Composting Chicken Bedding

[BBSnavely]

Who composts chicken bedding?

I have a compost tumbler and have been added all their bedding straight into the tumbler, added some water as it dried out, and also thrown in some cut grass for some green material.

In your opinion, will the compost be ready for use in my garden by the spring? I had a friend comment that I needed to allow the compost to break down for 2 years...!!! Ain't nobody got time fo' dat! Haha.

 

[AgnesGray]

Who composts chicken bedding?

I have a compost tumbler and have been added all their bedding straight into the tumbler, added some water as it dried out, and also thrown in some cut grass for some green material.

In your opinion, will the compost be ready for use in my garden by the spring? I had a friend comment that I needed to allow the compost to break down for 2 years...!!! Ain't nobody got time fo' dat! Haha.

I spread chicken compost straight in my garden now for the spring garden, some of it came out of my coop this week. Between this fall and next fall, I will be adding to a new pile for the year after. I think being in the sun and rain over the winter gives it a good pre-rinse and soak into the soil. It seems to be good for the compost, good for the soil to have more time with it than if I just put it on in the spring, and also keeps weeds from cropping up in the beds if it's put on thick enough.

 

[Percheron chick]

Spread it on the beds now. Get a jump on your spring prep. Work it in on a nice warm winter day. It will be good to go by spring.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

If your green/brown balance is right, and climate is not otherwise too hot (generally not an issue in winter), a tumbling composter should allow you to have that ready to go in about 2 months. Or so it worked for me in TX.

I'm using piles on the ground currently, slower due to the lack of aeration. That may be what your friend has in mind - if you don't come out with a pitchfork or something and turn periodically, layers can get "stuck" in decomposition, or worse, matted together in a way that basically stops rapid break down of everything below that level.

 

[aart]

I have a compost tumbler and have been added all their bedding straight into the tumbler, added some water as it dried out, and also thrown in some cut grass for some green material.

What kind of bedding do you have?

 

[BBSnavely]

What kind of bedding do you have?

Pine shavings bedding from TSC.

 

[aart]

Pine shavings bedding from TSC.

You're going to need a lot of water and turn it frequently to get those shavings to break down,
unless you just want to pile it up and let it sit for a long, long time.

 

[Tre3hugger]

Right now I am mixing medium from coops into depleted soil. The bedding (pine shavings/leaves) has been in use since march. I then top that soil with a thick pile of leaves. I do this in my 200 lb grow bags and raised beds. By spring, nutrient rich soil is my goal. This is my first year doing this.

 

[aart]

Right now I am mixing medium from coops into depleted soil. The bedding (pine shavings/leaves) has been in use since march. I then top that soil with a thick pile of leaves. I do this in my 200 lb grow bags and raised beds. By spring, nutrient rich soil is my goal. This is my first year doing this.

If the shavings don't break down, they may 'steal' nitrogen from the surrounding plants.
My brother and organic truck farmer for 50 years told me never mix wood shavings/chips into planting soil for this reason.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I find myself in agreement with @aart re composting shavings. We used them to trim some oak trees like a thick layer of mulch, and years later, they still had not entirely broken down (hey, it was free!!!) but had managed to grow some spore colonies in layers between the various dump/raking of the piles. Not good breathing.

To make compost, they are fine in a tumbler, though you are going to have to add a lot of green, and turn frequently. Slow decomposition methods with wood shavings will take longer than you plan - and the thicker the shaving, the worse it becomes. Geometrically, not linearly. Your composting needs may exceed tumbler capacity very quickly, depending on how much material you need to repurpose.