composting poo

[Fred's Hens]

If you have a place to store the manure, you can also employ what is called "sheet composting". That simply means that manure is applied to the garden or field by simply spreading it all over the soil, from October to February directly. Another method is to trench compost which is a long trench or trenches in the garden, approximately 6-9" deep into which the leaves, manure, etc are placed during the same off season time period. There are many alternative ways to accomplish the goal.

 

[posey]

Quote:
Yes I know about the toxicity factor and the threat of botulism.

We don't allow our chickens to have access to the compost piles for several reasons:
1. Concern about the above mentioned toxic potential
2. The girls can make a mess of a pile in no time flat - I mean they can flatten and scatter the contents of a pile while your back is turned.
Okay not that quick but it is what chickens do, scratch and look for bugs
3. We are composting mainly to make amendments for our garden beds, if they destroy the pile it won't cook and we won't get compost.
4. I like things tidy and chickens can mess up the tidiness of 3 compost bins

We use pallets attached with wire to make a hinged door to each bin, that way things stay in place and cook, the girls can't eat from it, and it's tindy - all of which make me very happy!

Warmly
Posey

 

[AllTheseCreatures]

Wood shavings naturally take a lot longer to break down. On my BYC page I talked a bit about carbon to nitrogen ratios and compost and why I chose straw litter over wood shavings.

I made a 4x4x4 foot bin out of old fencing boards and that holds the straw/poop litter for about 6 months. After it has reduced in size to about half and earthworms have moved in (I don't turn), I sheet compost directly in the garden. I have found that is acts as an effective mulch to keep weeds down, keeps the biological community in the garden active in the off season and consequently breaks down much faster than in a pile. I also add food trimmings I can't feed chickens (like potato peels). It breaks down really fast with all that chicken poo!!

My other compost bin is for composting the pine kitty litter (sans the kitty poo, just urine). It's a tall black container like you see for sale in garden centers.

My chickens sometimes dig through the compost, but they mostly ignore it. They're typically more interested in the flower beds and the grass.

 

[fr27davis]

compost needs a few things to work right, heat, air, and water. saying that i made a compost bins out of old fence that the local fence company was getting ride of, made them 4 x 4 x 4, i also put a drainage pipe in the middle that helped alot, it would double the speed of the pile. one hint that i would give you dont add ash to your pile, it kills it!

 

[Hopeful Peacock]

I agree with what folks have said about a 4x4x4 pile, etc. We used straw bales as sides and it works great. You can stack them as you need and the bales can also be used in the garden once everything is cooked. Also, we keep a "cover" of loose straw over the top, 4-6 inches thick or so. We pull back the loose straw cover when we add the fresh compost and then put back on top. This keeps chickens out and also covers any odor from fresh ingredients.

Also, we let the rain fall on it. The composting process uses a surprising amount of water.

Good luck!

 

[mediazeal]

Quote:
Sounds like a great system
can you post some pictures? Please???

 

[Tomski]

Sorry, Something is wrong with the camera - Time to get a new one anyway.

My system is BASICALLY the same as everyone else's... 4X4X4 round. Except I have the Drainage tube stuck down in the middle of it to add water & air. I don't know if the black plastic on top works better or not. However, when I take it off in the summer time, it sure is hot under there!

For the plastic, I just use the HEAVY duty black garbage bags (a couple) of them for each pile - weighted down with whatever's handy.

 

[mediazeal]

Quote:
Are there holes drilled into the drainage tube or do you use one of those with precut holes down the sides to get more air and moisture in?
how deep does the tube go into the pile? 2ft, 3ft or all the way
the black plastic sounds like an important part of it all too

 

[Tomski]

Sorry... didn't mean to blow you off. Just saw this.

Yes, I use the black flex 4" drainage pipe with holes already in

The pipe is in the center and goes all the way to the bottom of the pile. Sticks up about a foot above the highest part of compost pile.

 

[mediazeal]

Quote:
Excellent, I'm going to try it
thanks for the info