Compost or Chicken Treats? Or BOTH!

[THEMADCHICKEN13]

pumpkin, egg shell, fruit, and vegetables.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

My compost is only non-edibles (coffee grinds, tea bags, the occasional peel that I can't see the chickens doing much with, paper napkins) plus eggshells (don't want the ladies getting any ideas). Everything else goes into the chicken run.

It ends up being a good sized bowl every day, and everything seems to eventually disappear (if it's not eaten, it rots quickly).

 

[lazy gardener]

Speaking of meats. If you want to have some real fun for you and the chickens try this: Get an old pot or 5 gallon bucket and put the meat in there set it out near the compost pile for 2-4 days until you see flies all over it. Now cover it for a few days and come back to a bucket full of maggots. Dump the whole bucket in the chicken yard and watch them go hog wild

You have made your chickens happy with a great treat and wiped out an entire generation of flies all at the same time.

While that is an option, Harvey Ussery was doing so with his flock, using road kill, and had an outbreak of botulism. I would advise against it.

I set aside any meat scraps that aren't destined for the dog, and those go directly to the chickens. I sometimes simply toss them out the back door. Most don't hardly hit the ground before they disappear. All veggie scraps either go into DL in chicken run or into compost. Then there's the worm bin, sheet composting in garden and in orchard. Never enough organic material to go around here. I bring home coffee grounds from church when ever I get the chance. I have absolutely no concern about giving egg shell to the chickens. It WILL NOT turn them into egg eaters. Generally speaking, they only eat an egg if the shell is weak, which happens in a genetically flawed bird, or one who has a temporary glitch in the shell gland. Often seasonal, occurring at end of winter.

 

[THEMADCHICKEN13]

Crush up the egg shell so it unrecognizable its high in calcium