Using the deep litter method in the chicken coop is natural, economical, and healthy. It is a common practice used today by many chicken keepers, usually during the cold Winter months. However, it actually got its start during World War II as a means of saving labor and litter. And, it generally occurred over six months or longer.
Here’s how it works:
The poo droppings are full of nitrogen. Combined with a carbon (such as straw or dried leaves) natural decomposing will occur. It is important to use a litter that will fluff up (not be compacted). Turning the top layer to the bottom frequently, adding new straw to the top, and the natural scratching from chickens make it all work.
Having a well ventilated coop helps to break everything down. It’s the same concept as composting kitchen scraps in a bin that you turn frequently. Come Spring, there should be no foul smell, and you will have a fine, decomposed matter to use in your garden.
According to a study done by the Ohio Agriculture Experiment Station in 1959, using the deep litter method offers many health benefits, if done properly:
- It helps to naturally ‘insulate’ the coop, maintaining a healthy temperature for your flock.
- It can serve as an immunization against coccidiosis.
- It helps to destroy salmonella bacteria.
- It can provide needed vitamins for your chickens.
- It can lessen the need for added protein to your flock.
Here’s what I do:
I start with deep cleaning the chicken coop before Winter settles in. Click HERE to see how I deep clean our coop.
After a good cleaning and air drying, I add a layer of straw to the coop. If your coop has a dirt floor, straw is not a wise choice, because when mixed with a damp ground, it can cause mold. Other options are dried leaves, sawdust, or grass clippings. Just make sure it fluffs.
Every morning I clean the nesting area of any poo or dirt. The few eggs I get during cold snaps are prized possessions. I want a clean landing area for those eggs, so when I collect my prizes they are as clean as possible. I add more straw as needed to the nesting areas. For the rest of the coop, I frequently turn the soiled bedding, using a rake. Every couple of days I add a little more straw to the main coop area. The chickens do a great job of scratching around, which also helps to turn the droppings and straw.
What you don’t want:
If at any time you smell a foul or ammonia like smell coming from the coop, there is probably too much moisture. You should clean the straw and droppings out and start over with a fresh layer of straw. Having excess moisture in the coop can cause many problems for your flock including respiratory illness and frost bite.
Keep in mind that adding heat to the coop can also cause moisture, making the deep litter method not effective. For the warmer seasons I tend to clean the coop out more often because of moisture. I don’t have a cleaning schedule, I just do it as needed, while keeping the nesting areas cleaned daily.
Have you successfully tried the deep litter method in your coop?
8 Comments
Hello:
We are new to homesteading and haven’t kept chickens yet. However, we do have a portable chicken run built and a chicken coop almost finished. I’ve seen people with a pitchfork and a strong back trying to clean up the floor of the coop after all winter long. The smell is awful, ammonia smell and what is on the floor is packed down like hard frozen mud! So I am glad to hear that is not something we will have to face while raising chickens. We were thinking about putting down, on top of our plywood floor in the coop, a wall to wall, rubber based floor, so that we could clean it out and then use soap and hot water to clean off the rubber based floor. Would you suggest doing this deep litter method instead? Or what about a combination of both ways? The person who wrote the article about the “Deep Litter Method”, is your name Anne? (This is my first time reading your articles, as I just found you and just signed up a few minutes ago. So when the person who asked what type of floor you *the author of the article* had, the first answer was “plywood”. But I’m not sure if that answer was to that question)?
Also, I wanted to know if you can just let chickens eat bugs that you trap and feed them worms and then let them also forage in different grassy places everyday and not have to buy feed for them? Will they eat any type of food scraps? We purchased a Mulberry tree last year, so that the chickens could eat the Mulberries from it. Is this a balanced enough diet? Thanks!
PS>>>Glad I found this site!!!
Hi Tirtzah,
Welcome to Community Chickens!
If the deep litter method is done correctly, there should be no ammonia smell or packed poo on the floor…it should compost down. We do have a plywood floor in our coop and that works for us…we rake out the straw into a wheel barrow. The rubber based floor that you asked about is an option too, although I would still use straw on top of it.
Yes, your chickens will get lots to eat from nature, but I personally would still feed them a chicken feed (example – layer pellets). No, chickens cannot eat just anything…some food scraps can be dangerous to chickens (some examples – avocado, citrus, raw potatoes, chocolate ). Here is an article I wrote about things to feed your chickens – https://www.communitychickens.com/planning-garden-dont-forget-plan-chickens-also/
Have fun with your chicken adventure!
~Lori
I don’t use this method inside the house, but outside. Our girls free range but have a small pen attached to their house. We use leaves in the pen.
Instead of burning the leaves in the fall, I rake them to the north and west side of the house to help as a wind block. And add some to the inside of the pen. As needed I take leaves that are used for wind block and add them to the pen. The girls stay out of the poo and the leaves break down into good dirt for the plants. And the little stinkers like it so much they choose to spend as much time in the pen as they do out of it. Because they enjoy scratching in the leaves. Which gives me peace of mind when I do have to ‘pen them up’ because I know they are happy in there anyway.
What is the bottom of your coop,since you said do not use bare ground due to mold issues. I could not tell the material from the photos. thanks It is a great idea for the garden.
It is plywood.
We use hay for the coop floor, pine shavings in the hen house (and on the poop board) and straw in the nest boxes.
Can you use pi email flakes for the deep method?
Sorry Sabrina, I don’t know what pi email flakes are.