Compost and table scraps?

[PunkinPeep]

I meant to say this earlier.

The only restrictions on what you compost have to do with how you want to be able to use the compost and how big a deal it is if it has an odor. Some folks compost dog feces to use for their flower garden (not vegetable garden). I read about one person who trained his dogs to poop in a specific hole in the yard, and this allowed it to compost into the soil and not make a mess on top.

The limits some folks put on compost - about milk products and meat - are simply for the sake of a compost pile that smells good. And if you live in suburbia, i'm sure that's a huge concern.

Out here in the woods, i want anything can benefit the soil to go back to it. ... even if it goes from the compost pile, through my animals' stomachs in the process. That makes it fulfill a few more needs a long the way.

I just don't want anyone to get the idea that there really are foods that don't compost. They all rot.

 

[xyresicchick]

i do agree with the "all foods DO compost/rot/break down naturally" argument. however certain foods like meat and dairy, as well as dog feces (or any meat-eating animal's feces), and dead animals fish etc are generally NOT composted for reasons beyond just smell. they add various harmful pathogens to the soil as well as making the soil very acidic. now, if you are burying these things, that is one thing. but to add to a compost pile which will be used in the for vegetable, fruit, or grain gardening/farming is a bad idea. it CAN be done properly, but unless you are going to commit to the work it takes/put your compost pile in a very sunny part of the yard, i'd leave it out.

Quote:
yes, they break down naturally over time and without heat, but i neither want flies in my yard, nor do i want to eat a head of lettuce that has been affected by ecoli.

also i don't know who the person is that trained their dog to poop in their flower bed, but i bet that the only flowers they could grow needed a very steep PH!

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
Two different scenarios.

One trained them to poop in a hole for general composting into the ground and not having to clean up the mess.

The other composted dog poop into a compost pile that was used for flower beds.

I don't know of anyone who teaches their dogs to poop in the actual flower bed.

I wish i had references for these stories, but i don't think i bookmarked them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I might as well give my opinion. Take it for what you think it is worth.

I think your question, What can I NOT put in the compost pile? has two elements. One, what are you going to use the compost for? If it is for vegetables, you do not want to put in dog or cat poop, diseased or insect infested plants, or obnoxious weeds with seeds. An open compost pile that chickens can get to is not going to cook enough to kill all pathogens, insects, disease spores or seeds. Even if your chickens do not have access to an open pile and no matter how much you turn it, it will not cook every thing perfectly. There will always be some areas that do not get cooked. It is the temperature that kills a lot of these things, not the rotting process. If you are using it for something non-edible, then it does not matter as much, but make sure you wash your hands.

The second is what should chickens not eat? I'll attach a Treats Chart that shows what to feed chickens. Near the bottom is a list of what not to feed chickens. I don't 100% agree with the chart but it is much better than anything I have. You will have some people look at the chart and say, I feed that stuff to my chickens all the time and it doesn't hurt them. First, you really need to read he chart. It does not say don't feed potatoes or potato peelings to chickens. It says don't feed the green potato peelings to chickens. Solaline is the chemical in green potato peelings that is bad for chickens and humans. (I looked it up.) It does not say don't feed beans to chickens. It says do not feed uncooked or undercooked beans to chickens. There is a difference.

It is like Punkinpeep said, it is a matter of moderation. It is not that the chicken is going to fall over dead the instant it eats an uncooked bean. Small amounts of many things won't hurt the chickens. They will process the poisons and get them out of their systems before they reach concentrations high enough to cause problems. Some things will build up in the system though and either not be processed out of the system or be processed so slow that they can still build up. I don't know what these things are or the rate they are processed. Some of these things don't kill the chicken. They cause damage other ways. The kidneys and liver are two of the organs at the greatest risk since they have to process the poisons and get them out of the system but other organs can also be at risk. It depends on what the poisons are and what they do. A chicken with a damaged organ will not necessarily fall over dead immediately. It will not thrive as well as an undamaged chicken. It may not lay as many eggs. It may be more susceptible to diseases or stress. A lot of time you don't know if you damaged your chicken or not.

An example of moderation. Many of us feed cabbage and cabbage relatives to their chickens as a treat. I certainly do. Cabbage contains a poison to chickens and humans. You have to eat a whole lot of it to get enough poison for it to affect you, but it is possible. There was a news story not that long ago where a woman caused her thyroid to shut down by eating 5 pounds of one of the cabbage relatives every day for weeks. I think it was Bak Choi but not 100% sure. I’m not eating 5 pounds a day myself and I am not feeding the equivalent of 5 pounds a day to each of my chickens. I think this is good to known but I do not consider cabbage a threat to my chickens.

I selectively throw kitchen scraps and garden debris on my compost pile. I try to keep noxious weed and grass seeds and diseased or infected plants out of it. I don't worry too much about the "forbidden" stuff but I am aware of it. For example, I throw old bean vines with some dried uncooked beans still on them in the compost pile. When I process dried beans I do not throw the rejects on the compost pile because I consider that a concentration that might (not absolutely, every time, without a doubt, bet the farm on it for sure, but might) cause a problem. Use a little knowledge and judgment and don't over worry about it. They are pretty tough critters.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-Treats_Chart

 

[Organics North]

Quote:
When I butcher or harvest game I build a special pile just for the offals. Offals only go into the core of a large pile.. The core maintains a temp of 150F for a few weeks before I give the pile its first turn.. Chickens are not allowed to play in these piles. The piles have many months to cure before they are used. Then they are used deep in raised beds. (Yep I love putting nutrients a foot deep in newly constructed raised beds.) I do not sprinkle this stuff on top of the lettuce garden..

Yep the devil is in the details..! We can not debate what is safe or not without the exact details of the type of composting used and how long before the materials are used.

The only thing I am 100% sure that is not safe to put into a compost pile is nuclear waste.... Unless of course you wait out the million year half life before putting it in the garden...

With that said even composting manure can be quite un safe if done wrong. AND by no means do I advocate composting meats to the casual composter!

Be well and compost safely everyone..

ON

 

[Organics North]

Sammi<3chickens :

So heres what I do. I have a garden rotation and chicken system. The garden from the previos year is the chicken pen (now that the meat roos are old enough and driving me nuts running around my yard and beating up on my hens). I lay all my grass clippins, hey, manure, leaves, weads, anything decomposable, as a mulch to cover the soil and decompose. I then put all my table scraps right in that same pen, including our paper towels, anything that will decompose. I also do our junk mail and any paper. Then I add some scratch. Chickens do their work. Next year, I will have a weed free non 'tilled, fertilized and mulched garden. Just add seeds!

I like this idea, I have not done it yet, but I am considering putting the some chickens in the greenhouse in late winter early spring.. Let them have at it for a month or so.. Then plant...

ON​

 

[CaliBlueChicken]

I believe it's actually the sometimes green peelings of potatoes that are mildly toxic to both humans and chickens.


Yes this is true, if your potatoes are green humans should not eat them and thus not for chickens either.

 

[harley96cube]

Thanks for the info everyone!