Deep Litter Method - Michigan

[Emily_K]

Is the deep litter method a good option in northern climates?
I'm in northern Michigan and will be moving my new flock outside probably at the end of April depending on the weather. They're currently 4-6 weeks old and it is still pretty cold here (got 4-6 inches of snow last night), but we will move them outside earlier if the weather improves. Small flock of 8 chickens: 7 hens, 1 roo from what I can currently tell.

Our coop has a pull-out floor board for easy cleaning plus good access from another door to rake/clean out. It is not a walk-in coop.

Just want to have a plan in place for bedding/litter in the coop and it seems like the deep litter method should work well for us... Any tips from others in northern areas would be great!

 

[hammyanne]

Hi! I’m in upstate NY (not nearly as north as you, but north!) and I use deep litter in my covered run (where the birds prefer to roost—goofballs). I have a similar sized flock and it’s been working well so far. I live in a partially forested area so there’s always lots of leaf litter and organic matter that I can collect and add to the run.

Although my flock free ranges, this past winter I winter-proofed my run so it served as a “coop” of sorts. I’d add a new layer of hay every few weeks and the birds loved it as an enrichment activity. I’ve got a nice 6-8” layer in there now and have seen some promising signs of decomposition down below. I haven’t needed to do a full clean out yet, and it’s been about 4 months. I’m hooked!

 

[StinkyAcres]

Deep litter does work in northern climates. However, since your coop has a floor and is not walk-in, you likely won't be able to do the deep litter method. What you may be able to do is the deep bedding method, described here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/
It all depends on how much room you have between the doors and the floor and how much ventilation your coop has.

 

[Emily_K]

Thanks @StinkyAcres ! The article you shared was really helpful. Gave me a lot to think about regarding the structure of my coop and level of nesting boxes, etc. for the deep bedding method.

@hammyanne this is great to know because we have an attached run that I plan to winter-proof. If I can use this method in that area for the winter it would be great! Our coop is mobile so we plan to move it around our property during the warm months, but in the winter it will be in the same place for several months. Seems like the deep litter method would be a good solution for the run at that time!

 

[Chicken Heel]

I am not in the northern USA but live along the central VA/NC border but have been using the deep bedding in my 8' x 12' turkey coop since last June. And it has worked great thus far with primarily using the Pitt Moss brand paper based bedding. The coop stays remarkably dry with not much noticeable odor at all. I do make every effort to turn the bedding every 3 or 4 days and add new bedding as necessary.

 

[Eddie the Yeti]

Deep litter does work in northern climates. However, since your coop has a floor and is not walk-in, you likely won't be able to do the deep litter method. What you may be able to do is the deep bedding method, described here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/
It all depends on how much room you have between the doors and the floor and how much ventilation your coop has.

Great, now I can't stop singing the song at the bottom of your post.