Chicken Compost?

[HandsomePoultry]

Permaculture design is something I am big on. I have chickens already but I stumbled recently upon the prospect of chicken compost. Now it is intriguing to me,but I am curious how many chickens a large pile could feed. Or if it would be better to do several altogether. Also is it safe to use the wastes from their coop into composts too?

 

[Mr Pink]

This may answer some of your questions

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I think a lot of it would have to do with what you're putting in the compost pile.

A pile made up of say, lots of yard/leaf waste and/or chicken coop shavings/manure would be a bit tough.

If the pile was that stuff, plus a lot of food waste, being added a regular intervals, then it'd support more chickens and support them better.

If you live someplace with cold winters/snow, it's another consideration, as well.

 

[HandsomePoultry]

I think a lot of it would have to do with what you're putting in the compost pile. 

A pile made up of say, lots of yard/leaf waste and/or chicken coop shavings/manure would be a bit tough.

If the pile was that stuff, plus a lot of food waste, being added a regular intervals, then it'd support more chickens and support them better. 

If you live someplace with cold winters/snow, it's another consideration, as well. 

I was thinking it would be varied too. they already get scraps and stuff so I am curious how different it would be.

 

[lazy gardener]

How many birds do you have? Do they have a run? Have they stripped the run of vegetation? I use natural bedding in their coop, with the goal of having a deep composting litter there. That is best accomplished if the coop has a soil floor. This year, is the first year that I have come close to achieving that goal. In the spring, I will clean most of the litter out from under the perches, and toss it into their run. My goal there is to have a minimum of 6" of deep compost. That's difficult to achieve b/c the stuff simply melts into the soil. In the coop, I use a combination of dry leaves and grass clippings, some garden debris, and have the option of adding wood chips (not shavings) though have not added those there yet. The run is all of the above with copious addition of wood chips. 500 s.f. so, that means hauling a lot of mulch material.

I also sheet compost some in the garden, have a hugelkulture mound which eats up all of the compostable material I can throw at it, and have a Back to Eden orchard, and am converting the garden to BTE. All of these take copious amounts of compostable material.

Any composting you do, whether in the run, in your yard with chickens having access to it, or anywhere else will benefit your plantings and your chickens. There really is no wrong way to do it.

 

[HandsomePoultry]

I have fifteen birds soon making the jump to 35. they have a 20ft by 8ft run that we filled with leaves in the fall. It's gone from 2ft deep to one and a half. I rarely leave them in the run though as we have 164 acres. I started a separate compost pile with the goal of feeding them and gardening. Hopefully I can use it to start some strawberries and such.

 

[Mr Pink]

Am starting a deep little run project myself ... I have a huge yard ( 10 acres we mow ) so I have two large mowers one of which has a collection system on it and in the fall I collect every leaf I can lay my hands on and have been straight leaf litter composting for a few years
Also have a neighbor down the road who had horses and one across the road that has cattle so I have a couple of manure compost piles going too .


My run is 24 x 32 and am starting with 12 " of shredded leaves ... have tons of wood chips but not going to add any till they compost down a bit !

My carbon sources are plentiful am hoping with food waste ( garden and other ) along with the chicken manure can boost up the nitrogen and composting process