Composting chicken run

[vpatt]

Not only do I remember glass soda bottles, but I also remember the dairy man delivering fresh milk (in glass bottles), cottage cheese, etc... to the neighborhood twice a week at my grandmother's house.

I believe we need to rethink the way we live our lives with so many one-time-use disposable products, especially plastics which will continue to pollute the environment with no end in sight. It sounds like Germany is way ahead of us in the reduction of plastics used in their country. But, in general, I think the Germans are decades ahead of us on the Green Revolution bandwagon. I'm just happy to see a thread on composting with chickens pop up and read the comments by others.

I remember the cow delivering fresh milk to my grandmothers, lol.

So if I get a couple bales of straw and a bunch of leaves from last fall and scoop chicken poop into it and dump it all into the run that should make compost sometime within a year? Add a few scraps here and there....

 

[RUNuts]

I remember the cow delivering fresh milk to my grandmothers, lol.

So if I get a couple bales of straw and a bunch of leaves from last fall and scoop chicken poop into it and dump it all into the run that should make compost sometime within a year? Add a few scraps here and there....

depends on water, air and temperature. So maybe? Chicken poop and carbon is a good start on the equation. You want it damp and aerated. The chickens scratching will aerate to top layers. If you throw sunflower seed on top, they will dig for those also.

 

[vpatt]

depends on water, air and temperature. So maybe? Chicken poop and carbon is a good start on the equation. You want it damp and aerated. The chickens scratching will aerate to top layers. If you throw sunflower seed on top, they will dig for those also.

Thanks, yes I can throw seed in there. Of course, it will be a month or so before I even start...too much snow and ice right now. Compost is awesome, but I'm just as excited for the chickens to have more to do than scratch bare earth. I'm down to only 3 for now so I will be looking for some pullets, too. I had close to 30 but Mr. Fox took care of that. So for now they have to stay in their run....

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

So if I get a couple bales of straw and a bunch of leaves from last fall and scoop chicken poop into it and dump it all into the run that should make compost sometime within a year? Add a few scraps here and there....

This is basically what I did for a number of years....kept adding carbon (leaves, straw, spent hay, coop cleanouts) and then throwing them lots of scraps. I had more than 3 chickens and did it for a number of years, but when whenever I needed compost, I'd just rake the first few inches of material away and dig into the goodness below.

I've switched over to in-run compost piles, but in the spring I plan to put down a bunch of wood chips around the run to help adsorb any uneaten food scraps and chicken waste.

 

[gtaus]

So if I get a couple bales of straw and a bunch of leaves from last fall and scoop chicken poop into it and dump it all into the run that should make compost sometime within a year? Add a few scraps here and there....

Basically, it's that simple. I have my chicken run compost spread evenly in the run, but at the end of last fall, the compost was about 18 inches deep. There were layers of wood chips, leaves, grass clippings, with kitchen scrap leftovers throw in for good measure. I suspect most, if not all, the kitchen scraps were eaten by the chickens. But I am not afraid to throw in leftover chicken bones, steak bones, etc... into my run and the bones obviously will take longer to compost.

If you do not pile the compost material, it will just break down more slowly. If you want to speed things up, then pile it up in a bin or wire cage. Since my chicken run is outside and exposed to the rain, I don't bother watering it down. But again, if you keep the compost material damp it will break down faster.

Last fall I bought a cement mixer, attached a wire cage to the end, and used that to sift my compost material. I had one screen that was 1/4 inch which makes really fine compost for seed starting. I have another screen that is 1/2 inch and I use that sifted compost for the garden beds. As I said, my chicken run compost was about 18 inches deep last fall. I would just use a pitchfork to throw in a scoop full of compost into the tumbler, and the finished compost would drop into one wheelbarrow and the unfinished compost would be recycled back into the run, or into my pallet compost bins.

As someone said, the top few inches might not be broken down enough yet, but underneath you get black gold. My cement mixer setup with attachments cost me about $200. Over the course of a few days, I sifted more than enough compost to pay for my investment. IIRC, I used to pay about $5.00 per cubic foot of compost at the big box store. Anyway, it takes me about 20 minutes to sift 6 cubic feet of my chicken run compost which is much better than what I had been buying at the big box store.

I'm getting older (60+ now), so I don't work too fast. Still, with the cement mixer sifter, I could make 18 cubic feet of compost per hour - about $120 per hour saved in compost costs if I would have bought the bags from the big box store. I made so much compost last fall that I ended up giving some away to my good neighbors for their raised beds. What's more, is that I barely touched all the compost in the chicken run. So I will have access to that black gold anytime I want to sift out some more compost for the garden.

There are many ways to make faster compost than just throwing everything into the chicken run, but I quickly got to the point where I have more compost ready to be harvested than I can actually use. The great advantage to just letting everything lie in place in the chicken run is that I don't have to bother with watering the pile and turning it over to keep it composting. I just let Mother Nature do it's work over a longer period of time, let the chickens turn the compost in the run as they search for food, and the only time I do anything is when I get to the point of sifting the compost for use.

 

[gtaus]

Compost is awesome, but I'm just as excited for the chickens to have more to do than scratch bare earth.

Yes, bare earth turns into mud after a rain. With layers of compost material in the chicken run, you get a nice sponge mat like structure that smells like a forest, keeps the chickens off the muddy ground, and turns into great compost over time. I don't know what my chickens are finding to eat in the chicken run compost, but they stay out all day scratching and pecking for food.

Another benefit with a good chicken run compost setup is that the chicken poo seems to magically disappear down into the compost. I have absolutely no bad odor from my chicken run compost, but as in any compost system, if you smell something off, just add more carbon.

 

[gtaus]

I've switched over to in-run compost piles,

I was considering in run compost piles last summer, but by the fall, I had so much compost in the run that I could not even use it all. The only advantage I can think of in using compost piles would be to speed up the compost process. Was that your goal or do your piles have other advantages? Also, I am assuming that your have wire or wood enclosures to pile the compost, correct? Whenever I tried to pile compost in the run - without wire or wood - the chickens would tear apart the pile and level it out faster than I could build it up.

 

[gtaus]

Thanks, yes I can throw seed in there.

There is a guy on YouTube that soaks his seeds the day before, then he throws the wet seeds into the run, covers them a bit, and lets the chickens dig for what they can eat. What does not get eaten, starts to sprout and provides extra greens for this chickens. That works for him.

I have a 3 bag collection system on my riding lawn mower, almost all my grass clippings get thrown into the chicken run. So they have plenty of fresh greens for those months and I don't bother with soaking seeds for sprouts. But we all live in different places and have different resources. Throwing seeds or chicken scratch into the run will encourage the chickens to turn over the compost as they look for the seeds. It brings out their inner chicken behaviors and they seem more happy scratching and pecking for their food then eating from the feeder.

 

[Vacman]

Most things stink because they become anaerobic from lack of oxygen. Case in point - a septic tank. Mine doesn't because I have an aerator in it. To aerate the bedding in a chicken coop, just sprinkle scratch grains on it and the chickens will do it for you.

 

[vpatt]

I'm really into the no work method, lol. I'm 70 and I have had compost piles before, but I am not concerned now with how long it takes...oddly we don't get a lot of mud in the run...mostly around their water. But we are in the edge of the woods and have a sandy soil. So I guess the soil and the leaves help with that. But sometimes it does get a little bare and I feel bad for them. I am going to try letting them free range again, but not all the time. probably just a day now and again. I hope that will work. I hate that they can't be free all the time but the fox problem is real. So I think compost for them to scratch in will be good. Once most of this snowy icy rain is over....And my husband can use the compost for veggies.
Thank you all for all the shared knowledge, I love reading all the posts.