Composting-how big a pile could seven chickens support?

[greenSearcher]

I have 4 cubic yard plastic bins, and right now I have 2 that are full of ready compost. I put all the litter and cleanings, plus household garbage and some lawn/garden waste in them. Once I started using chicken droppings I no longer had to suppliment the nitrogen. The only thing I changed in the coop was to go to shredded paper as the bulk of the litter. I shred all waste paper that isn't shiney or overly colored. I put pine shavings in the next boxes, but the girls toss paper in there also. When I first started I would clean the chicks up often, and put the barely soiled litter in the bin, and that first bin took nearly 6 months to show any significant decomposition. Now I toss the nearly clean chicky litter into the coop and let the wood absorb more poop, and that has speeded up the composting. Ugh, the coop is getting due for cleaning, but I think I have enough room is the working bins still. It amazes me how much the materials are reduced when the compost is finished. At least now I don't worry about running out of compost. First time in my life.

 

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

Quote:
Mac in Abilene,
I have a hard time coming up with enough carbon to balance the nitrogen now that I have the chickens and 2 rabbits plus a neighbor giving me grass clippings...in the past it was the other way. But I'm getting some really good stuff now.

 

[missychicky]

So, I use wood chips for the litter. Could I put it in a heap, wet it down, and compost it? From what I'm hearing it kinda makes sense...

 

[Moabite]

Composting is my passion! It is like cooking dinner for your garden. What I like to do is spread the pile over the whole garden til spring. This way it keeps the worms happy and active. I use all the leaves I can gather from mine and the neighbor's yards, all the coffee grounds I can find, (starbucks, etc.) and not worry about it much. About March I'll rake it up into a big pile and add fish emulsion and some stuff called compost starter and then things start to heat up. Don't forget to put a couple shovelfuls of garden dirt into your pile. You don't really need a bin, but wired together pallets work great. Last November my pile was 16ft by 20ft by 2 1/2 ft. and by the middle of April it was about 8ft by 5ft by 3ft. What I didn't use planting, I spread evenly over the garden in rows and pathways to keep the mud down and to hold in the moisture. My soil used to be sand. Now it is sandy loam, rich, black, aromatic dirt crawling with earthworms. Instead of raking your leaves, I recommend using a lawn mower with a bag. The smaller the ingredients, the faster the decomposition. (chicken and rabbit poo are fine, but not dog or cat poo).

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
Yes. Wood chips with chicken manure will compost fine. You don't want it too wet. You want to keep it moist though.

 

[Moabite]

Aint it great that chickens can eat scraps, lay eggs and poop fertilizer?