Composting chicken run

[pepe1]

Woke up to 16 degrees and strong winds. High will maybe hit 30 today. Brr. Good reminder that “spring” is not linear and can be cruel!

Smaller than usual load of food waste today...which is just fine considering the weather!

I know this Rhode Island weather is crazy, i have one coop with 15 Easter egger 18 week old pullets in it with no electricity so i have to haul water twice a day for the past few months and i am tired of it so i put them for sale on Craigslist and two people called in less than an hour and a lady is picking them up on Saturday, i will connect electricity to the coop before winter when i move my ISA brown and Leghorns from the brooder to it.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I know this Rhode Island weather is crazy, i have one coop with 15 Easter egger 18 week old pullets in it with no electricity so i have to haul water twice a day for the past few months and i am tired of it so i put them for sale on Craigslist and two people called in less than an hour and a lady is picking them up on Saturday, i will connect electricity to the coop before winter when i move my ISA brown and Leghorns from the brooder to it.

There is a surprising amount of both supply and demand for chicks, pullets, etc around here on Craig’s List. I keep telling my wife we should go into the pullet business!

 

[Shannon Robinson50]

There is a surprising amount of both supply and demand for chicks, pullets, etc around here on Craig’s List. I keep telling my wife we should go into the pullet business!

If you guarantee no roosters, you’d make a fortune supplying to city dwellers.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Went out after dinner and turned over some of the finishing compost. I noticed that the little pockets of less broken down material also are the spots where there are worms and sprouts.

So, it’s another example of the complementary way this all works...turning the pile exposes the less broken down pieces, which provide the chickens with a snack and some activity, which speeds the breaking down process. Plus I maybe worked off that second helping of mashed potatoes at dinner.

 

[Appalachickens]

We are going to get more leaves soon. I would like at least one more load of mulch. I made a temporary space for the smaller chickens and I will be putting another run in like I used to have. The little Polish girl has been poorly...I believe from the bullying. Also my new silkie somehow turned into two. So now there are eight. I bought two kinds of supplements to add to their water. This was because of her weakness. She will be laying around looking nigh unto death and then the next time I check she is about normal.

The weather is much more pleasant here than it was a few weeks ago....getting close to morel season! I have really only hunted for mushrooms once, but for some reason I'm really interested this year. And I think it would be good exercise...And I can stop and rest when ever I need to. I'm reading about growing my own mushrooms and wondering if compost will come in handy for that. Now who knows if this project will really take place?

Compost question: when you all add food to the compost (especially those who get large amounts from restaurants) do you just pour those on top or try to bury them some. Is all the food good? I mean edible. I'm just thinking it has to rot to become part of the compost. Not sure how I missed the details on this part....And maybe I didn't miss it, but only forgot. I think because we don't have many food scraps I mostly just throw them on top and they eat them.

I would like to grow morels. And portabellas. I just inoculated four logs with shiitake and oyster mushroom spores and am hoping those do well.

 

[vpatt]

I would like to grow morels. And portabellas. I just inoculated four logs with shiitake and oyster mushroom spores and am hoping those do well.

I'm interested in how your mushrooms do.

I now have a 4 chicken composter in one run, I'm thinking of adding 2 more hens or pullets. In the small run I have 1 Polish bantam roo with 2 silkie pullets ....I lost the little Polish girl. I want the silkies for raising chicks and the cuteness factor. I still need to get more mulch and leaves. The weather is slowly warming up.

 

[vpatt]

I really thought my chickens were not scratching things up much...yesterday I realized the heap of mulch was flat! And I finally got an egg from the new hen, yippee!

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I really thought my chickens were not scratching things up much...yesterday I realized the heap of mulch was flat! And I finally got an egg from the new hen, yippee!

Awesome! Congrats - you’ve gotten chickens doing work for you and suppling breakfast! And they’re probably happier and healthier for it, too.

High temps mid 50’s-60’s here the next few days. I have a truck full of food scraps. Should be good!

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

High temps mid 50’s-60’s here the next few days. I have a truck full of food scraps. Should be good!

Took the opportunity to clean out the goat pen and rabbit hutches, which supplied a nice carbon boost of spent hay and shavings for the pile. Onto that new carbon bed went yesterday's food waste pickup. I also spent some time turning over the "resting" pile.

Blog post w/ pics if anyone is interested: https://www.helpinghensfarm.com/post/spring-cleaning-and-lots-of-chicken-snacks

 

[vpatt]

Took the opportunity to clean out the goat pen and rabbit hutches, which supplied a nice carbon boost of spent hay and shavings for the pile. Onto that new carbon bed went yesterday's food waste pickup. I also spent some time turning over the "resting" pile.

Blog post w/ pics if anyone is interested: https://www.helpinghensfarm.com/post/spring-cleaning-and-lots-of-chicken-snacks

Love seeing your pictures. That's a lot of food scraps!