Arizona Chickens

[City farm]

Awww!

I hate when they do that.

Eggciting!.... sounds like a Good woman! you're definitely a good papa putting out a sister for your hen to hang out with!

[COLOR=0000FF]Soo...how does one compost chicken poop? And do you just put it in a container all by itself and let it dry in the Sun or do you mix it in with dirt or potting soil??[/COLOR]

There are a number of ways to do this, the most common of which is to provide carbon-rich bedding for the chickens to poop on. If you have one of those coops with a tray that needs to be pulled and cleaned, dump the bedding + poop into a designated composter.

If you just use deep bedding like I do, it takes care of itself in a few months to a year. I rake and turn the bedding every few days if the chickens haven't already done it for me, add to it as needed, and will just clear it out completely when it's time for the annual coop cleaning. I also use carbon-rich items like straw and leaves in my run and they're quickly turning it into compost...not to mention they LOVE it. Adding an old straw bale to the run keeps them busily entertained for days as they scratch and pick through all those little things I'm oblivious to. 

You can also just tractor the chickens on a garden plot, planted with a cover crop that they can till in or just dirt covered with carbon-rich bedding like straw, soft wood and/or leaves, and let them work it for a few weeks, and then rest for a few weeks before planting your crops. (Resting the area allows the ammonia and nitrogen levels to stabilize so your newly planted crop won't burn.) I did this on part of my sterile earth even though my chickens were young and was left with a small, productive patch of land that I'm now able to grow some cover crops in for them to further eat. I'm hoping that given enough time my chickens will help me transform my property in to rich earth that can support more than just the native nutgrass. (My land used to be a rock quarry. The dirt between all the rocks barely qualifies as soil.)

And I recently read a book on poultry husbandry written back in the 1920s in which a woman details how she collected the chicken droppings, put them in a bucket, poured boiling water over it, let it cool, and then poured it on her landscaping plants and got great results. I haven't tried it myself....but I'm intrigued. 

I'm intrigued as well. I'll try that. I bet that book is pretty cool? Can you take a photo of it and post it? anyone going to the Home and Garden Show this weekend?

 

[MagicChicken]

Seven eggs in the hatcher, due to hatch tomorrow. I spilled the water when I was setting up the hatcher. Thought I got all the excess mopped up before setting the eggs, but the humidity has been higher than it should be so I didn't get it all and I was a bit concerned about the effect on hatching. Two eggs are pipping already. Go, chicks!

 

[kevs-chickadees]

I've got a pile of chicken poop that's up for grabs if anyone wants it and can figure out how to transport it.

 

[chicksurreal]

Seven eggs in the hatcher, due to hatch tomorrow. I spilled the water when I was setting up the hatcher. Thought I got all the excess mopped up before setting the eggs, but the humidity has been higher than it should be so I didn't get it all and I was a bit concerned about the effect on hatching. Two eggs are pipping already. Go, chicks!

Yay!

I've never hatched any eggs from an incubator, I'm in awe of those who are brave enough to do it.

 

[houdiniduck]

incubation update:

I am at 14 days tomorrow. I candled everything a day early . I can't see inside the golden cuckoo marans eggs well enough to make any sort of judgement call, so I guess I just let them go until 24 days. I pulled one english orpington that was a blood ring. One Rhode Island Red & English Chocolate Cuckoo Orpington egg is questionable and the other I think has a baby inside. This one is the only one that has obvious signs of life inside. I pulled all 5 of my polish eggs (4 clears and a blood ring) I set 6 more Polish eggs tonight. I am really hoping these polish eggs do something. Hopefully I get a few chicks from the first wave and all 6 from the polish. If this batch doesn't work I am going to have to re-assess my incubation abilities.

We got 2 chicks out of ten eggs from the batch we had in the bator at my friend's house. Sparkles and uno. They are happily growing in the brooder.

 

[Sill]

Awww!

I hate when they do that.

Eggciting!.... sounds like a Good woman!

you're definitely a good papa putting out a sister for your hen to hang out with!

Soo...how does one compost chicken poop? And do you just put it in a container all by itself and let it dry in the Sun or do you mix it in with dirt or potting soil??

I compost everything that is yard waste. That's leaves, grass clippings, dead plants, old flowers, twigs, palm fronds, manure, old potting soil, critter litter, etc. I don't put in cactus if it has spines or large branches since they take forever to disappear. I add coffee grounds, used tea bags and kitchen scraps too. Put it all in a large pile, wet it a bit, turn it once a week and it will heat way up, as in even in summer it will steam! That kills weed seeds and supposedly plant pathogens. It's done when it smells like good rich earth and is black in color. Depending on what was in it it might take 1-3 months if I'm actively turning it. It will take longer if left to it's own devices but the materiel will compost on it's own without being turned, it will just take longer, maybe a year (and it must have some moisture, like a wrung out sponge). I know some people fret about what ratio of carbon rich to nitrogen rich materiels go into the pile but I just throw in what I have and let it cook away. It comes out fine in the end.

One thing you will never hear a gardener say is "darn, I have too much compost"! No matter how much you make you can always use more.

Here's my girls helping turn the compost! This bin has almost finished compost, it's very black and most of the material has broken down so it's not recognizable for what it was.

 

[moms3cuties]

Awww!

I hate when they do that.

Eggciting!.... sounds like a Good woman! you're definitely a good papa putting out a sister for your hen to hang out with!

[COLOR=0000FF]Soo...how does one compost chicken poop? And do you just put it in a container all by itself and let it dry in the Sun or do you mix it in with dirt or potting soil??[/COLOR]

There are a number of ways to do this, the most common of which is to provide carbon-rich bedding for the chickens to poop on. If you have one of those coops with a tray that needs to be pulled and cleaned, dump the bedding + poop into a designated composter.

If you just use deep bedding like I do, it takes care of itself in a few months to a year. I rake and turn the bedding every few days if the chickens haven't already done it for me, add to it as needed, and will just clear it out completely when it's time for the annual coop cleaning. I also use carbon-rich items like straw and leaves in my run and they're quickly turning it into compost...not to mention they LOVE it. Adding an old straw bale to the run keeps them busily entertained for days as they scratch and pick through all those little things I'm oblivious to. 

You can also just tractor the chickens on a garden plot, planted with a cover crop that they can till in or just dirt covered with carbon-rich bedding like straw, soft wood and/or leaves, and let them work it for a few weeks, and then rest for a few weeks before planting your crops. (Resting the area allows the ammonia and nitrogen levels to stabilize so your newly planted crop won't burn.) I did this on part of my sterile earth even though my chickens were young and was left with a small, productive patch of land that I'm now able to grow some cover crops in for them to further eat. I'm hoping that given enough time my chickens will help me transform my property in to rich earth that can support more than just the native nutgrass. (My land used to be a rock quarry. The dirt between all the rocks barely qualifies as soil.)

And I recently read a book on poultry husbandry written back in the 1920s in which a woman details how she collected the chicken droppings, put them in a bucket, poured boiling water over it, let it cool, and then poured it on her landscaping plants and got great results. I haven't tried it myself....but I'm intrigued. 

I'm intrigued as well. I'll try that. I bet that book is pretty cool? Can you take a photo of it and post it? anyone going to the Home and Garden Show this weekend?

..X3.. definitely intrigued Too! Yes I'll take a peak at the book too. ...do post a photo or link to it!

 

[MagicChicken]

@houdiniduck - your incubation isuues could also be related to the specific breeding pairs you are using. In my flock I get 75% or better hatch rates from some pairings and close to 0% hatch rate from others. You might want to try switching your breeders around to see if you get better results.

 

[houdiniduck]

@houdiniduck - your incubation isuues could also be related to the specific breeding pairs you are using. In my flock I get 75% or better hatch rates from some pairings and close to 0% hatch rate from others. You might want to try switching your breeders around to see if you get better results.

These eggs are all gifted or purchased from local sources. It is my first try at incubating in a new to me incubator, so I am figuring it is probably operator error.

 

[ChuskaMtns]

These eggs are all gifted or purchased from local sources. It is my first try at incubating in a new to me incubator, so I am figuring it is probably operator error.

The Golden Cuckoo Marans I have had 11 out of 12 eggs hatch from the last 3 hatchings, the Orpingtons I've had 100% rate & I haven't tried the Chocolate Cuckoo Roo with anyone yet, he's 6 months old & the pullets that will go with him are 3 months old. The RIR is in there to keep him company but I've never put her eggs in the incubator.