Arizona Chickens

[cluckin_crazy]

Gallo, How do you get the good stuff out of the bottom when it's ready? I was thinking that this thing looked pretty nifty with the little hatch door at the bottom..

Maybe I will just tell... ahem, I mean ASK hubs to make me one of these...

 

[squeakyballs]

A compost crank sounds awesome!

http://www.lotechproducts.com/ I found the page about it, but no prices. How much did you pay?

 

[pastrymama]

cripes! i have another broody! she's a white cochin and i have been kicking her out of the nest for 2 days. she is super unhappy about it. she screams and pecks and is just wicked. i do not need another broody. i need a home for the chicks i already have! i don't need to hatch out more, unless......she'll hatch me a turkey! will a cochin set that long?

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

When I'm done with a bin of compost I lift the entire bin up and away and the compost stays right there! They don't have bottoms so bugs and stuff comes up through the soil. Then I let the chooks have at it for a couple days and then either use it in the garden or cure it longer in one of the wire bins. I go through a LOT of compost. I have three steamers out there right now and I have more material to heat up. Both of those bins you showed were awesome, but the second....

Oh my, that would make composting so much easier.

TT!, That crank is made right here in Tucson! I think I paid $40 for it from the Tucson Organic Gardeners too.

 

[cluckin_crazy]

Quote:
I really like that it's vertical - big space saver!

 

[constance]

Quote:

OOOH, I want one of those! I might have to add that to the hopeful - but likely never completed - project list!

I have an Urban Compost Tumbler that we bought, gee, 12 or 13 years ago in New Mexico. We were having a hard time keeping the pile wet enough and turned when we had just a square wire bin, and we developed a BIG cockroach colony. Yuck. So we bough the tumbler and it has been great. Thank goodness it has lasted so long because it was pricey when we got it. It is fantastic. Compost stays wet, aerated, and it is super easy to turn. As a result, it cooks pretty quickly. We also use an Ace plastic trash can with some holes in it as a secondary container. We fill up the tumbler and let it cook for a month. In the meantime, we fill the trash can (and don't turn it). Then we empty the tumbler, sift it, dump back the bigger pieces, add in the stuff from the trash can, and repeat.

Here, moisture is definitely the biggest problem. You can see what we have here, but the price has gone up considerably: http://eartheasy.com/urban-compost-tumbler-9

I changed the link to a place that was a little cheaper with free shipping. It is still $100 more than what we paid.

 

[constance]

I have some catching up to do on this thread, but it won't happen tonight. I assaulted urban Tucson yesterday on my bike and I am still tired. Not to mention being sore and bruised in both mentionable and unmentionable places. It was a whole lot of fun though!

 

[constance]

cluckin crazy Could you send the URL to the home-made tumbler? That looks like the best idea I have seen, and you could easily build it. Maybe I'll build one and sell the UCT now that it has appreciated in value

 

[cluckin_crazy]

I just did a Google image search for "composter". I've seenon the Phx Craigslist that there is a guy in the NW valley that makes a single barrel version for $80 and an extra $30 or $40 for the second barrel but seems like its probably much cheaper to DIY.

 

[mahalo4]

NoSkiveev let me know If You get extra BWA Roos & want to get rid of 1!! Still waiting To see How many Roos turn up out of the Cuckoo's.