My bins are made of used pallet wood and are in the chickens' run. Here's one bin with new materiel next to one with almost finished compost. It doesn't take long to make black gold!
Bin one with new materiel, two with compost that is actively cooking and bin three has finished compost. I can add or subtract the boards on the front or cover the top to keep out chickens or rain if needed. I only cover to keep chickens out when there is something that might be bad for them like moldy bread. The front boards keep most of the materiel contained, but the girls do end up scratching some out. I just scoop it back in occasionally.
A couple of the girls checking for bugs in the compost that is getting turned out for aeration. They actively jump in and out of the bins searching for treats and help turn the top of the piles. The bins are too big for them to get all the way to the bottom which is why I turn them myself. That way all the materiel gets broken down instead of just the surface and it takes less time for the pile to process.
It took a while to empty the bin and it got nearly dark but the I took all the front boards off so it was easier to empty. I'll leave the stuff out for a day or two for the chickens to work before forking it all back in to cook longer.
I'm embarrassed to say I've never paid any attention to carbon and nitrogen ratios...ever. I just throw in what I have available. I do have both chickens and quail. I use both shavings and wood chips depending on the enclosures or cages plus their used bedding is full of feathers, poop and some uneaten feed. It composts very well! I also make sure most of what I throw in there is as small as I can make it. I don't have a wood chipper but do get wood chips for under the quail cages from a landscaper (for free!). Grass clippings are great! Kitchen scraps, tea bags, coffee grounds, it's all good, but make it small! Leaves from my yard all go into the chickens' run to be worked over by the girls and they make the leaves smaller as they work. The leaves eventually end up getting thrown in a bin some day.
I'm embarrassed to say I've never paid any attention to carbon and nitrogen ratios...ever. I just throw in what I have available. I do have both chickens and quail. I use both shavings and wood chips depending on the enclosures or cages plus their used bedding is full of feathers, poop and some uneaten feed. It composts very well! I also make sure most of what I throw in there is as small as I can make it. I don't have a wood chipper but do get wood chips for under the quail cages from a landscaper (for free!). Grass clippings are great! Kitchen scraps, tea bags, coffee grounds, it's all good, but make it small! Leaves from my yard all go into the chickens' run to be worked over by the girls and they make the leaves smaller as they work. The leaves eventually end up getting thrown in a bin some day.
I think there are two reasons for the success besides good poultry poop and small sized pieces of material.
One is I actively turn the pile. Once I have enough stuff in the holding bin I wet the pile and turn it well, it heats up so fast! In a week or two when it's started to cool a bit I turn the entire pile, and not just turn it but I toss each shovel or fork full of stuff into the air as I turn it to oxygenate it well as I pull the material out, and again as I toss it back into the bin. It's quite a workout for an old broad like me! The newly aerated stuff will decompose much faster than if it sits in an anaerobic state.
The second reason is the bins are large enough that they can get very hot over a large volume of stuff. If you had just a small pile only the center would get hot and the edges would be cooler. Small pile=small hot center that breaks down quickly. A large pile has a much bigger hot zone, and a relatively small cool zone. The ratio of hot to cool area is different in a small pile versus a large one. Also, since I collect material and only start the pile cooking when the bin is fairly full there is a larger volume to cook than if I started it cooking when there was only a foot or two of material. By cooking I mean wetting the pile down enough to get the dry stuff damp. Until then the dry stuff just sits there, which is why I have something to cover my bins when I need it.
Well that's my theory and I'm sticking to it.
I wonder how folks in colder climates handle composting during the winter when things are frozen over. I'll have to start researching, because I can't imagine things freeze over in your neck of the woods
I buy it. Thanks for explaining in such detail, I really appreciate this great info! I've been planning to build out a "series" of compost piles, like your three, so that I can mix the stuff more often, just like you've explained here. In addition to being underworked and overpaid, my pile is currently raised off the ground, which I think is setting it back as well. My theory is that direct contact with the dirt below allows more microbes to get in and go to work... seems it would also help retain moisture so water doesn't just drain away.
Your theory gives me hope that I can turn my strawmpost pile into a real compost pile one day.
I wonder how folks in colder climates handle composting during the winter when things are frozen over. I'll have to start researching, because I can't imagine things freeze over in your neck of the woods
Thanks again, Sill! P.S. This cracked me up! You go, girl.
The boards are removable. I'll have to try and get a pic. My DH made slots along either side of the bin fronts so I can slide in or out as many boards as I want. That makes it so versatile! These are my dream compost bins (I know you all understand!) and they work so well. I'm amazed at the volume of compost I can make just from my flock's manure, litter, kitchen waste and yard leavings.
Yeah we don't have to worry about the bins ever freezing! We do get some frosts, but nothing below 25-28 degrees. It's funny to watch the chickens scratch a spot on top of the cooking compost and just stand on the warm stuff in winter. Must feel good on their feet!
We do however have to worry about the bins drying out in summer. I live in one of the hottest, driest places on this earth. Summers have temps over 115 often, lows that are above 90 for weeks or months with single digit humidity. My biggest battle in summer is keeping the material damp enough so that decomposition doesn't grind to a stop. Think mummified dirt!
