Composting chicken run

[Laure]

I am curious if it is possible to have a chicken run that also works as a composter. I would like to throw a certain amount of food scraps (things that can be composted), leaves, etc. and collect compost from the run to use in my garden. Needless to say, it should not smell as I have neighbors nearby.

Just a few info, my run has a roof so it doesn't get wet by rain. If necessary I can spray water by a controlled amount.

If this is possible, what would be the ideal bedding material? I am currently using construction grade sand but this is probably not ideal for compost. Perhaps some soil mixed with wood chips?

Anybody has experience on tI thought I was the only one to use my chicken run for composting.

I am curious if it is possible to have a chicken run that also works as a composter. I would like to throw a certain amount of food scraps (things that can be composted), leaves, etc. and collect compost from the run to use in my garden. Needless to say, it should not smell as I have neighbors nearby.

Just a few info, my run has a roof so it doesn't get wet by rain. If necessary I can spray water by a controlled amount.

If this is possible, what would be the ideal bedding material? I am currently using construction grade sand but this is probably not ideal for compost. Perhaps some soil mixed with wood chips?

Anybody has experience on th

I like knowing that I'm not the only one to do this. I toss my grass clippings into my chicken run, along with vegetable scraps and the bedding from my chicken house. I use wood shavings and Timothy hay in my nest boxes and chicken house. I clean and replace the bedding at least once a month or more. I dump it in the corner of my chicken run and they automatically distribute it throughout the run on their own. My run isn't covered, so it gets plenty of rain during the wet months. When it dries out, it's perfect for use in my gardens. I just shovel it up into my wheel barrow and put it in my gardens.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Well it would be awesome if I could lose a few pounds!
I've already contacted one person about more chickens. I'm guessing a few more will be necessary for compost, lol. This rooster I have is strange, he seems to prefer staying in the coop over being outside....need some new blood maybe? Not sure why he is like that. I remember my old rooster would patrol the coops, too. But he was outside a lot more than this one. Well, sorry I'm getting off topic.

I’m the wrong person to give advise on “more chickens”. I started with 6 back in 2014. I now have 70-75 and just put an order in for 16 more to arrive in June.

 

[gtaus]

I'm guessing a few more will be necessary for compost, lol.

The compost will make itself, with or without the chickens. The chickens only speed up the process because they scratch and turn the material while dropping poo for nitrogen to go into the mix. Obviously, more chickens means more turning and more poo added to the compost, but you will have compost no matter how many chickens you have.

 

[gtaus]

I like knowing that I'm not the only one to do this. I toss my grass clippings into my chicken run, along with vegetable scraps and the bedding from my chicken house. I use wood shavings and Timothy hay in my nest boxes and chicken house. I clean and replace the bedding at least once a month or more. I dump it in the corner of my chicken run and they automatically distribute it throughout the run on their own. My run isn't covered, so it gets plenty of rain during the wet months. When it dries out, it's perfect for use in my gardens. I just shovel it up into my wheel barrow and put it in my gardens.

Sounds about perfect to me. The only thing I do differently is that I have a dry deep bedding in the coop and clean it out only once in the spring after the thaw and then once in late fall before winter sets in. However, the only time I really need to clean the deep bedding in the coop is in the spring and maybe this year I will skip the fall cleaning. Last fall I cleaned out the coop and the deep litter really did not need to be replaced.

 

[Shannon Robinson50]

We throw in a bunch of straw once a month, give loads of garden treats and any bugs we find in the garde. They till it constantly. Once or twice a year we dig it all out and put in our compost bins or on a fallow garden bed.

 

[gtaus]

I’m the wrong person to give advise on “more chickens”. I started with 6 back in 2014. I now have 70-75 and just put an order in for 16 more to arrive in June.

Wow, that's some journey! You could be making compost for the entire community.

Speaking of that, there is a guy on YouTube that has a channel called "EdibleAcres" that keeps chickens mainly to make compost for his nursery business, but he makes so much compost that he gives it away to people that are growing their own gardens and to community food gardens. His method of making compost is very labor intensive on his part too. He is constantly turning the compost through his compost system in addition to the work his chickens perform.

If I was 30 years younger, I think I might try his labor intensive system too. But, I'm not 30 years younger. My approach takes a bit longer to make compost but requires far less of my physical labor. In the end, I have too much compost at this point so I guess we ended up at the same place but with different approaches. I made so much compost last fall that I gave some away to my good neighbors that have small raised bed gardens. Just my way of sharing what I can and trying to build a better community in my small part.

Here is a video from EdibleAcres on an update to his chicken compost system. He has many of these type of videos and other chicken and garden related stuff.

 

[vpatt]

The compost will make itself, with or without the chickens. The chickens only speed up the process because they scratch and turn the material while dropping poo for nitrogen to go into the mix. Obviously, more chickens means more turning and more poo added to the compost, but you will have compost no matter how many chickens you have.

Yes, 6 years ago I started with 5 or 6 and quickly grew to 30. They did great for about 3 years while I had a giant dog. Then we lost the dog. That is when the foxes wiped them out in a couple of weeks. I had just a few left that I kept for a while and then gave away because I was so upset over it. I went for a while without them, but I really love having them so I'm trying again. And yeah I know I can make compost without chickens but I'm just anxious to see how they do with it. I appreciate all the advice and conversation so much. I'm always checking for messages.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

The compost will make itself, with or without the chickens. The chickens only speed up the process because they scratch and turn the material while dropping poo for nitrogen to go into the mix.

The compost will also help feed and entertain the chickens...it’s an amazing setup!

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Speaking of that, there is a guy on YouTube that has a channel called "EdibleAcres" that keeps chickens mainly to make compost for his nursery business, but he makes so much compost that he gives it away to people that are growing their own gardens and to community food gardens. His method of making compost is very labor intensive on his part too. He is constantly turning the compost through his compost system in addition to the work his chickens perform.

Yeah, he’s probably my favorite YouTube channel...his videos inspired me to go “all in” on chickens, compost, and trying to do a little good in the community.

I like that his videos aren’t overly produced and he doesn’t take himself too seriously or come off as a preachy expert. He’s just a guy who’s DOING IT and experimenting and learning along the way.

The “resting” pile was defrosted enough to scratch up a bit today. My son and I scratched up the surface this evening to encourage the flock to scratch it up good tomorrow. The more it breaks down, the less I have to sift.

 

[RUNuts]

Another benefit of my pallet compost piles, I will take a pallet off and over the course of a couple of weeks the chickens will fluff and sort the pile. I'll scoop the fluffy stuff off the ground and sift it for use. The bones, twigs and logs go to the bottom of the next pile. The rocks go to the rock pile. I always find rocks after picking out all that I see.

Moral of the story is to use the chickens to help construct the pile and use the chickens to help deconstruct the pile. Saves your back. Just don't get in a hurry. Or toss their feed on the pile for enhanced scratching.

Edible acres is a great channel. I enjoy his mild approach to everything. Try this or don't. Let us know how you do it. Sean is great.