Composting chicken run

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

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

Glad you enjoy them! It was a good day and a good load of scraps for sure. Happy flock and a good day outside absorbing some vitamin D.

 

[Sally PB]

I stopped by @Red-Stars-in-RI's blog to see the pics. I saw this quote:

"Donating delicious farm fresh eggs from hens raised on food scraps to those who need it most."



The pictures are awesome. The actions describe in the quote are awesomer. Thank you.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I stopped by @Red-Stars-in-RI's blog to see the pics. I saw this quote:

"Donating delicious farm fresh eggs from hens raised on food scraps to those who need it most."



The pictures are awesome. The actions describe in the quote are awesomer. Thank you.

Thanks @Sally PB! Trying to do our part to help out.

The need is so high right now. I used to drop a few dozen eggs off now and again at the food pantry run out of a church in town. They were open one day a month and I’d save up maybe 6 dozen eggs to drop off. That was 2018-2019.

Fast forward to 2020-2021, and the same church food pantry is running twice a WEEK with cars lined up down the street!

Our next donation will put us over 350 dozen donated since last March when the need rose and I started counting. It’s a drop in the bucket of the greater need, but we’re honored to do our part!

The pandemic gave me time to build capacity. At this time last year, I had 15 laying hens...now we have 70.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Another nice weekend day! Cleaned up the end of the pile and threw down another layer of leaves.

Will serve as a good “carbonaceous diaper” (as Joel Salatin would call it) for tomorrow’s food pickup.

 

[Sally PB]

@Red-Stars-in-RI, I love your pile. I don't say that to many people, but when I do I really mean it.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

@Red-Stars-in-RI, I love your pile. I don't say that to many people, but when I do I really mean it.

That means a lot considering the situation.

I really put myself out there posting pictures of my pile on the internet. Thanks for being kind!

 

[vpatt]

I'm hoping grandson #1 shows up today to throw mulch into the run and if I can't get someone to bring 2 or 3 large bags of munched up leaves I guess I'll be trying to get those myself. The only hen I have who is laying keeps getting out of the run. And I found one of her eggs outside the coop and run also. I can herd her back in but she gets right back out.....

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I'm hoping grandson #1 shows up today to throw mulch into the run and if I can't get someone to bring 2 or 3 large bags of munched up leaves I guess I'll be trying to get those myself. The only hen I have who is laying keeps getting out of the run. And I found one of her eggs outside the coop and run also. I can herd her back in but she gets right back out.....

My flock keep hopping the fence, too...think I need to up my “wing clipping” to try to keep them somewhat contained. If I want to grow grass or anything else need to keep them out of the rest of the yard.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

63 degrees here today!

Processed some food waste, turned some compost, and all the usual farm chores.

I then planted the comfrey root cutting I’d bought a while back. With a little luck they’ll grow quickly and provide lots of supplemental greens for the chickens.

I covered the area I planted (which also has a few forsythia growing in it) with a nice layer of unsifted compost from the “resting” pile. Even though it was unsifted it looked nice...not overly chunky or anything.

Two wheelbarrows full didn’t make a nick on the pile...there is a LOT of compost here.

 

[Sally PB]

Wow, even I think that looks yummy. In a former life, I think I was a plant.