Hot composting with chicken bedding and garden waste

[vehve]

The temperatures have been up to 41 degrees a few times, but with all this rain we've been having, the compost started to smell pretty badly. Not just a slight annoyance, but more of an "Oh my god, my nostrils are burning" sort of smell. It started yesterday, and finally today I had to do something about it after watching the look on my better half's and our neighbors faces. I mixed a bit of hemp bedding into the top layers, and then I spread a nice 2-3cm layer on top of everything. The smell disappeared instantly. Now there's only a slight odor, the runoff from the compost has seeped into the ground, and all the rain has made the soil around the compost so wet that it's evaporating and spreading the smell. Luckily we're supposed to get a bit nicer weather soon, according to the newspaper the end of June has been the coldest in 50 years.

I think the added bedding might help balance the compost out as well, judging by the smell of ammonia it's putting out every time you stir it, it's pretty high in nitrogen. Before adding the bedding, I did a bit of turning in the compost. In just 5 days, everything had turned black. Also, the chickens got a fish carcass a few days ago, which we took out of the run after one day even though there was still some meat left on it. That meat has now been cooked in the compost. Judging by the color, I'd say the inner temperature has been between 55 and 60 degrees. In a week or two the hot phase should be over, then I just need to let the compost mature for a while, before it can be put to use. Hopefully by that time, most of the ammonia will have evaporated. All in all, I think this is going to be some pretty strong stuff.

 

[Arielle]

It would be beneficial to capture that ammonia as that is a nitrogen source. Usually material like shavings and dried leaves will capture that . I use ground lime in the stalls to absorb the ammonia-- not sure if sprinkling it on top of the compost is helpful or h armful to the process though.

 

[vehve]

It would be beneficial to capture that ammonia as that is a nitrogen source. Usually material like shavings and dried leaves will capture that . I use ground lime in the stalls to absorb the ammonia-- not sure if sprinkling it on top of the compost is helpful or h armful to the process though.

The hemp fibres greatly reduced the stench, so they seem to be catching it. Once it starts to smell again, I'm just going to mix the top in and add a layer to keep it in check. I have to keep the peace with neighbors (and the better half)

Only problem with this method is, that I can't stir the pile quite as often as I'd like, unless I want to go through a humongous amount of hemp. But the smell has to be kept down, because it was horrible. I was repulsed by it even at a distance of 30 meters from the compost. Really makes dining on the deck a bit less enjoyable. Luckily, with all this rain we haven't had to endure that.

Adding lime to the compost seems to be a big no-no according to most sources I've found, it kills the beneficial environment of the bacteria needed to break down the compost, so it would slow down the process quite a lot. That I don't want, because I really don't want to process this stuff for 3 years before putting it to use, that would require way too much space. Also, in the future I think we won't empty the coop quite as often, I'll try to get a little deep litter going in there, adding a bit of bedding based on what my nose tells me, so that it can be processed quickly after it's dumped in the compost.

 

[vehve]

So far the smell is keeping in check. The top layer of hemp has started to become wet from all the condensation dripping on it from the lid, and has already started to turn brown. The air temp in the bin is holding steady at 41 deg C for the past few days now, so probably over 60 in the middle, if not even hotter. The neighbors and my better half seem happy.

 

[vehve]

The temperature has started to drop. 36deg C this morning. I might need to figure out some sort of resting storage for the stuff before putting it to use. It can just wait in there until the other side is full, but after that I'm a bit screwed unless I find somewhere to store my black gold, I don't think I can put it to use straight from the compost bin.

 

[vehve]

I've been away for a few days, and when I checked the compost, the temperature had dropped to 34 C even though the outside temperature has risen almost 10 degrees. I did a proper turning, and watered it a bit, so it should get a nice burn going soon again. I didn't put any more shavings on top of it this time, I hope I didn't water it too much to get the smell going again. The stuff below the layer of bedding had a nice black color, and it's really hard to tell what's in there, but there's still a noticeable smell of ammonia oozing up when turning it. The new layer of bedding that got turned in now is a bit of an eyesore there though. Many light particles among the beautiful black gold. I really wouldn't want to add any more to it, since it takes forever to break down.

 

[LindaB220]

Yesterday I have apparently been abusing alcohol, as I found a beer with only one sip taken in the morning. Poured it into the compost pile, and it has not hurt it at least in any way. I tried sticking my hand into the pile this evening (disgusting, I know), and five seconds was how long I could keep it there. That thing is going to burst into flames soon. The level of the pile has gone down almost 10 centimeters. Also, I think every fly on a 2 kilometer radius has found our compost.

One can of beer, one can of coke and one cup of ammonia. Put in sprayer with water and every time your add a layer spray it down. Make it 3 ft tall. It will be finished in 2 weeks. After one week you turn it over and spray again. This is per youtube's Reaganite71. Gardening site.

 

[vehve]

One can of beer, one can of coke and one cup of ammonia. Put in sprayer with water and every time your add a layer spray it down. Make it 3 ft tall. It will be finished in 2 weeks. After one week you turn it over and spray again. This is per youtube's Reaganite71. Gardening site.

That doesn't take into account using chicken bedding, which comes with a hefty dose of nitrogen in itself. Also, I've found that yeast and sugar mixed with lukewarm water was a good way to get things started, but I have a nice culture brewing in there already, so I don't need to add anything more except for moisture when it dries a bit.

 

[LindaB220]

That doesn't take into account using chicken bedding, which comes with a hefty dose of nitrogen in itself. Also, I've found that yeast and sugar mixed with lukewarm water was a good way to get things started, but I have a nice culture brewing in there already, so I don't need to add anything more except for moisture when it dries a bit.

Yeah, you're right about the bedding. I was going on only paper, leaves, you know , brown, green etc.

 

[vehve]

Ok, time for another update on the compost, as I'm sure the vast masses of people following this thread have actively been refreshing the page and wondering "What's going on in Felix's compost?".

For the past two days the contents of the left compartment have started to get a nice fluffy texture to it, it's really easy to dig in half a meter and turn everything around. While doing just that, I noticed that I had an area near the back that had been completely neglected, so I turned it in. I have been adding a few liters of water every couple of days, not enough to make it smelly, but still enough to keep it a bit moist. The smell coming from the compost now is not an unpleasant one, sort of smells like a barn. I did however almost pass out when turning it around this morning, when digging in deeper it releases a really concentrated cloud of ammonia. The temperature in there is now 38 degrees, but the compost itself isn't producing as much heat anymore, the rise is mainly caused by the fact that for the first time in a month we actually have summery weather again, +25 deg C outside!

Here's a picture comparing both sides, the left hasn't had anything added to it in a few weeks (except for some hemp bedding to keep down the smell a week ago).

As you can see, the hemp is starting to go brown now too, and everything else has taken almost an black color. The side I'm still adding to hasn't reached critical mass yet, so I haven't been wetting it that much, just enough to sustain possible bacteria cultures in there.