Cleanliness in the coop is less work with the deep-litter method.

by Lesa Wilke

Chickens are notoriously messy, so achieving a cleaner chicken coop may seem impossible without investing lots of time. However, by following a few simple practices, you can have an amazingly ship-shape coop that only needs refreshing a couple of times per year.

The practices used to maintain a cleaner coop with less work are collectively called the deep-litter management method. In this method, you allow the droppings and bedding material to accumulate and decompose inside the coop instead of regularly scooping out and replacing the soiled chicken litter. Although this may sound detrimental to your chickens’ health, it’s actually been proven to be beneficial.

Background

The deep-litter technique originated in Ohio in the 1940s and was an important development in poultry management because it dramatically reduced poultry disease and the labor necessary to successfully keep chickens. It introduced a sustainable method of managing chicken litter in the coop, and many flock owners adopted it. However, as small flocks slowly disappeared from backyards, the practice was somewhat lost. Today, with the resurgence of backyard birds, it’s being rediscovered.

Basically, the idea is that you start with a 6-inch layer of pine shavings — or other highly absorbent bedding material — throw in chicken scratch so your chickens aerate the shavings, and let nature compost the litter and chicken droppings in the coop. Just as with a garden compost pile, there are brown “pine shaving” (high carbon) and green “chicken dropping” (high nitrogen) elements that need to be managed. When the proportion of green to brown gets too large, additional pine shavings are added to the mix. The compost gets deeper over time and eventually some should be removed. What does get removed makes great garden fertilizer.