Composting Coop 'Bedding'

[Plough]

Think of it like fertilizer. It gives a big boost initially and then the effects fade as time goes on.

I personally put it in when I till and occasionally put a bit more around roots part way through the growing cycle. As I have multiple seasonal garden areas and projects I continue to use it most of the year. Even when I didn't use it that much the only time I had it get piled up was in the fall time when composting lots of leaves.

 

[alebuela]

I had read that pine shavings are not good for composting. Could a combination of hay and untreated bark/mulch work in the coop, and the same mixed with organic kitchen scraps work in the run? I'm totally new to all this, so your experience and wise words will help greatly.

 

[dirtylittlefly]

I have questions about pine shavings as well. Our neighbor told us the pine shavings will bind up the nitrogen and actually decrease how fertile the soil is. But, I would think as long as the ratio was correct it would not be an issue.

I use the deep litter method and clean out our coop about once or twice a year. We have 3 hens, 12 sq feet of coop space and they get lots of run around time during the day. When I cleaned out the coop last (December?) I'm pretty sure the bedding to poo ratio was not the recommended 1:1 ratio, but it is hard to tell as we use a mix of sawdust pellets and pine shavings. Also, the stuff does start to compost/age in the coop.

I put the litter directly into one of my raised beds and piled it up. It's never heated up. I just started turning it now that it's warmer. The litter pieces are smaller and darker than they were, but it's nowhere near composted.

Would I be ok to spread it out in a month and incorporate with some dark store-bought compost and peet? I'll probably do the whole bed in tomatoes and peppers so it wouldn't be ready to harvest until Augustish (I live in Washington).

My concerns are pathogens that never got heated throughly, and also binding up the nitrogen in the soil be adding too much browns.

Thanks!

 

[hosspak]

I have questions about pine shavings as well. Our neighbor told us the pine shavings will bind up the nitrogen and actually decrease how fertile the soil is. But, I would think as long as the ratio was correct it would not be an issue.

I use the deep litter method and clean out our coop about once or twice a year. We have 3 hens, 12 sq feet of coop space and they get lots of run around time during the day. When I cleaned out the coop last (December?) I'm pretty sure the bedding to poo ratio was not the recommended 1:1 ratio, but it is hard to tell as we use a mix of sawdust pellets and pine shavings. Also, the stuff does start to compost/age in the coop.

I put the litter directly into one of my raised beds and piled it up. It's never heated up. I just started turning it now that it's warmer. The litter pieces are smaller and darker than they were, but it's nowhere near composted.

Would I be ok to spread it out in a month and incorporate with some dark store-bought compost and peet? I'll probably do the whole bed in tomatoes and peppers so it wouldn't be ready to harvest until Augustish (I live in Washington).

My concerns are pathogens that never got heated throughly, and also binding up the nitrogen in the soil be adding too much browns.

Thanks!

They do recommend pine needles to lower the pH in the soil, so as a organic it does benefit the soil. In my coop, 290 sq. feet I use pine shaving and straw as bedding and floor cover. It seems to break down pretty fast. I dump everything in the garden, turn it over a few times, then I water it heavily then cover it with clear plastic to cook the soil and speed up the composting. Now my soil looks amazing, but I also had to lower the pH further and raise the nitrogen levels so I amended with ammonia sulfate (21-0-0) But you should always test the soil first. Takes out the guess work.

 

[lazy gardener]

Pine needles and pine shavings are 2 different things. Pine needles are an excellent mulch for acid loving plants. Pine shavings, and chicken poo are the makings of excellent compost.... My understanding was that the ratio was 30 parts carbon: 1 part nitrogen (shavingsoo) I'm sure some one out there will correct me, because I'm flying by the seat of my pants here. This is my first year working with chicken bedding in the garden, so it will be a work in progress. Dirtylittlefly: Regarding your neighbor and the statement about nitrogen binding... that has been the accepted story for years... but more recent experimental methods are proving that it ain't necessarily so: You might want to do some reading about the Hugelkulture and the Back to Eden methods. Both of these gardening methods fly in the face of the "nitrogen robbing" theory. In my experience, i've noticed lush growth around any patch of ground mulched by any woody product. So: I'll be doing my own little mini Hugelkulture/Lasagna gardening mound in the garden, made for the most part of those nasty nitrogen robbing shavings from the coop. I'll keep y'all posted about the success/failure of the project. (I thought that if I inserted a y'all, it might hasten the demise of the 4' high pile of snow in my garden.)

Re: pathogens from chicken bedding in the garden: The rule of thumb, (conservatively) is 90 days of composting to kill any pathogens. Personally, and I am not giving advice here, only stating my plan... I will not use fresh bedding on any crops that are grown in the soil (carrots) or grow in close proximity to the soil and are eaten raw (lettuce). I will not hesitate to use it around crops that grow up off the ground (peppers, tomatoes) or are cooked. Also, any crops that have a way to go maturity wise before harvest (squash). Birds fly over gardens all the time, and poop to their hearts content.

I think as the gardening season gets under way, it would be great to have a specific thread dealing with how folks are using mulch/bedding in their gardens, and their success/failure related to same.

 

[hosspak]

Quote: Did you just volunteer???

 

[lazy gardener]

Perhaps, however.... y'all must remember that I may not see bare ground until you folks are picking fresh tomatoes!! Did you notice the y'all... working on thinking SOUTHERN!!!

 

[dirtylittlefly]

Thanks for the help hosspak and lazy gardener!

When looking up composting chicken manure I came across this advice on a few sites:

Carbon to Nitrogen balance. A combination of 30 parts Carbon to 1 part Nitrogen creates the ideal environment for microbes to break down organic material to produce compost. When combining coop bedding and chicken manure how do you achieve the ideal C: N ratio? Since the different beddings have their own C: N ratio, the proportion of bedding to manure will vary depending on the type of bedding used. To keep things simple most composters follow the general rule of 1 part brown to 2 parts green. However, because chicken manure is so high in Nitrogen you may be more successful using a 1:1 or even a 2:1 mixture.

http://seattletilth.org/learn/resources-1/city-chickens/compostingchickenmanure

I've thought about testing the soil before..... but I'm lazy. Lol. Can't I just stick some seeds in the ground and whatever depth and have a huge plentiful harvest?

I'll probably do it at some point but right now balancing work & school is a bit much as it is, and planning out my squarefoot garden with companion planting is about all I can do. Though, with the chicken manure this year is probably the best time to start. There's not much worse than working hard on the garden all year to have the harvest spoiled somehow via plants not growing, pacific northwest 3 week rainstorm, etc... We had a really nice October last year, it would have been great if the rain hadn't destroyed my tomatoes in September.

 

[hosspak]

Thanks for the help hosspak and lazy gardener!

When looking up composting chicken manure I came across this advice on a few sites:

Carbon to Nitrogen balance. A combination of 30 parts Carbon to 1 part Nitrogen creates the ideal environment for microbes to break down organic material to produce compost. When combining coop bedding and chicken manure how do you achieve the ideal C: N ratio? Since the different beddings have their own C: N ratio, the proportion of bedding to manure will vary depending on the type of bedding used. To keep things simple most composters follow the general rule of 1 part brown to 2 parts green. However, because chicken manure is so high in Nitrogen you may be more successful using a 1:1 or even a 2:1 mixture.

http://seattletilth.org/learn/resources-1/city-chickens/compostingchickenmanure

I've thought about testing the soil before..... but I'm lazy. Lol. Can't I just stick some seeds in the ground and whatever depth and have a huge plentiful harvest?

I'll probably do it at some point but right now balancing work & school is a bit much as it is, and planning out my squarefoot garden with companion planting is about all I can do. Though, with the chicken manure this year is probably the best time to start. There's not much worse than working hard on the garden all year to have the harvest spoiled somehow via plants not growing, pacific northwest 3 week rainstorm, etc... We had a really nice October last year, it would have been great if the rain hadn't destroyed my tomatoes in September.

Your welcome Dirty. Now this is where we call the Whaambulence. lol I'm 52 years young, father of 4, Grandpa to 12. I work full time and a full time student. 10 minutes of your time is all it takes to sample your soil. By all means throw your seeds in the ground, with enough plants you will get a plentiful harvest in a few months. But since you are going to add nutrients to your soil anyway....you might as well add the correct stuff to make your harvest big enough to impress the neighbors... And maybe, just maybe you might just like the cherry tomatoes from your garden that are twice the size of your neighbors.

Please, don't take this as me poking fun at you... take this as me poking you to take the 10 minutes and $3 dollars to get a test kit and simply check.... You'll be glad you did.

 

[lazy gardener]

$3 test kit? It cost $15 in my state! I've got 3 boxes and forms, really should take your verbal prodding to heart and send off a sample this spring... that is if I ever do see bare ground again.