composting poo

[cptbahama]

Mine didn't quite make it 4 feet high, more like 3 and a half. But it is 4' square and i'll put a lid on it this weekend. the bottom front board is on a hinge so i can shovel out from the bottom and throw on top.

I used untreated wood painted with two coats of latex exterior paint (on the inside) to squeeze maybe another year or two out of it. I'll be happy if I can get 3 years out of it.

 

[backyardfarmer83]

Quote:
X2, and if I can add to it, use the empty one to turn your compost. When it's time to turn, use a pitchfork... start at the top and work your way down to the bottom, basically turning the pile upside down by moving it from one bin to the other.

Also, I don't know how you feel about worms, but they aid in the composting process and make it faster. You can line the bottom of each bin with plastic to keep them from burrowing into the ground and thus leaving the pile. And if you let your chickens into the compost from time to time, they will help keep the worm population from getting too big.

Red worms work best. I use them in my flower gardens and my flowers do so much better with them there because they aerate the dirt and add nitrogen (major plus for the plants).

 

[f8thnjc]

4 free pallets nailed together make a great FREE composter.

 

[2DogsFarm]

I may be the World's Laziest Composter

I just have 2 freeform piles - one behind my barn for horses' manure & stall cleanings, one at the edge of my "wildflower garden" <unintentional/untended growth that looks pretty> near my chicken coop for chicken manure & their used bedding.

AND:
I also do the sheet composting someone referred to here by spreading fresh cleanings from both sources directly on plantings in the Fall once everything has died off.

By Spring, both piles have composted into gorgeous black loam, full of earthworms & the garden beds - veggie & flower - just get tilled in before planting with current year's crops.

I make no effort to keep the chickens out of "their" pile and they do a pretty good job of turning it for me.
I don't add kitchen waste to that pile. It's just me on the farm so scraps are minimal & most get fed to them as treats anyhow.
I think they also enjoy the warmth from the composting action as they dig dustbath holes in that pile.

 

[Captain Carrot]

Quote:
I think I'll start one of those too. Thanks

 

[baldessariclan]

Note the two compost settups in the background (off to right in pic):

Far one (half-way out of the picture) is four pallets tied together at edges. This type of thing will ususally last 3 - 5 years, until boards start rotting out at the bottom.

Nearer one is a hoop of left-over wire mesh (hardware cloth). The wire mesh hoop is probably the easiest and most convenient settup I've used to date. Easy to adjust size and take apart -- just tie free ends together (w/wire or twist-ties) to make a big, freestanding hoop. Untie and peel back to remove, or move over a couple feet to turn your pile over into. Very easy/simple!

Keep them near your coop to shovel the poop and shavings into, along with leaves, grass, and other vegetable matter.

 

[cptbahama]

baldessariclan-

I like your set-up, both the coop and the composters. Really nice coop!
Two questions:

Do your chickens ever try and jump from the ramp board onto the feeder and waterer?

and Does the combination of the composters close to the coop combine to make the smell more, uh, odorous?

 

[motoclown]

Ours is made out of pallets, the one on the bottom has tin wrapped around it.
Put green garden fencing inside to keep stuff in .

 

[baldessariclan]

Quote:
Thank you for the compliments!

Haven't ever noticed the chickens trying to jump on to the feeders or waterers from the ramp, but our birds are fairly big/heavy and don't seem to do much jumping/flying, period. Might have trouble with this type of settup if you have smaller or more flightly breeds. It doesn't look it from the pic, but feeder and waterer are positioned far enough away from ramp where they can't poop on them from the ramp -- and they just don't hang out much on the ramp anyways.

Depends, but yeah, the coop smells like a coop, and compost smells like compost. Sometimes stronger, sometimes not much at all -- you know how it goes... They are both far away enough from our house and neighbors where it never seems to be any issue.

 

[audioguy]

We are planning on starting with 4 chicks (thats what I told my wife). We started composting years ago with just kitchen scraps. Works really well once it gets up to temp.

I picked up two composters from a local recycling extension office. They were $25.00 each. I loaded that thing up with tons of scrap, and layered it with leaves and some small twigs. Year after year we get great compost and use it all over the place. It is amazing to see a fully loaded bin shrink down to a maybe a foot deep. The worms work their magic and you are good to go.

I figured with only 4 chicks worth of poo I would use the one on the right that will be available. I have enough leaves to keep the layers going for an eternity!

Also picked up a nice cool tool from a local farm store that goes into the pile and by pulling up rotates and aerates the mix. Works better than a pitch fork. It has pivoting tines that lay flat when you plunge it in and then spreads flat for when you pull it up.