Composting...

[787junglist]

Also have chicken tractors running all around the garden

If you rotate the trenches all around the garden is like nutrient stations all around

 

[gtaus]

Composting can be OCD...

I imagine it could be. I know I don't throw away anything organic that could be used for composting. I chip it up, cut it up, or shred it up and let the chickens do the rest of the work for me. I got myself into a good position that I now have more chicken run compost ready to harvest then I could use.

For me, it's not just about making compost. It's also about reducing the amount of material that gets hauled out to the dump/recycle center/landfill.

 

[787junglist]

I imagine it could be. I know I don't throw away anything organic that could be used for composting. I chip it up, cut it up, or shred it up and let the chickens do the rest of the work for me. I got myself into a good position that I now have more chicken run compost ready to harvest then I could use.

For me, it's not just about making compost. It's also about reducing the amount of material that gets hauled out to the dump/recycle center/landfill.

Ive been doing the same with my Chickens...they really love veggie scraps and extra ripe bananas and breadfruit. Cutting on waste and cutting the feed budget is good too

 

[BReeder!]

Fair warning: I can get excited about compost!
I love the stuff! I've talked about it in a few threads here and even have an article here on BYC about my composting. That said, any organic matter will break down over time in most conditions, how fast you want it to break down will determine the methods of composting you use. I use three open bins. They are more like bays really with three walls and an open front. I have three because I fill one and then move to the next one and then the next one. This allows me room to keep adding and asked the older piles to break down without have new matter added so that when I use the compost it is evenly decomposed with no new fresh matter in it. Stirring the piles by turning them with a pitch fork aerates the compost, distributes moisture and brings outter matter into the center where the bio activity is at its peak performance. This hot composting with the generations of compost going at the same time.

Now you could also just make a pile and let it sit. It will compost eventually. Adding aeration with perforated tubes helps a stagnant pile break down faster without the work of turning the pile.

You could also just bury your compostable waste and wait for it to break down in the ground. This method typically relies on worms and insects more than they are given credit for.

Speaking of worms and insects, vermicomposting is another option. Worms such as red worms and earth worms are added to a bin of comparable matter and given the task of eating the matter to produce castings, which is worm poop. This stuff is great because it's high in nutrients and wonderful texture for amending heavy, dense soils.

Another option is let the chickens do the work. I see several people mentioned that already. Chickens will aerate and mechanically break down matter by scratching and their run is inoculated with bacteria from their poop that will help break down matter too. The problem I have with this method is it requires conditioning still because their going to airways be fresh chicken poop if chickens are present. You either move your chickens to a new area and let the area they were in previously sit for a periods of time (often months) or muck out the run and pile all the matter in an area away from the chickens to let it compost and cook off the excess nitrogen and hopefully kill nasty things like parasites and bad bacteria in the process.

Another option is to use composting devices to technically advance your composting. From tumblers that make turning easier to electric composting machines that sit right on your countertop, the options vary greatly. I constructed tumblers, and find them useful but restrictive in space (and mine where two 55 gallon drums). The powered units that break down kitchen waste right on the counter are neat, but expensive and use electricity to operate. In not a fan of compost towers because I would fill it faster than any of them would break down the waste matter into compost so I would need a bunch of them. Towers do contain the waste matter nicely though.

Whatever you do, there are a few basic rules.
1. Incorporate browns (carbom rich matter) and greens (nitrogen rich matter) in your compost. I find having more browns if often better.
2. Keep it moist if you are relying on bacteria. They like a moist environment.
3. Ensure air can get into the compost. Insects and bacteria both need oxygen (unless you are going for anearobic compost like bokashi which relies on a different form of bacteria)
4. Be sure your compost isn't hot (excess nitrogen) when you go to use it.

 

[gtaus]

Another option is let the chickens do the work. I see several people mentioned that already. Chickens will aerate and mechanically break down matter by scratching and their run is inoculated with bacteria from their poop that will help break down matter too. The problem I have with this method is it requires conditioning still because their going to airways be fresh chicken poop if chickens are present. You either move your chickens to a new area and let the area they were in previously sit for a periods of time (often months) or muck out the run and pile all the matter in an area away from the chickens to let it compost and cook off the excess nitrogen and hopefully kill nasty things like parasites and bad bacteria in the process.

I mainly harvest my chicken run compost in the fall and put it on the garden beds to winter over. That way, there should be more than enough time for the chicken manure to cool off. In the spring, the beds are ready for planting.

Also, there is so much organic compost in my chicken run that I seriously doubt that a small amount of fresh chicken poo would be enough to burn any plants. In my chicken run, the compost is about 12-18 inches deep and I only had 10 chickens (now 7), so not very much poo relative to the amount of wood chips, grass clippings, and leaves in the compost litter.

I suspect most of the warnings to let chicken poo cool off for months is probably referring to concentrated amounts of chicken manure. In my chicken run compost, I would suspect that a 5 gallon bucket of my chicken run compost has less than 1/4 cup of poo mixed in. Also, when I harvest the chicken run compost, I usually rake off the top few inches to get down to the black gold, which is already many months old by that tme. Again, I am not worried about that compost burning my plants.

I have seen some people who have only a surface layer of compost and chicken poo, and at that point, I would say it needs to age out before use. My compost is much deeper and the lower layers have been composting for months. Which is why I say I can harvest and use as much chicken run compost any time I want.

 

[BReeder!]

I mainly harvest my chicken run compost in the fall and put it on the garden beds to winter over. That way, there should be more than enough time for the chicken manure to cool off. In the spring, the beds are ready for planting.

Also, there is so much organic compost in my chicken run that I seriously doubt that a small amount of fresh chicken poo would be enough to burn any plants. In my chicken run, the compost is about 12-18 inches deep and I only had 10 chickens (now 7), so not very much poo relative to the amount of wood chips, grass clippings, and leaves in the compost litter.

I suspect most of the warnings to let chicken poo cool off for months is probably referring to concentrated amounts of chicken manure. In my chicken run compost, I would suspect that a 5 gallon bucket of my chicken run compost has less than 1/4 cup of poo mixed in. Also, when I harvest the chicken run compost, I usually rake off the top few inches to get down to the black gold, which is already many months old by that tme. Again, I am not worried about that compost burning my plants.

I have seen some people who have only a surface layer of compost and chicken poo, and at that point, I would say it needs to age out before use. My compost is much deeper and the lower layers have been composting for months. Which is why I say I can harvest and use as much chicken run compost any time I want.

Do you clean poop out of the coop in a separate manner? I have 9 chickens, and I can fill a 5 gallon bucket with poop from their poop board in about 2 weeks. Chickens poop A LOT. If all of their poop is going into the run, you might be surprised how much poop there actually is mixed into all that bedding you mentioned. If the majority of their poop (produced while roosting typically) is being removed and dealt with separately, then I would agree with your statements above that the run likely contains little poop in perspective to a 12-18 inches of bedding.

That said, all of our chicken poop from the poop boards go to a traditional compost pile. When I muck the run it too goes into a pile, although a bit less necessary.

There's also parasites and other nasties like harmful bacteria (E. Coli to name one) to consider. When applying run bedding directly to the garden as compost, these harmful organisms are distributed to your garden beds. Hot composting may help reduce or eliminate these harmful organism (there are of course various factors to consider, temperature of the pile being a key factor for sure). I imagine freezing winter temps may help eliminate some harmful organisms also, so perhaps it's not so bad to apply in late Fall or early Winter. I've honestly not done much research on that bit. My biggest concerns though would be E. Coli and various parasitic worms. If winter freeze takes care of these in the upper part of the soil, then I say your method is safe. That's an unknown factor for me though. Guess what I'll be googling later...

 

[CreveChris]

We are building a 75-foot garden bed against the retaining wall beside our chicken greenhouse. Our coop/run is open air (in Florida) with a natural sand floor and I rake and scoop every day or so to fill a bucket 1/3 full of feathers and poop.

Then I rake away some soil against the wall and bury the waste. After 6 months, it's safe for planting. Although the soil has been scraped of turf, it has microbes and earthworms, so the process is fast. I tend to cover it with Spanish moss to keep it damp, since it is set up just beyond the reach of the irrigation system, so it holds some moisture just below the surface. There is no smell in the coop or the "ditch" of compost.

I don't add a lot of other material, since our food is thrown to the chickens or Gopher tortoises on our property (forest). I don't think composting food waste is a big deal on our land because I can toss it out for wildlife if it's not chicken-safe.

Chicken waste is part of our composting process, and the waste "rests" in the soil until it's turned into the garden.

 

[dirkandlorie]

We are building a 75-foot garden bed against the retaining wall beside our chicken greenhouse. Our coop/run is open air (in Florida) with a natural sand floor and I rake and scoop every day or so to fill a bucket 1/3 full of feathers and poop.

Then I rake away some soil against the wall and bury the waste. After 6 months, it's safe for planting. Although the soil has been scraped of turf, it has microbes and earthworms, so the process is fast. I tend to cover it with Spanish moss to keep it damp, since it is set up just beyond the reach of the irrigation system, so it holds some moisture just below the surface. There is no smell in the coop or the "ditch" of compost.

I don't add a lot of other material, since our food is thrown to the chickens or Gopher tortoises on our property (forest). I don't think composting food waste is a big deal on our land because I can toss it out for wildlife if it's not chicken-safe.

Chicken waste is part of our composting process, and the waste "rests" in the soil until it's turned into the garden.View attachment 2958155

Off topic I know, but what a beautiful home your chickens have!

 

[Iluveggers]

Question:
I am planning to start compost in my chicken run this summer! Moving from my 3 crate system.
If all these worms are attracted to the run, is there any danger to the chickens? I thought I read somewhere that worms can carry disease that is harmful to chickens. Which doesn’t make sense to me…I thought worms were good. Pardon my ignorance!
Also, I put a ton of banana peels, coffee grounds, potato skins, avocado pits & peels, and onion peels in my current compost. Are those safe to throw in with the chickens, or do I need to compost them separately?
Thank you! This is a great thread! Even bought a cheap paper shredder.

 

[CreveChris]

Off topic I know, but what a beautiful home your chickens have!

Not OT at all, imho. I'm finding the photos to create an article about the yearlong voyage.