Who uses their chicken compost?

[Xtina]

Let's talk about the smell of compost! So after reading this thread, where person after person said "I thought it would smell, but it doesn't!" I decided to turn my "bucket o' poo n' shavings." I was expecting it to be either not offensive or even mildly pleasant, like other composts I've smelled. But it was NOT either of those things. In fact, it was every bit as terrible as I had ever imagined it could be, times about ten. It is one of the most offensive things that's ever crossed my nose and now that I've stirred it, the backyard smells a lot worse. It reminded me of the age-old advice about not stirring poo up! It was so terrible, I have no desire at all to put it anywhere close to edible things that I'm growing, even though I'm sure it's full of nutritious compounds...how could I put that near my strawberries??

What am I doing wrong? I just have a simple black plastic plant pot, about 20-30 gallon size, which I load their bedding (sawdust) and poo when I clean out the coop. I add more sawdust to add some fibrous matter and if it rains, I add even more sawdust to soak up the water. I thought it would be a good composting project, but it just looks like 20 gallons of poo that is not decomposing in the slightest (that might be an exaggeration).

 

[smilingcat]

Your composting is anaerobic, no oxygen, and it will stink to high heaven. Composting material should not be soaking and dripping wet. It should be moist. It also needs air. 20 to 30 gallon size is about the smallest you want to go for a compost.

The mix you have sounds about right. Mix of poo, and sawdust. Poo has lots of nitrogen and sawdust gives you the needed carbon. Only two thing wrong: first the container doesn't have enough hole to let air in and second it sounds like its way too wet. Too wet and air can't get in.

I would suggest you look into either building a composting setup. could be simple as getting three wooden pallets and making a three sided box. Or splurge and buying one of the composing bins. I just do mine on the open ground. no smell and no rats/voles.

I would also recommend that you add something more substantial like 6 to 12 inch long twigs to help the compost from compacting. Add kitchen scraps minus meat scraps and fat. dog and cat hair is okay. NO DOG OR CAT POO OR CAT LITTER!!

And if you have already spread the compost on the ground and find the smell really offensive, it will go away in about two three days. If the ground is really wet, you may need to rake it back together onto a higher ground where its not so wet and if it rains a lot then cover the raked up pile with black plastic sheet to keep it from getting soaked.

Composting is very easy if you follow some simple rules. Best thing to do is go to your library and check out a book on composting. The books should have plans on building your compost bins and how to start your compost pile.

 

[MagicChicken]

Let's talk about the smell of compost! So after reading this thread, where person after person said "I thought it would smell, but it doesn't!" I decided to turn my "bucket o' poo n' shavings." I was expecting it to be either not offensive or even mildly pleasant, like other composts I've smelled. But it was NOT either of those things. In fact, it was every bit as terrible as I had ever imagined it could be, times about ten. It is one of the most offensive things that's ever crossed my nose and now that I've stirred it, the backyard smells a lot worse. It reminded me of the age-old advice about not stirring poo up! It was so terrible, I have no desire at all to put it anywhere close to edible things that I'm growing, even though I'm sure it's full of nutritious compounds...how could I put that near my strawberries??

What am I doing wrong? I just have a simple black plastic plant pot, about 20-30 gallon size, which I load their bedding (sawdust) and poo when I clean out the coop. I add more sawdust to add some fibrous matter and if it rains, I add even more sawdust to soak up the water. I thought it would be a good composting project, but it just looks like 20 gallons of poo that is not decomposing in the slightest (that might be an exaggeration).

Not sure if any of these things are actually the cause of your compost problems, but they jumped out at me as possible issues with the setup you described:

Compost requires air, which your pile may not be getting. The sawdust you are using might be so compact that there isn't enough air circulation for the composting organisms to really get going. And the plant pot you are using may not allow for enough air circulation, either. Even if you have drilled a lot of air holes in the sides of the pot you may not be getting adequate airflow to the composting organisms. The pot also may be on the small side for good composting action. In my climate the optimum size compost pile is approximately 3' x 3' x 3'. Optimum size in your area may be different. But a 20 gallon pot may not be big enough for vigorous composting action to take place, even if it is modified to allow for adequate air circulation.

If it were my pile, I would drill a lot of holes all around the sides of the pot, and add a bunch of "brown" material (dried leaves, straw, etc) to try to balance the compost. Or transfer the pile to something with open sides (or just a pile on the ground).

Hope you get it fixed soon!

 

[Xtina]

Oh ok. No air sounds to me like the most obvious answer as well. I will have to discuss with my husband what we want our composting situation to be once we go through our backyard remodel that we're planning. I get the idea that he doesn't want compost at all, but I'm not sure that's practical, given our four hens.

 

[Nicole01]

I'm pretty sure by law, you must compost the hens waste. It's in our city ordinance along with the number per acre.

I have had my hens for a year and my compost is pretty big, but we spread it, so it was easier to turn. We live on a 4 acre mostly wooded lot, which makes it much easier to compost. I have 2 piles. The second pile I just started so the other one can break down. I will have 11-12 hens when I'm done. Right now we are at 11 and I have a broody hatching a clutch of eggs, I want her to raise one for her efforts, the rest will be sent back to the neighbor. My girls free range, so the poop level has gone down a bit. I rarely need to change the pine since it stays dry and very rarely gets dirty.

 

[dancingflower68]

Exactly, but weeds instead of grass. We started it last year. Since my flock poops mostly in their run and on the poop boards, there is more poop then chips. However, we will clean the whole coop out and throw the chips in there too. My hubby turns it over with a shovel once every 2-3 months. I thought it would smell when wet, but I was wrong. It's full of flies and mushrooms too. I never imagined that it would be pure soil underneath like that. It's better soil then what you buy in a bag I think!

I have read all 9 pages of this thread because I'm very interested in composting and how to get started, but I have a ton of questions..the first one is..flies? Is this good? I thought we were trying to avoid flies??

 

[dancingflower68]

Before you use your compost you need to make sure that it is not hot.It will burn your plants and whatever you use it on.I'm not sure how long,but it needs time to cool down.I feed my egg shells back to my chickens for calcium.When I clean my coop i remove the shavings and poo and place it in a pile or in my compost bin.It makes wonderful fertilizer.I then put fresh shavings in and do the deep liter method.

What do you do to make it cool down? Put it in a different container or something?

 

[dancingflower68]

My compost is pretty far from the house. I wonder if I should have a plastic bag in the garage for the food peelings and scraps. This would make it better. I'm always peeling potatoes, cutting onions, garlic, cracking 2 dozens of eggs each week. I think I'll give it a whirl and bring it down every 2-3 days.

Do you have to rinse the eggshells first?

 

[dancingflower68]

The city of Portland has recently begun a city-wide composting program. In October every home received a plastic bucket for our countertops that has a lid and a top. We're not supposed to put food scraps in our regular garbage anymore (or down the sink). We have always had a third dumpster for each household (1 trash, 1 recycling, 1 green bin for yard waste). Now the trash bin gets taken out once every two weeks (not weekly) and the green bin takes yard AND food waste weekly.

I tell this story because it's given me some tips I didn't have before. 1) A bin on the countertop with a lid is a great solution to home composting. 2) layer the inside of that bin with paper bags (no plastic bags are given in stores in Portland anymore, so we have lots of them) or newspaper. 3) Some people keep their compost buckets in the freezer to reduce smell and rotting until right before they take it outside. If you wanted to start composting your home scraps but were a little grossed out by it, you could do this.

The one thing I should add about Portland's composting is that all cheese, meat, and bones are allowed, unlike most home composting. I don't know if I'd use that stuff in my own, but I sure can easily start adding my home compost to the backyard instead of giving it all to the city.

Portland's awesome!! I wish they would do away with plastic bags around here and give out buckets!! That's so cool!

 

[dancingflower68]

Newsprint makes great "brown material" for composting, now that almost all ink used is soy-based and so is non-toxic and biodegradable. When I clean out the dove cages (lined with newsprint), I toss it poop, paper and all into the compost pile.

One thing that's always amazed me, is that even with all the poop and shavings I've topdressed the soil with, it NEVER smells. Maybe being in the open air, with plenty of moisture and soil critters munching it into Black/Brown Gold, it doesn't have a chance to build up the gases of putrification. There is no putrification, only natural composting. Composting with chicken (and othe poultry) poop is the way to go, even in the city and 'burbs.

Are the ads that are printed in full color on glossy paper ok to use, or just the regular black-ink part of the newspaper??