Surprised by how much bedding my 6 hens go through in a month

I tracked it last month and it was like 80 pounds of pine shavings for just 6 birds, which seems crazy. Did the math after seeing the receipt from the feed store in Aurora, and I'm wondering if deep litter method actually cuts that down for anyone else.

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sanchez.mary20d agoTop Commenter

Hold on, 80 pounds for 6 hens in a month sounds off. That's over 13 pounds per bird, which is way more than typical. You're probably fluffing and tossing out bedding that's still good. With the deep litter method, you just add a fresh layer on top every week and let the stuff underneath break down, you only do a full cleanout a couple times a year. I keep 5 hens in a 10x12 coop and I maybe go through 20 pounds a month, if that, since I'm only adding about 2 inches per week.