Composting question

[Kurakurakulaku]

Hi! I am trying to compost for the first time ever. Can I mix chicken manure and kitchen scrap to compost together?
Thank you!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Yes you can. I dump my chicken poop and some kitchen and yard waste into my compost bin.

 

[DobieLover]

You need to add A LOT of carbon to the manure. Chicken manure is very high in nitrogen and to compost well, you need to have a lot of carbon ("browns") mixed in with it. If you don't, it doesn't compost very fast and can stink. Adding in the bedding helps. I just scoop the poop off boards so adding in equal amounts of sawdust or shredded cardboard or newspaper helps the process quite a lot. Kitchen scraps and garden waste are considered high in nitrogen as well so won't help get you that ideal ratio of 25 to 30 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen.

 

[3KillerBs]

Compost is not as complicated as people like to make out.

You need to have "greens" -- high nitrogen items

You need to have "browns" -- high carbon items

You need some moisture -- neither very dry nor very soggy

If a pile is smelly and/or slimy you either have too many greens and need more brown or it's too wet.

If a pile is just sitting there doing nothing you either need more greens or more moisture.

Turn it anywhere from once a week to once a month to bring the outside materials into the more active center.

If you're lucky (or you manage it intensely), you get a hot pile creating steam and processing the waste rapidly. Otherwise it takes longer but still gets to the same place.

 

[Floof]

When I had a smaller backyard and couldn't have an open compost pile, I used to dig a hole, dump my kitchen scraps and chicken poop in, mix it around with my shovel, and then bury it with soil. If you only have a few chickens this is probably your easiest solution. The worms get to it and it's great for planting in the next season. It also made a huge difference for my soil as before I had hard clay soil and this has made it lighter and more fertile.

 

[3KillerBs]

When I had a smaller backyard and couldn't have an open compost pile, I used to dig a hole, dump my kitchen scraps and chicken poop in, mix it around with my shovel, and then bury it with soil. If you only have a few chickens this is probably your easiest solution. The worms get to it and it's great for planting in the next season. It also made a huge difference for my soil as before I had hard clay soil and this has made it lighter and more fertile.

That's what my one SIL used to do. She has an incredible aversion to the very idea of any bug other than butterflies no matter how much she's assured that the bugs in compost are beneficial.