Building a compost pile in run area?

[HenOnAJuneBug]

The youtube channel, edible acres, has my very favorite chicken compost videos! I'm doing a small scale version of what they do. Very informational if you take the time to watch some of their videos!

I love how the chickens are right there working with them. Mine get under my feet like that any time I'm moving dirt/wood or splitting wood .

 

[3bird]

We have ducks, so our situation is a little different. Having said that, we have a three-bay compost set-up in the fenced area outside the run. It's where our ducks hang out when we are not outside with them. The fronts of the compost bays have simple tracks and we drop boards in to raise or lower the level of the compost "doors." All of our dirty duck bedding goes in the compost, as do all non-animal kitchen scraps (as well as some lawn clippings in the summer and some leaves in the fall). The veggie garden is just on the other side of the compost, so it's easy to deliver the cooked compost to the raised beds. We also planted a row of comfrey along the fence line below the duckhouse. This way we catch a lot of the nutrients that we can then feed back to the ducks and use in the compost. The whole system has been up and running since 2017, and it's working great. The ducks do love to play in the compost when we let them, but unlike chickens, they don't scratch.

 

[gtaus]

The youtube channel, edible acres, has my very favorite chicken compost videos!

Yes, the Edible Acres YouTube videos are also among my favorite chicken compost videos. I suspect the "secret" to his success is that he gets buckets full of waste food from local restaurants. Mix that in with carbon material, and how can you fail? Great food for the chickens to scratch through and high quality compost in what appears to be almost no time at all.

BTW, in other videos he states the primary reason he owns chickens is to make compost for his nursery business. In one video, in the winter, he states that he got 300 gallons of compost in one week! Evidently, he has received lots of overaged egg laying chickens that the owners do not want to harvest. So he has lots of chickens that evidently don't produce eggs anymore, but they still work hard at making compost for him. For as many chickens as he has, he stated that in the winter he may only get 3 eggs per day, but in the warmer seasons he might get 20-30 eggs per day. I only have 10 chickens, but average 5-6 eggs per day this first winter. So you can tell his girls must be getting a little long in the beak.

I'm doing a small scale version of what they do.

Could you explain how you are doing your "small scale version" of the Edible Acres compost system? I have good access to leaves, grass clippings, and all the wood chips I could ever want. But other than a few kitchen scraps that Dear Wife and I produce every few days, I have no large amounts of waste food. I live in the country and it would not make sense for me to drive into town to pick up food waste from local restaurants - if they would even be willing to separate food waste from their other trash. So, my chicken run is now full of wood chips, leaves, and grass. The chickens eat our kitchen scraps in minutes, if any scraps are available. Anyway, I too am interested in a smaller scale version of the Edible Acres compost system if I can figure it out.

 

[gtaus]

We have ducks, so our situation is a little different. Having said that, we have a three-bay compost set-up in the fenced area outside the run. It's where our ducks hang out when we are not outside with them. The fronts of the compost bays have simple tracks and we drop boards in to raise or lower the level of the compost "doors." All of our dirty duck bedding goes in the compost, as do all non-animal kitchen scraps (as well as some lawn clippings in the summer and some leaves in the fall). The veggie garden is just on the other side of the compost, so it's easy to deliver the cooked compost to the raised beds. We also planted a row of comfrey along the fence line below the duckhouse. This way we catch a lot of the nutrients that we can then feed back to the ducks and use in the compost. The whole system has been up and running since 2017, and it's working great. The ducks do love to play in the compost when we let them, but unlike chickens, they don't scratch.

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I like your idea of The fronts of the compost bays have simple tracks and we drop boards in to raise or lower the level of the compost "doors." I just cut my front pallet in half, but your approach has a number of benefits too.

Also, I like your setup where everything seems to flow towards your veggie garden. Very well thought out. That is where I would like to get to someday. Right now, my chicken coop and run is far away and over a creek from my garden. I have to load everything up in my tow behind garden dump carts to take out to the garden. Dear Wife and I have been talking about relocating the garden closer to the chicken coop in our backyard. It would certainly save some time and energy for me.

I live on a lake and have raised ducks and geese in the past. My ducks and geese were always "free ranging" right out on the lake. When I had commercial feed for them, I would call them in and they would come flying over the water back to the duck house. At that time, I was not even trying to do any composting. The geese would eat some lawn grass, but mostly the ducks were out on the water finding food to eat. But yes, I think chickens are naturally better at scratching up the compost.

 

[3bird]

I live on a lake and have raised ducks and geese in the past. My ducks and geese were always "free ranging" right out on the lake. When I had commercial feed for them, I would call them in and they would come flying over the water back to the duck house. At that time, I was not even trying to do any composting. The geese would eat some lawn grass, but mostly the ducks were out on the water finding food to eat. But yes, I think chickens are naturally better at scratching up the compost.

Yes. I agree. One advantage to ducks, however, is that once your veggies are mature, the ducks can forage in the garden. They will eat pests but not scratch up the plants. Our guys pretty much just mine the compost for worms...lol

 

[3bird]

By the way, this is our set-up....obviously middle of winter ;-)

 

[jthornton]

I only have 10 chickens, but average 5-6 eggs per day this first winter. So you can tell his girls must be getting a little long in the beak.

Pullets are too dumb to not lay during the winter, come next year you will be buying eggs in the winter as the hens all molt and stop laying for a few months.

I had one hen Sweet Pea that was the first to molt last fall and she was the only hen that laid an egg in December.

JT

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Chickens in the compost pile is really amazing. They convert carbs (veggies) and protein (meat scrap, bugs, worms) into all-natural nitrogen fertilizer. Not only do they do a lot of the work of turning the pile, they also "super-charge" the compost!

And they make breakfast! I mean...how cool are chickens?!

 

[gtaus]

By the way, this is our set-up....obviously middle of winter ;-)

View attachment 2022288

Nice looking setup. I was thinking of making some compost bins with interlocking lego style 2x8's, but your setup looks easier. I like the drop down boards in the front on those rails as I believe I have enough scrap lumber behind the garage to make that kind of system. Thanks.

 

[gtaus]

Pullets are too dumb to not lay during the winter, come next year you will be buying eggs in the winter as the hens all molt and stop laying for a few months.

Yes, my hens have not gone through their first molt yet. If Dear Wife and I get 2 eggs per day from our 10 hens, that will be enough eggs for our personal use. Right now, with about 6 eggs per day, we are selling most of our eggs to friends. It's not much money, but it pays for the chicken feed.