Can the chicken pen be used as a compost bin as well?

[Mrs. Green Thumbs]

I was looking for some insight online about composting chicken manure and got to thinking... I have a VERY small area to garden in and my compost "bin" is taking up space that I could use for a 3ed raised veggie bed. Now Iv heard of the "deep litter method" where chicken owners can create a very deep pile of litter and allow the poo to build up and break down in the chicken coop over a years time. I have also heard lots of story's about chicken owners who turn their hen's loose on their compost to aerate a bit, eat bug's, and munch on some of the fresher compost bit's. Could I incorporate my compost bin and the deep litter method in one thus saving me very valuable space and allowing my penned hen's access to the compost goodies, and creating a once yearly harvest of the worlds easiest compost? Of course id use pine shaving's to absorb extra moisture and such.... the normal items I ad to our compost goes as follows:

Kitchen scraps including coffee grounds (but that can easily be used else where in the garden), banana peels, bell pepper insides, old fruit and veggies, end pieces of things Iv prepared for dinner like celery and carrots, potato peels, ect.

Garden cutting's like items from after harvest time and cuttings from some of my ornamental plant's

and grass clippings after a good mow. (we do not use chem's on the lawn's)


I also thought, Iv been having a problem with fly's and such attracted to all that smelly chicken poo in the compost bin... I bet the girls would LOVE to chase those things down and munch on them.... What do yall think? Could this work?

 

[dntd]

I sort of do that, I have a leaf pile in my chickens run, I dig out an area for litter and cover it up and throw our edible scraps in that area, anything forgotten gets composted. We have 2 other composters for stuff that the chickens shouldn.t eat like food past it's due date, potatoes and foods chickens shouldn't have.

 

[Mrs. Green Thumbs]

I like that idea Dntd. I could keep a smaller compost pile for inedible's and save myself the space a larger compost bin takes up. I'm really hoping I get some more insight on this topic. Id really love to be able to give my girls more things to rummage through and this would REALLY work for us.

 

[dntd]

I know the leaf pile is super good, my girls have thousands of worms/bugs/sprouts to eat. Better then letting them out to eat my gardens BTW thier run is 150 sqf for 6 chickens, I bet it could fit a few more with out any smell/could decrease it too but that area is basicall ungrowable, too much shade and it used to have some hidden poison ivy befor we cleared it, now it free from any weeds My friend also uses her run as a compost .