chickens in the compost pile

[kathyinmo]

I have treated enough botulism (with about 50% success) from other sources that I absolutely will not allow my chickens near the compost pile! I will not give my chickens rotting vegetation or rotten meat or food. Believe me, it can kill them.

 

[operator16]

OOOhh.. That's good information. I knew meat was a problem, but not vegies and straw and grass and such.. I don't think I'll chance it. Does Botulism come from anything that's rotting?



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[NYREDS]

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Not sure what this has to do with compost piles & in my opinion it's bad advice. There is a reason that some chicks don't hatch naturally. They are generally deficient in some way & nature has dictated that they shouldn't hatch. When you "help" such a chick to hatch you run the risk of producing a bird that will pass along it's genetic faults. If your goal is just to have some chickens I suppose it's ok but if you plan to breed chickens then learn to listen to the messages that nature sends you.

 

[NYREDS]

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Meat isn't a problem but rotten meat may be a problem. As Tommy Smothers said "hotdogs aren't bad for you-green hotdogs are bad for you".

 

[schellie69]

I let mine scratch around in my compost pile since they get all the good stuff before it has a chance to go bad. I do not put meat in a compost pile, that either goes to the dogs, or in the freezer for soup. any thing rotten or spoiled goes in the trash.

 

[LeezyBeezy]

Mine love our compost!

 

[itsachicken]

I've been letting my girls at the compost, but after it's pretty much done, hoping they'll get the last weed seeds and grubs out. They love it! Here's a pic of my little austrolorp, Desiree, getting a jump on a batch of fresh compost.

 

[fiberart57]

I don't let mine into the compost pile because I'm trying to make garden fertilizer and they just fling things all over. However, it's a battle to keep them out. I have a four foot fence around it. I use their poo and the shavings from their house along with other scraps.

I don't put meat or fats into the pile so I don't worry too much about botulism. I just like to keep the compost for the garden - they get plenty of other scraps.

I have lots of red worms in the compost and will toss them a few now and then, that keeps them happy. The red worms are the worms for composting - not for the garden soil. That's another specie of worm.

Mary

 

[cobrien]

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That is interesting. I've been putting my worm-y compost (w/ red worms) in my garden for years, and now whenever I dig in my yard, I find red worms. At least I am pretty darn sure they are the same type of compost worms. Are you saying they're not good for the soil, or don't survive in the soil?

 

[TeamChaos]

I would be interested in hearing more about how common botulism is- We've got a huge beginner compost pile on the farm and while meat doesn't go in it, there are plenty of breads and veggies in various states of decay- while I never feed "off" food to my ladies, I haven't allowed them access to the pile for fear they'll eat something past it's prime and get sick.