city flock owners- how do you compost the poo?

[earthy_chicks]

Hello. I wanted to ask those of you who have to be diligent when it comes to coop/compost smell. How do you compost the chicken poo? I want to find the least smelly way for our city coop. Thanks so much!

 

[blue fire]

If you compost the poop just right it wont smell. Just in case though you can compost it in a garbage can. It is a good idea to add kitchen scraps as well. You compost it by puting it in a container in a warm sunny spot. The center of the compost pile must be warm in order for it to decompose right. Your pile needs to be watered so it has the texture of a wrung out sponge. Every 3 days you need to turn your pile until it is deacomposed enough to use as soil. It is a good idea to have 2 cans, one for freash poo and another for almost ready poo.

 

[robbobbin]

Alot of folks around here use a 3 sided wooden enclosed area made from pallets. stand pallets up and secure, creating a U shape and start composting.
We have added our coop poop to the pile every year and the soil that comes from that pile is very very nice. No smell at all, it's gotten plenty of air and circulation because the pallets are open slats variety.
You'll be surprised how fast it all breaks down and becomes useable.

 

[cookinmom]

According to Jerry Baker the Garden guy, if you really want to get your compost cooking fast, shake up a can of coke and spray it all over the pile. I guess the sugar in it really speeds up the bacteria.

 

[karri25]

I have a big left over construction box/pallet/thingy (to be technical). It lets in tons of air and is really large. Plus it was free! I put EVERYTHING in it! It is in the back of my yard and gets plenty of sun but never started cooking until I put in chicken poo. Then it got so hot it almost hurt to touch! I have since used that bunch of half finishe compost in a lasagna garden. It didn't stink though. If you make sure that it is well mixed I don't think you should have a problem with it. Have you read the other posts on here about doing the deep litter thing? I started that the other day and my coop doesn't stink:0)

 

[poppycat]

I have had no trouble with smelly smelly composted chicken poo. In fact it really gives your compost a boost over just the yard debris/veggie trimmings stuff. My "secret" is to always cover the poop in the pile with somthing brown, like dried leaves, straw, or wood chips. This also balances the nitrogen content of the poop with some carbon. The thing that really stinks up a compost pile is grass clippings, but if you mix them with dried leaves it helps. Grass clippings and chicken poop one right on top of the other is a really stinky combo, but again the brown stuff balances it all out.