Composting in the chicken run?

[Sill]

Thanks for sharing this thread. I've been reading it off and on all day... really good stuff!



You might find some useful tips on how to keep compost moist in that same thread... even though they're talking about composting in cooler climates. Heehee, you'll see!

Yes there are some good ideas there!

I find have a layer of wet cardboard or newspaper on top then covering with an old feed bag keeps mine damp, I wet it down once a month or so. The edges get dry in that time but the middle is always damp when I turn it, next summer I'll probably wet it down every time I add the shredded paper though, that absorbs a fair bit
I'm in aus btw, stinking hot right now

The wet cardboard should work for me, don't get newspapers. Not sure what the chickens will make of that but I can exclude them from a bin if I use it. Thx!
Enjoying the cool right now, we'll have it stinking hot by the end of April.

 

[Vpridefarm]

Well this brings up a question for me. We are so new to chicken raisng that we don't even have the chickens yet lol. We have cleared the ground and roped off the area where we will put the coop/run and have set up cinder blocks to elevate the coop (which we have yet to build, thinking of using skids).

Anyway, to the point; we have a rather large pile of yard and garden debris behind our shed. We weren't sure what exactly to do with it, so I'm wondering if we can just spread that out over the ground in the run?! It has every kind of weed in it, corn stalks and other veggie/flower garden "waste", along with leaves from last fall. If we can use that for the run it would save us money on straw, hay, wood chips or other such ground cover. Seeing as we are on a very tight budget, this would be fantastic all the way around.

So what say you BYC peeps? Yay or nay?

Not sure if you have already built this project, or began to coop the birds. However, I have found that piles are always better! First, it's way more fun for the ladies, gives them a challenge. Also if it is left in a pile it will retain the moisture/biotics better for the composting process. If the pile to run ratio is close, there will always be a pile, just moved from one place to another as they dig and scratch. Even if you have a larger run, they will do all the spreading for you. They love the "work"!

 

[Farkha Laziza]

I just set up a compost pile in the corner of the yard with a border of red bricks around it. I've been adding cardboard and paper for carbon and some food scraps and droppings for nitrogen, but since most of the food scraps are getting eaten by the chickens, does that mean I should be increasing the amount of nitrogen added to the pile above beyond what one would normally add if there were no birds picking it over?

 

[Teelibird]

OK..I have read thru this thread and found lots of good stuff that I can use. However, I am still unsure about what and when the composted/scratched over material is removed for use in the garden. I am a ways off that yet, as I only have 4 Red Shaver chooks and they have a huge run. I have layered 2 bales of barley straw in the run, they love it. I keep them in there until after the eggs are laid and then I let them into a move-able run until mid afternoon when they go back into the home coop. Where they discover all over again the joys of scratching thru barley straw and garden waste.I also throw the odd hand-full of pellets and kibbled maize out on the straw so they have hidden treasures to find when they are scratching around.
Very happy chooks, making lots of contented noises and kicking straw around as well as any All Black winger !
So, when the stuff is composted down and no longer recognisable as barley straw and garden waste etc,what do I do then? Rake it out? Add new stuff where I have taken out the old? Take all of it out or just half the run?

 

[triplepurpose]

OK..I have read thru this thread and found lots of good stuff that I can use. However, I am still unsure about what and when the composted/scratched over material  is removed for use in the garden. I am a ways off that yet, as I only have 4 Red Shaver chooks and they have a huge run. I have layered 2 bales of barley straw in the run, they love it. I keep them in there until after the eggs are laid and then I let them into a move-able run until mid afternoon when they go back into the home coop. Where they discover all over again the joys of scratching thru barley straw and garden waste.I also throw the odd hand-full of pellets and kibbled maize out on the straw so they have hidden treasures to find when they are scratching around.
Very happy chooks, making lots of contented noises and kicking straw around as well as any All Black winger !
So, when the stuff is composted down and no longer recognisable as barley straw and garden waste etc,what do I do then? Rake it out? Add new stuff  where I have taken out the old? Take all of it out or just half the run?

there isnt really one right way to do it, is the thing. how often do you use compost and how much do you need at once? if you tend to garden seasonally and need a bunch of compost at once you can just plan to remove it all at once once a year or whenever you prepare garden beds. however i use a little at a time throughout the year, so i tend to just scoop out whatever i need when i need it--i just pick an area, rake aside the partially composted stuff on top to get to the good humus underneath, remove what i need, and let the chickens rake it back flat while they eat the bugs i uncover. i try to go to scoop from a different area ofthe compost run each time so that i gradually work my way around the whole thing. if the materials in the compost run get fairly well degraded before i get to using it all up, i just keep adding more stuff on top so that there is a constant layer of mulch on top protecting the more finished stuff underneath from getting too weathered or compacted in the rain and sun.

i used to fork it all out at once into a bin to heat up and finish, but but it was too much backbreaking work and didnt actually seem to make any better of a compost product than what i already have at the bottom layer of a mature compost run.

good luck! composting with poultry is a great system.

 

[Teelibird]

Thanks..in our climate we garden all year round,so I will be taking it as needed,then. It makes sense to do it the way you describe instead of forking it all out.After all,there is no point in getting the chooks to do the work and then do more myself,right?Of course it will be a fair while before I have enough compost ANYWHERE in the chook run to do anything with,so it's just as well I have 2compost bins and a worm farm already working away!

 

[triplepurpose]

One other thing to consider is that if you take it out piecemeal it wont have had the chance to hot compost. this doesnt concern me personally because its a closed system, we have healthy chickens, and in applications where i do use it in growing food crops like lettuce for sale, i apply it to the soil well before i even plant the crop out. like i said, if its all in the family it wouldnt be a big deal, but if you are selling commercially or meeting OG certification you might have to be more restricted in how you use manure/compost that has not been heated. hot compost is overrated sometimes in my opinion anyway though...

 

[Teelibird]

Not going to be using compost for growing to sell crops,just for ordinary garden usage. In fact, I shall probably run it thru the compost bins again just to see what happens if I do!

 

[triplepurpose]

Not going to be using compost for growing to sell crops,just for ordinary garden usage. In fact, I shall probably run it thru the compost bins again just to see what happens if I do!

go for it! Whatever works best for ya

 

[ClearSkye]

This is a great thread, Think I'm gonna end up just making a pile with some sort of barrier on 3 sides. Maybe 2 piles
Thanks all!