Chicken Run Composting Design planning

[gtaus]

We get an unbelievable amount of leaves. Last year both my neighbor and I put all of our leaves in the run. It was a huge pile. Most were whole leaves. They were probably two feet deep. In a pile 20x40'. I also add cut grass, vegetable table scraps, crushed egg shells. Today they are "gone". In a month i will shovel some of the result into the gardens.

The leaves will fall soon. Start all over.

Sounds like I want to do this year. In the past, all leaves have gone directly to the garden, this year I will process them through the chickens. Should make some great compost with grass clippings, woodchips, kitchen scraps, and chicken poo all mixed in.

 

[jreardon1918]

I forgot that i throw the poop board scoopings in this area. This is a pretty slow process. A formal composting process would make quickest work. But then the chickens would only have half the fun.

 

[Quackter]

I do garden, and one of the main reasons I got laying hens was to make compost for me. Compost by the bag is expensive. The eggs are just a bonus. Well, and just the enjoyment I get from having the chickens.

Not too worried about the wind with whole leaves as I suspect they will stay within the chicken run fencing. Also, the chickens will tear it up and trample that stuff down in no time. Next spring it should have made some good compost for the garden.

It sounds like we share quite a few ideas. A couple notes, you probably know them, but I don't want to mess anybody up. Winter "composting" right on the garden like I do, makes it a water holding soggy mess on top. I take the chickens off in early March. I've got a big sheet of plastic I'll cover on area to dry so I can till, then move it down. Another thing, I start everything and transplant. So if anybody is direct seeding, what a plant might take, it could "burn" up an unestablished seedling.
Up North, ya know? You guys got a lot shorter window than we do here in "O-hi-ah". I'd guess, at least your sun consideration would be easier, about all South or near straight up?
For your winter run, I'll get some pics of what I do, it's just 3/4 pvc electrical conduit hoops to a 8x8 frame of 5/4 treated, chicken wired for the summer, then some pool noodles to prevent the clear plastic from wearing through in the winter. Two guys can pack it anywhere, and it's cheap, under $150. I doubt it would hold up to your snow and wind. Give me a week, I sold one this spring, got sick again, and the new on is setting back here a half finished eye sore.

Sounds like I want to do this year. In the past, all leaves have gone directly to the garden, this year I will process them through the chickens. Should make some great compost with grass clippings, woodchips, kitchen scraps, and chicken poo all mixed in.

You probably know, at one point I didn't. From my own screw up, careful with the wood chips. If they are still recognizable as a chip, don't till them under.

 

[gtaus]

From my own screw up, careful with the wood chips. If they are still recognizable as a chip, don't till them under.

I have a soil sieve that I sift my composting stuff on. The good compost stuff falls through, and the larger stuff gets thrown back in for more composting. I use woodchips for mulch on top of some of my garden beds, but do no till them into the soil.

 

[gtaus]

I dumped a grocery bag full of white paper shreds on top of the brown grass/woodchips litter in one corner of the chicken run yesterday. To encourage the chickens to scratch it up, I sprinkled a couple cups of chicken scratch on top of the paper shreds. A few hours later, all the white paper shreds had disappeared. I think the chickens just scratched all the paper shreds into the litter. I'm going to try that experiment again because I had a hard time believing they would turn over the litter that fast and cover all the white paper shreds. But, if they do that much work, I will not bother to cover up the paper shreds myself and just let them do it for me.

It has been raining here for the past 4 days, and I have not been able to collect any fallen leaves. But, today was no rain and things have started to dry out. I took out my riding lawn mower with the 3 bag collector and mowed a little. I dump about 6 bags of collected leaves and grass in the run into one large heap. In no time at all, the girls had scratched the pile level. It's amazing to watch them dig into all those leaves and grass and just go to town eating stuff.

 

[aart]

I dumped a grocery bag full of white paper shreds on top of the brown grass/woodchips litter in one corner of the chicken run yesterday......It has been raining here for the past 4 days

Was it raining when you dumped the shreds?
That would definitely help keep them from blowing all over the yard!
Are they cross cut or loooong shreds?

I sprinkled a couple cups of chicken scratch on top of the paper shreds.

A handful of scratch would be plenty

Am loving the updates...maybe some pics too?

 

[gtaus]

Was it raining when you dumped the shreds? That would definitely help keep them from blowing all over the yard! Are they cross cut or loooong shreds?

A handful of scratch would be plenty

Am loving the updates...maybe some pics too?

It was sprinkling when I dumped the paper shreds into the chicken run. But not a heavy, or even normal rainfall. Probably good enough to keep them from blowing all over the yard. My paper cutter is a cross cut, so the shreds are about 1 1/2 inches long. Even if they did blow out into the yard, I think they would quickly break down and disappear into the grass. If not, next mowing with the bagger would certainly pick them up.

Maybe I'm giving too much chicken scratch to the girls? I have 10 chickens and usually throw out about 2 cups of scratch per day. It takes them all of 10 minutes to eat up everything. I am also dumping in grass clippings and now leaves. Too much? I have 18% grower feed and calcium in a side dish 24/7. They don't go through much commercial feed as they spend most of the day outside in the run scratching through the grass/leaves I have dumped in there.

Yes, I'll have to get some pictures. I love it when other people post their pics, so I guess I'll make a better effort on that.

 

[aart]

Too much?

Eh....maybe.
I give about 2 cups of 8% scratch to 15 birds.
....and 6 cups of 20% feed....
... so about 17% protein.
Estimated and adjusted daily by watching how much feed they eat per day,
I only put out as much feed as they will eat in 24 hours.

 

[gtaus]

Am loving the updates...maybe some pics too?

Here is a picture 2 hours later of what is left after I dumped about 3 bags full of paper shreds onto the run litter. Originally, it was about 1 inch deep of paper shreds in this area.

You can see that they scratched the shreds all over the place and already it is disappearing.

Here are some pics of the chickens checking out some piles of leaves I dumped in the run this afternoon. I had to pictures as I was doing this job because the chickens level out the pile in mere minutes.

I don't think you can tell from this picture, but the leaf pile was about 2 feet high. The girls leveled it out in less than five minutes. Makes a nice looking carpet in the chicken run.

BONUS PICTURE: Pelican walking down my gravel driveway this afternoon. Pic quality not too good at 4X and taken from a distance, cropped for content. I live on a lake, and we do get pelicans out on the water every so often, but this was the first time I have seen one up on the yard checking out things. Maybe checking out my teenage Buff Orpington because she's really sweet and good looking?

 

[GrFChickens]

I love that you are taking advantage of their innate abilities!

I would say option two or three. The only concern with option one would be leaf mold . . . sometimes we throw whole leaves on our garlic in the fall when we plant and it can grow some mold. Option two is nice because the mower already bags for you!