Deep bedding temperature

Avian Aqua Miser: Automatic, poop-free chicken waterers

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Deep bedding temperature

Soil thermometer in snow-covered ground I bought a cheap meat thermometer in Wal-Mart the other day because I figured it would double as a soil thermometer to see how much heat our deep bedding puts off. First, I stuck the thermometer down into the snow-covered soil amid the winter wheat. It looks like the soil there is around 27 degrees Fahrenheit.

The ground underneath our chicken coop is on a bit of a slant, so all of the leaves tend to Soil thermometer in the floor of the chicken coop get kicked to the downhill end. Luckily, the roosts are on the downhill end too, so leaves and poop compact there into deep bedding. On the upper end of the coop is a perfect control area --- it's just as close to our heated chicken waterer as the deep bedding area and takes in any warmth the chickens give off, so I figure the soil there is about the temperature the soil in the whole coop would naturally be without deep bedding. My soil Temperature in the deep bedding of a chicken coop thermometer suggests that the coop's protection raises the soil temperature only marginally, to about 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

Finally, I tested out the deep bedding area --- 58 degrees Fahrenheit! No wonder our tender-footed hens prefer to spend their days inside when the snow flies! I wouldn't mind if our own floor was a constant 58 degrees.
Black cat
Our spoiled cat rolled his eyes when I told him how contented our hens were. In his seat by the fire, temperatures are more like 80 and he says he wouldn't have it any other way.