how to compost chicken poop?

Yes. Compost happens. Sorry LG I couldn’t resist after your comment.


You can make composting as complex or as simple as you wish. You can try to balance just the right portions of Carbon (browns) and Nitrogen (greens), keep it just the right moisture, and turn it regularly. Or you can pile the stuff up in whatever portions you choose and come back when it’s ready. Letting the chickens do the work for you is a great way to go about it if you can set that up. I find that you need to contain the stuff that’s being composted because they will scratch it and scatter it everywhere. If I don’t contain it I lose most of it because of that scratching.

Moisture can be an issue. If the compost gets too wet it will go anaerobic. That produces a stinky smelly slimy material that is no fun to be around. It will still become compost but the quality is not as good. If it is too dry, say you live in the high desert, it can take years for the stuff to break down. As LG said, it needs to be slightly damp.

If you have a garden and chickens you should be composting. Compost is black gold to a gardener.

I keep seeing stuff that says don't compost pet droppings for use with edible crops. Why is that? Is there some reason this is not a concern with chicken droppings?

The concern is with cat and dog droppings. Both are meat eaters, so in theory more apt to have worms. Composted chicken poo should be just fine to put in the garden.

HennyYoungman said:

I keep seeing stuff that says don't compost pet droppings for use with edible crops. Why is that? Is there some reason this is not a concern with chicken droppings?

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LG is right; cat and dog droppings are most likely infected with tapeworms, which we can get fairly easily; chickens not so much.

But definitely wash all veg from the garden, especially when using any kind of composted manure, be it chicken, rabbit, cow, etc. E. Coli and salmonella can both thrive long after the manure is composted and can end up on the food. Google "Rocky Ford melons" if you're curious

If you Google "composting chicken manure" you will get tons of articles on composting. You can also find directions on making rotating compost makers for not much effort and money. Rotating the compost will break it down faster--6 or 8 weeks instead of 6 months to a year. But don't put worms in that kind of compost maker. The constant motion will disoriented the worms and they won't be as productive. (How productive would you be if you had to ride a roller coaster a,couple of times a day every day?) Wait until the compost is finished and spread on the garden and then add worms. Your garden will flourish.

Chickenaddict said:

eggshells

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I break up any eggshells I have and feed them back to the chickens. They seem to love them.