Compost and bedding questions!

[LittleRedCoopLady]

I may be a “newbie”, but in all of my composting research I’ve never seen several of the items listed by https://www.backyardchickens.com/members/paintedchix.251013/.

 

[paintedChix]

I may be a “newbie”, but in all of my composting research I’ve never seen several of the items listed by https://www.backyardchickens.com/members/paintedchix.251013/.

Which ones?

I'm thinking you are referring to my "separate" compost pile that is not in our chicken runs/coops. The one that includes other types of waste? You are right - most composting information shies away from such items. But it can be and is being done - pile needs to get hot enough to kill bacteria and pathogens and then it is recommended to have it rest for a longer period. There are many folks on opposite sides on this discussion...

I understand that there is now an enzyme being developed that will "eat" plastic - Pepsi Bottling company and another (can't remember which one?) are working on that. Hope to learn more in the future, and hoping its a product that will work.

 

[aart]

It is mind boggling to me that moisture and odor wasn't an issue with so many birds when it was such a horrible problem for me. I wonder if humidity caused it?

Humidity definitely an aspect in odor....good ventilation is huge variable too.

Ok this is the first time I've heard of coffee grounds as a bedding... must smell amaaaazing (well, if you love coffee).

Think it must be a new 'thing'. The lovely smell was my first thought too.

It seems very little has fallen out in the three weeks I've used it

3 weeks is early days.

 

[CheepPeepers]

Thank you everyone who has replied to this! I need to go through and take notes (life has been hectic)

I actually need to level out some land for the coop due to local restrictions, where I wanted to put it is too close to the road by about 15 feet, so I need to level out the hill weve got a bit.
Which is gonna be fun cause now I need to figure out where to buy dirt. Eugh. Turns out the patch I was gonna take from is littered with some really weird ants and I dont want an infestation so close to the house.

I might have to get cement and then layer dirt on top of that to correct and even this out which is gonna be fun.

I did end up buying the coffee bedding which is incredible?? I love it and so do the chicks! So I'm all set with that.

Seriously thank you everyone! When I have time to take notes I'll reply to specific comments!

 

[igorsMistress]

I think what you're referring to is the "deep composting method" and I found that with eleven chickens, no amount of turning, new material, etc, could help keep the sheer volume of poop that accumulated dry. This may work well for a smaller flock, but I typically scoop 1-2 quarts of poop from my droppings board A DAY from my 11 chickens. It's a little less now that the days are longer. The concern with that much poop is the ammonia. Honestly it took me more time to turn the poop daily, go get the fresh bedding and add more to it every couple of days, and then to constantly be buying more bedding. My chickens never scratched around in their bedding either. Even on the coldest most miserable of days they only come in the coop to lay eggs. Switching to Grounds coffee bedding (or sand) has made my daily cleanup a breeze. It takes about 2 minutes to scoop it all out. The coop smells amazing. This significantly reduces the chances of spreading bacteria among the flock as well. I'm spending way, way less money on bedding as well.

Also, I just dump the poop into a giant pile. After a year I make a new pile. Eventually I'll use the poop from the old pile to mix it into the garden. When I change out bedding that's what I add to my normal compost pile. It doesn't have a lot of poop in it so I'm not worried about bacteria and after about three months I feel it's safe to use in my garden.

Here's an article I wrote about my thoughts on deep litter composting (but please note I have only recently switched to the coffee grounds): https://humble-hills-farm.com/2020/...r-me-and-benefits-of-using-a-droppings-board/

It might depend on the size of your coop. I have a dozen chickens, plus chicks, I use deep litter in my coop and clean it out once a year. Start with a small amount of shavings and stir the poop in daily. Add a little bit of shavings at a time as needed, wet it down once in a while and let the flock stir it up. Sometimes I'll throw in some hay. Works great. I use the same method for a pile of stuff in the yard, not in a bin. Any poop I rake from the yard goes in there, plus whatever grass clippings, smaller tree branches, dead plants, hay and bunny poop that didn't go directly to the garden. I wet it down once in a while during the dry season and the chickens love tearing it apart.

 

[OlympicChick]

It is mind boggling to me that moisture and odor wasn't an issue with so many birds when it was such a horrible problem for me. I wonder if humidity caused it? Was there a dropping board in that coop?? I mean there is a cult following for people who use deep compositing, but for me it was an utter flop. The humidity in my area is high so maybe that contributes to some of my issues. I was even using stuff that you add to help it compost faster. Thanks for checking out my article though. It means a lot I only wrote it to record my own experience as I go along.

I've only done Deep Litter on a dirt floor (which was previously grass). I only have three chickens right now in a 4x12 coop, but the litter is deep, the rainwater that seeps in from under the sides is enough to keep it sufficiently wet to break down and there is no odor. I enjoyed your article too, but I didn't see what type of floor you had? That could possibly make a difference too?

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I've only done Deep Litter on a dirt floor (which was previously grass). I only have three chickens right now in a 4x12 coop, but the litter is deep, the rainwater that seeps in from under the sides is enough to keep it sufficiently wet to break down and there is no odor. I enjoyed your article too, but I didn't see what type of floor you had? That could possibly make a difference too?

The floor is plywood covered in a thick linoleum or something similar to it. Lack of moisture wasn't my issue it was excessive moisture and ammonia. I felt I was just wasting litter constantly adding litter and stirring. I've drastically cut down on my litter needs and the amount of stirring by adding a droppings board and switching to coffee grounds.

 

[OlympicChick]

You’ve definitely reminded me I need to go to all my local coffee drive throughs and get more grounds!

 

[joya36]

I am new to composting. Does anyone know of any good guides for beginners with a material list or anything?

For composting you can browse this section in the sister forum about gardening. You can even join and ask questions if you wish, we don't bite. There are composting threads on this forum too but I'm not going to look for them.

https://www.theeasygarden.com/forums/composting-soil-building.15/

Probably the biggest compost pile in the United States is the Appalachian Mountains, stretching from Georgia into Canada. Lots of leaves composting. You can get as technical and scientific as you wish and work really hard, it will speed the up process, or you can pile it up and relax. It will eventually compost provided you don't live where it is so dry it petrifies instead of rots.

It helps to have a reasonable mix of browns (carbon) and greens (nitrogen). Chicken poop is a green. Dried leaves are a brown. Fresh green grass clipping are a green. Dried out grass clippings are a brown. Turning helps but isn't totally necessary.

I hate to get into too much detail because you have so many options. You can pile it up and let it go. You can build bins. You can turn them. You can get a barrel composter. You may be able to turn your coop floor or run into a compost pile, they will turn it for you. Toss garden and kitchen wastes in there with the chickens, whether you compost or not. That's good recycling.

I like to link this to a compost thread, partly because it is just fun but it might give you some ideas. I really like those ladies' dance moves too. I think the guy is a ringer but those are master gardeners, not professionals.

Compost Happens

You can compost shredded paper but beware of things like staples and plastic. I used to worry about the chemicals in the colors, they used to use a lot of metals for those, but these days they are mostly plant based dyes.

I accidentally grabbed oyster shell instead of grit. I'm guessing it wont be the same, but Is there a difference between poultry grit and chick grit? And should I get grit with probiotics or does it not matter?

Don't know which country you are in, that might help some here. In the UK and some other countries, oyster shell is called soluble grit. Hens that are laying eggs need excess calcium for the egg shells. Oyster shell is a good source. But chickens that are not laying don't need the excess calcium.

In the US we call the rocks that they use in their gizzard to grind up food that needs to be ground "grit". In the UK that is called insoluble grit. That difference sometimes causes confusion. If they have access to the ground they will find their own rocks to use as grit. and as others have explained the difference in chick and poultry grit is size.

A lot of people eat probiotics themselves, many of us don't. Some people feed their chicks and chickens probiotics, many of us don't. It's something that I don't consider necessary but also something that will not hurt. I just saw that they are now selling grit with probiotic, Manna Pro I believe. I consider that a clever marketing ploy. You can usually buy probiotics at the feed store, usually to mix with their water. I have not compared the cost of those versus the cost of grit with and without probiotics.

I like the @NatJ post above. In really dry climates another way is to dig a trench and bury it so it gets some moisture. There are always different ways.

i do vermicomposting. it works great. you don’t have to turn it. check out uncle jim’s worm farm.

basically you add shredded or torn cardboard or newsprint, and your fruit and veggie scraps, plant clippings, etc. and put them in stackable trays with worms in them. and the worms eat everything, and their poop is the vermicompost. it has turned my zero yield fruit trees into bumper crops!

 

[Terri In Calif]

Coffee is AMAZING in compost. I bought the Grounds brand from Tractor Supply. Used coffee grounds have a relatively neutral Ph and can be added directly to your garden. Their texture has great benefit for drainage aeration. They also contribute nitrogen but only when composted, or after some time in the garden. They attract beneficial microorganisms and worms. You can also use used coffee grounds as mulch.

hi humble,

have a quick question, actually a few. first time owner of chickens, and we bought some bags of recycled coffee grounds at our feed store to use for our soon to be chicken’s bedding. are you using solid recycled coffee grounds inside you coop , or are you mixing with hay or anything else? In addition, do you find the grounds stain? I’d assume they do, but just wondering what you have experienced. My husband Made a coop, and he lined the edges with a light cement pavers. Here’s a pic. Anyhow, he likes the clean look, and he thinks The coffee grounds will stain the cement pavers....lol. appreciate your input.