy to adjust after rainy spells in order to stabilize the moisture in the DL. 

No frostbite on combs or wattles, though the temps are -6C to -18C here and the coop has large open areas at the front of the coop.  The DL seems to keep it warmer there and the ventilation keeps moisture from collecting at roost levels at night, so the chickens are staying warm and well.

Edited to add:  Just noticed the controversy on the forum about scraps and the laws about them in the EU, so wanted folks to note I'm from the US and we have no such laws in place.  I hope we never do, as kitchen scraps for chickens is as old as time here for backyard flocks and is a supplement to their diet, especially in the winter months. 

Sorry if this post rouses any ire about the scraps but we are free to do that here, so not promoting anything illegal at all.  Different strokes for different folks, as they say.   

[joyfull]

I had already noted that you live over the pond so wasn't worried about your post Beekissed, our rules are very strict when it comes to feeding livestock even more so since the arrival of BSE through cows being fed the wrong food, hopefully we are now free from BSE over here. Having said that I do see that there has been a case in Alberta Canada of BSE yesterday - the first case since 2011.

[Beekissed]

Good!  Didn't want to stir up that bee's nest again inadvertently.       After reading here awhile I realized there are many differences in the laws you have in the EU than those we have here, like the scraps and burning wood, etc. that I would have to clarify as being from the states.  I'm sure there will be other such things, so I just need to pay attention and/or hope that folks notice I'm from across the water. 

[RubyR3d]

Do you have much problem with mites in all that litter. I have started doing the deep litter thing and have already emptied 8 big bags of forest wood chip in. I've also left any half eaten spring cabbage in there, putting it under the chips. They may be needing stilts at the end lol

[joyfull]

Deep Litter is a wonderful way of keeping chickens, as has been said chucking down mixed corn will allow the chickens to do the turning over for you and also allowing plenty of ventilation. Having only small ventilation gaps and holes creates draughts unlike keeping areas open.
I have some hens who live in the trees all year round, in winter they move into the laurels as these retain their foliage but they are still quite exposed and these girls are the healthiest of all my flock.

[Beekissed]

Deep Litter is a wonderful way of keeping chickens, as has been said chucking down mixed corn will allow the chickens to do the turning over for you and also allowing plenty of ventilation. Having only small ventilation gaps and holes creates draughts unlike keeping areas open.
I have some hens who live in the trees all year round, in winter they move into the laurels as these retain their foliage but they are still quite exposed and these girls are the healthiest of all my flock.

I try to tell people that all the time but they insist on closing up the coops each winter, insulating new coop builds and even heating the coops in cold weather.  They don't seem to understand the differences between chickens and humans and they project how they feel outside onto the birds.  I too have had birds that spent the winter in the pines and not a bit of frost bite. 

My coop has a front door that is open at the top half and small windows on either side of that open as well all winter long, no matter the temps.  Sometimes if the wind is really whistling into the coop due to changing winds, I'll drape a feed sack over that open door but I remove it after the winds shift.  Usually the winds don't blow from that direction, so usually you can't even feel cold air through that open half, even in single digit weather.

I also have purposeful cracks throughout the structure that lets in fresh air at all levels and gaps at the roof that let out the stale air.  The airflow in that coop is fresh but not breezy and I've not had a speck of frostbite in this blue cold weather, nor did I last year when it was even colder.  All my birds are single, large comb breeds.   

[Beekissed]

Do you have much problem with mites in all that litter. I have started doing the deep litter thing and have already emptied 8 big bags of forest wood chip in. I've also left any half eaten spring cabbage in there, putting it under the chips. They may be needing stilts at the end lol

I have not, and I've not had reports from other using the same, with mite issues.  A well cultured and varied litter tends to attract beneficial bugs known to prey on mite larvae, so not sure if that is what is going on in my own litter but I don't seem to have a problem with them. 

Usually we add litter as needed and don't start it out as a deep bedding, so it composts down a good bit before we add more.  In the fall I add more at once simply because the leaves compact rather quickly and I can rake in a huge pile one day and they are gone the next week, it seems.

It helps too if you add more than one type of litter material so it can have gaps that allow air into the mix and it breaks down at different rates.  A mix of the bark, leaves, pine needles and even a dab of straw would provide variety to your mix and may help it break down quicker so your birds don't have to walk on stilts!   

Let me know how your deep bark mix works for you, as it may work just fine over time...I've never used that material to any great degree other than whatever bark is raked into the coop with the leaves in the fall.   

[joyfull]

my coops are never closed up at night nor are the ventilation holes (which are set to fully open all year round). Some people have to though because of foxes.

[snowdrops]

How do you prevent against fox attacks Joyfull? I would like to have chickens again when we move. I have found this thread very interesting.

[joyfull]

I have not seen a fox anywhere near us, sadly I did have a few mink attacks but the farmers took care of the mink (think they do the same with the foxes too as most of them have chickens). None of mine have clipped wings so the bantams can at least fly up into the trees out of danger.
If you are in a known fox area then electric fencing is the only way to go I'm afraid.

[Beekissed]

I agree.  If you don't have a good dog outdoors all the time to watch over them, electric poultry netting is a great thing for many four footed preds.  I have a good dog, so I don't have to worry about foxes and such. 

[joyfull]

my 3 dogs are outdoors for most of the day but they do sleep inside the house.

[Beekissed]

Another benefit of composting deep litter in the coop is the warmth that is generated.  It's not the heat you'll feel in a compost pile in the summer time, but there is definitely more warmth generated even if the coop floor is soil, which means it's directly on the cold, cold earth. 

I moved my old mercury thermometer to the coop this week and placed it in the roosting area to measure the ambient temps at the roost height in the coop.  This morning outside temps were 9 and the windchill was 3, but inside that coop~no lights or heaters on, mind you~was 20 degrees. 

I only have 12 standard birds in a 10x12 coop and that coop is a hoop coop, with many intentional open areas to allow for good ventilation(half of the front door is left open,small windows on either side of the door are open, the pop door is always open, many gaps and cracks as well), so not a snug wooden coop that is all closed up.

The deep composting litter generates some warmth and some humidity, but good ventilation will allow your birds to enjoy the updraft of the warm air while they roost and allow the humidity to rise upward as well, going out the roof vents.  This leaves the coop warm and dry, with healthy footing. 

I felt of and smelled the litter under the roost area and could detect no smell of feces...just the smell of soil.  The litter was cool to the touch but not frozen, a little moist but not damp. 

I feed wet feeds and can't feed them in the trough in this super cold weather, so have been placing it directly on the litter...it gets cleaned up more completely there and nothing is left behind to freeze.  What gets lost into the bedding during feeding time they find later as they work and scratch around in the litter all day.  I check the next day for even small particles of grain and can't find any...in the absence of getting to go outdoors and forage for food, this hunting for their feed is satisfying their urge to hunt.   

[Beekissed]

Here's an amateur attempt to explain my deep litter.  Please ignore all the stuttering around...I'm out of practice in speaking to the public:  lOdM22IgcRQ

[New shoot]

Only just had time to watch the video Beekissed. 

I do a smaller scale thing in my big run with bark, leaves and garden clippings on top of the soil.  I hose it down periodically and remove and replace the bark chip when the chickens have broken it down to dust.  The chickens love this as I dig deep and they find worms and all sorts of goodies.  The spent litter makes great mulch 

Loved watching your hens and listening to them chatting to you, as you were speaking to the camera