Compost pile thread!!!

[K9Dave]

I've been watering mine everyday as it's very dry here in Az. I wasn't sure but when I turned it today the bottom was all black dirt and didn't look too wet. Does it need manure? I don't have lawn clippings at the moment as there's no lawn to mow but I appreciate the advice and am going to use that idea as soon as I see some. I have access to coffee grounds, are they good to add?

 

[chickkrzi]

I've been watering mine everyday as it's very dry here in Az. I wasn't sure but when I turned it today the bottom was all black dirt and didn't look too wet. Does it need manure? I don't have lawn clippings at the moment as there's no lawn to mow but I appreciate the advice and am going to use that idea as soon as I see some. I have access to coffee grounds, are they good to add?

The black dirt is what the compost should look like. Should smell like freshly dug garden soil. Just keep doing what your doing and it'll work out. I don't water mine but once a month of that. Haven't got a lot of rain here in Texas. Don't have any problems with long stim hay breaking down either. I do turn mine once twice a month with my tiller. Just let it sit(don't add any more) about 4-5 months before putting it in your garden. I can't let my chicken in mine because they'll just scatter all over the place.

 

[MrSelf Destruct]

I originally posted this in the North Carolina thread but I'll put it here too.

I built my compost bin before we got the chickens. We bought one of those black plastic square things that has a lid that opens on the top and 4 small doors at the bottom. Critters kept getting into it and it broke in several places to include the hinges for the lid on top. My wife had a hard time getting in there to mix it so I came up with this. It isn't very large but composts real quick. Doesn't have any odor and the compost looks nice and healthy.

I used a 55 gallon drum I bought for $10. A scrap piece of 1 1/4 or 1 1/2" pipe (can't remember the diameter but was left over from a shallow well I put in. 3 hinges, a hasp, 3 screen door handles, some scrap wood and some rivets.
I cut a hole in either end of the barrel just big enough to slide the pipe through. This gives the bin something to easily rotate on. I mounted the barrel on some scrap 4x4's I had laying around and braced it with a couple scrap pieces of treated 2x4's. I used a dremel and cut the door. Installed the hinges and hasp with pop rivets. On the edges of the door and the barrel where I cut it I put gorilla tape. This keeps you from getting cut on the sharp edge and creates a good seal when you are spinning it. It's been on there 2 years and I haven't had to replace the tape yet. I use a bolt to shove through the hole on the hasp and this holds the door nice and tight against the barrel. The 3 handles (you can see one pictured) are spread evenly around the barrel. This gives you something to grab onto so you can spin the barrel. I just start grabbing the handles and spin it around several times and every thing gets mixed real fast. I made the frame just high enough that we can fit our wheel barrow underneath it so we can scrape out our goodness into it and tote it to the garden.

 

[rfreedlund]

I am currently planning on building my compost container(s) inside the run itself. I am in the process of more than doubling the size of the run and I planted oats and grass in the old portion that are growing now while waiting for the chicks to get older.

When my parents were raising the chickens, their Rhode Island Reds totally decimated every green thing in the run and it ended up as just a plain fenced-in patch of dirt. I don't want this to happen to my flock, so in addition to making the run more than double the size and providing for an opening where I can run some electric fencing or other type of fencing off, I wanted to give them access to additional means of foraging.

I live with my wife and kids in one house with other members of the family in various other houses on an old dairy farm. The farm consists of about 400 total acres of land. Unfortunately some of the family has dogs that aren't necessarily chicken friendly. It hurts to have to fence them in with so much land available, but I don't feel I have many other options at this time that my budget and time will allow.

I have read that giving them access to the compost pile(s) helps entertain them a lot and alleviates some of the strain on the limited greens in the run because the chickens spend a lot of time on the compost pile that they aren't spending eating everything else in the run. Is this true from any of your experiences?

This will be the first time I have attempted composting, but I can't get it out of my head since I have seen it being done with the help of chickens. Plus, even though my dad and uncle retired from dairy, there are still beef cattle and goats generating plenty of manure and bedding waste and there are also lots of grass clippings and old leaves readily available. It only seems to make sense.

If you would have told me a short time ago that I wanted to raise my own chickens (instead of my parents doing it) I would have said that you are crazy. If you would have told me I would want to do composting, then I would have said you are criminally insane!!

I am glad I have found so much good information here on these forums on a lot of different topics.

 

[K9Dave]

I am currently planning on building my compost container(s) inside the run itself. I am in the process of more than doubling the size of the run and I planted oats and grass in the old portion that are growing now while waiting for the chicks to get older.

When my parents were raising the chickens, their Rhode Island Reds totally decimated every green thing in the run and it ended up as just a plain fenced-in patch of dirt. I don't want this to happen to my flock, so in addition to making the run more than double the size and providing for an opening where I can run some electric fencing or other type of fencing off, I wanted to give them access to additional means of foraging.

I live with my wife and kids in one house with other members of the family in various other houses on an old dairy farm. The farm consists of about 400 total acres of land. Unfortunately some of the family has dogs that aren't necessarily chicken friendly. It hurts to have to fence them in with so much land available, but I don't feel I have many other options at this time that my budget and time will allow.

I have read that giving them access to the compost pile(s) helps entertain them a lot and alleviates some of the strain on the limited greens in the run because the chickens spend a lot of time on the compost pile that they aren't spending eating everything else in the run. Is this true from any of your experiences?

This will be the first time I have attempted composting, but I can't get it out of my head since I have seen it being done with the help of chickens. Plus, even though my dad and uncle retired from dairy, there are still beef cattle and goats generating plenty of manure and bedding waste and there are also lots of grass clippings and old leaves readily available. It only seems to make sense. 

If you would have told me a short time ago that I wanted to raise my own chickens (instead of my parents doing it) I would have said that you are crazy. If you would have told me I would want to do composting, then I would have said you are criminally insane!!

I am glad I have found so much good information here on these forums on a lot of different topics. 

I started a pile inside my run not too long ago. The dishwasher rack was to give the new chicks a place to escape. It's gone now and they all have spread the pile out pretty good. It's crunchy on top when I walk on it but it feels springy underneath so I think it's working. I will probably turn it this weekend. I have some metal that was left over from a job that I'm thinking of using. I'll build a small circular cylinder out of chicken wire, maybe 6 ft tall with a small opening for the chickens to enter/exit. The compost material will be contained and they can enter the cylinder to do their thing without scattering it everywhere.

 

[ydkjenn]

Can I just dump the pile of shavings and chicken poop from the coop into a pile in the run? I have an excess and don't know what to do with it. How do I keep critters/vermin out of it if it's in the chicken run? Or should I deep litter the whole run as I will be getting more shavings/poop combination of course.

 

[rfreedlund]

Can I just dump the pile of shavings and chicken poop from the coop into a pile in the run? I have an excess and don't know what to do with it. How do I keep critters/vermin out of it if it's in the chicken run? Or should I deep litter the whole run as I will be getting more shavings/poop combination of course.

That is exactly what I do now. I put all of the shavings and waste in the run and let them scatter it about. It is better than them scratching the dirt that is the only thing left over after the get all of the greens. After I have let them break it down more I then rake it into the "formal" compost pile as needed. It keeps the chickens entertained and helps keep the dirt from getting totally torn up at the same time it is breaking the waste and shavings down.

 

[K9Dave]

That is exactly what I do now. I put all of the shavings and waste in the run and let them scatter it about. It is better than them scratching the dirt that is the only thing left over after the get all of the greens. After I have let them break it down more I then rake it into the "formal" compost pile as needed. It keeps the chickens entertained and helps keep the dirt from getting totally torn up at the same time it is breaking the waste and shavings down.

I've been getting the veggie clippings from an Asian market and throwing them in their run compost. I got 2 huge boxes of Chinese Bok Choi the other day and they really loved it. They barely ate any bagged food during those couple days. It's fantastic compost material wen they're done. If I had worms, I'm aure they'd love it too.

 

[rfreedlund]

I've been getting the veggie clippings from an Asian market and throwing them in their run compost. I got 2 huge boxes of Chinese Bok Choi the other day and they really loved it. They barely ate any bagged food during those couple days. It's fantastic compost material wen they're done. If I had worms, I'm aure they'd love it too.

Some would say that you need to be careful with the amount of food waste that they get, but pretty much everything that I get goes into the run for them to pick over before I rake it or pitchfork it into the compost pile (which is also in the run for them to pick through when they want). I am always looking for anything to throw in the yard and bins. We also have beef cattle, goats, and a few horses on the farm so there is no lack of good compostable material.

I am using a three open bin system with old pallets. We have had so much sweet corn lately especially with a recent party that the number of cobs thrown in has been a lot. They get every last bit off they can. I know the cobs will take a bit longer to breakdown, but they will. They still eat enough of their bagged feed as well (some more than others), but there are times when their feed consumption goes down because of the "supplements", but the main reason I throw everything in isn't so much so that I don't have to give them so much bought feed as much as it keeps them constantly busy. I can't free range them despite having a lot of space to do it and though their run is reasonably good sized, it still gets torn up of most of the growing greens. By continuing to add scraps and other materials they can keep going over the same ground and they are never bored. My parents, who raised chickens before, but never went "crazy" with the compost idea have noticed the difference. They have commented on how healthy my flock looks and say that a lot of that has to do with their activity level. Their chickens didn't have the variety of things to dig through that mine do.

I could care less about gardening. It doesn't interest me. But I have been bitten badly by the compost bug for my chickens so that someone who does enjoy gardening and planting (mainly my dad) will have some good compost to work with.

Throw it in I say... They seem to sort it out pretty well and enjoy doing it.

Below are a couple of earlier pictures of my setup. They love resting on it too. I've counted as many as 27 chickens all chilling at one time.

 

[K9Dave]

Some would say that you need to be careful with the amount of food waste that they get, but pretty much everything that I get goes into the run for them to pick over before I rake it or pitchfork it into the compost pile (which is also in the run for them to pick through when they want). I am always looking for anything to throw in the yard and bins. We also have beef cattle, goats, and a few horses on the farm so there is no lack of good compostable material. I am using a three open bin system with old pallets. We have had so much sweet corn lately especially with a recent party that the number of cobs thrown in has been a lot. They get every last bit off they can. I know the cobs will take a bit longer to breakdown, but they will. They still eat enough of their bagged feed as well (some more than others), but there are times when their feed consumption goes down because of the "supplements", but the main reason I throw everything in isn't so much so that I don't have to give them so much bought feed as much as it keeps them constantly busy. I can't free range them despite having a lot of space to do it and though their run is reasonably good sized, it still gets torn up of most of the growing greens. By continuing to add scraps and other materials they can keep going over the same ground and they are never bored. My parents, who raised chickens before, but never went "crazy" with the compost idea have noticed the difference. They have commented on how healthy my flock looks and say that a lot of that has to do with their activity level. Their chickens didn't have the variety of things to dig through that mine do. I could care less about gardening. It doesn't interest me. But I have been bitten badly by the compost bug for my chickens so that someone who does enjoy gardening and planting (mainly my dad) will have some good compost to work with. Throw it in I say... They seem to sort it out pretty well and enjoy doing it. Below are a couple of earlier pictures of my setup. They love resting on it too. I've counted as many as 27 chickens all chilling at one time.

Some would say that, but some have too many opinions. I actually caught the compost big myself and since I didn't want to separate it from the chickens I just did my 1 pallet system. I'm moving out into the desert at the end of the month and we're gonna garden. I'm gonna have to get creative for a compost pile out there.