Roman heating for chickens

The article suggested a deep litter system of poultry husbandry. As that's the modus operandi for household maintenance in the celestial swamp, it was the kind of advice I was happy to heed!

Ordinarily, we would clear out the chicken coop on a fortnightly basis, giving the happy hens some fresh sawdust and straw in which to ruffle their feathers. Originally filed under 'taking it in turns', mucking out now clearly has more ticks in one column than any other.

"The warmth of the chicken droppings," read the article, "...will help to heat the coop. Instead of rigorously clearing out the coop, cover the aforementioned droppings with further woodchippings and/or straw; thus retaining the warmth already provided." Music to my ears.