Composted Chicken Manure

[Buff Hooligans]

I've just started with chickens and so far just have put their brooder manure in wood shavings in my enclosed composter. How long before the wood shavings decompose into nice black finished compost? Are we talking months or a year?

 

[cookinmom]

Compost usually only takes a few months, if you keep it moist and turn it. According to Jerry Baker the garden guy, if you really want to get it cookin, spray the top of the pile with a can of coke. I haven't tried that though.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Quote:
It works! The sugar in the coke feed the little microbs that are in the compost and really get's it going. If you got one of those compost tumblers, it works really fast

 

[V Chic Chick]

Quote:
It works! The sugar in the coke feed the little microbs that are in the compost and really get's it going. If you got one of those compost tumblers, it works really fast

Would that mean that just putting some sugar solution (at roughly the same concentration as coke) would work equally as well?

I've decided to get serious about composting this year. All we have at the moment is a cool heap, mainly comprised of grass and chicken manure. I'm currently scrounging wood from estate agent signs, and wooden pallets for the boxes . . .

 

[usbr]

Quote:
Wood takes quite a while to break down, I dont know how long in your composter but it could very well be many months. I just have a pile and wood dont seem to break down but keep it wet and warm in your tumbler and that should speed it up alot. If your using just wood for the coop and with the chicken manure, I dont know if a composter could keep up with what you add but only one way to find out. I have heard wood makes good compost when it is done though (sites of old saw mills and lumber companies).

HTH

 

[Southern28Chick]

Well I know how to compost it but how do I keep the stink down!!! This is me when I walk outside on my deck, and the compost pile is about 300' away!

 

[poppycat]

To keep the stink down, cover anything stinky with dirt, dry leaves or straw as soon as you add it to the pile. IMO grass clippings are the worst offender in the stink department, worse than chicken poo!

Also covering up with brown stuff balances out the carbon:nitrogen ratio in your pile which is a good thing