Composting...

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

If you have chickens, then just let them do all the work for you. If you throw your organic material into the chicken run, your chickens will gladly eat what they can and the rest seems to magically disappear into the litter with all their scratching and pecking. No trash to hoard if it disappears daily in the chicken run.

I gave up on (human) labor intensive methods of making compost a long time ago. I just never really got the fast results I wanted in my climate. So, I switched over to other methods that do not require turning piles or checking temperatures. Eventually, everything will compost given time. When I turned my chicken run into a chicken run composting system, then my composting chickens did all the work and I get much better, and faster, results than other methods I had tried.

What kinds of stuff are you referring to when you say your husband thinks you are hoarding trash? None of my composting methods involved hoarding anything. So that was never an issue at our house.

Mostly the cardboard I kept telling him to not throw away cuz I thought the garden needed covering in order for composting to work during off season.

 

[Percheron chick]

You can lay the cardboard down between rows during the growing season to suppress weeds. I don't like the look so I'll cover it with wood chips. It could be mush by the time the garden gets put to bed for the winter at which point it just becomes part of the garden or you scrape it up and throw it in the compost bin.
If you top dress the dormant beds with tons of leaves, a layer of cardboard over the top and weighted down with a few bricks will keep them from blowing away.

 

[gtaus]

Mostly the cardboard I kept telling him to not throw away cuz I thought the garden needed covering in order for composting to work during off season.

You can lay the cardboard down between rows during the growing season to suppress weeds. I don't like the look so I'll cover it with wood chips.

Yep, I don't hoard any cardboard either. Just put it down in the garden between rows or raised beds during the summer and I also cover the cardboard with either wood chips or grass clippings so it looks better for me. By the fall, all that cardboard is mostly decomposed in place. It's a good, more natural, weed barrier but only lasts a few months. In some ways, that is a good thing.

Another advantage to cardboard, I have read that worms really love the glue taste used to make the cardboard. So they are attracted to the cardboard and worms in the garden is a good thing.

 

[SpicyDisaster]

I tried making a worm bin a number of years ago, but I think I added too much food. My worm bin turned sour, smelled bad, and the worms died. If I can find a good plan for a better type of worm bin system, I would like to do that again sometime in the future. Not as my main composter, but as a supplement to what I do in the chicken run compost system.



I know worm castings are very high quality, but I just don't think a worm bin, by itself, would give me enough compost for my needs. You say you only feed about 1 pound of kitchen scraps per weeks to your 500 worms, but how much compost do they make and how long does it take to make compost?

I know my worm bin was off because it smelt terrible. Living in northern Minnesota, I had my worm bin set up in our second bathroom. But it smelled really bad and the worms died. I now live in a house with an unheated attached garage. Will the worms survive in a worm bin in an unheated garage that gets below freezing in the winter? Would I have to line the bin with Styrofoam insuallation?

Anyway, I think having a worm bin would be one great way to augment my composting. Just don't know how to get them through the winter.

Our worm bins only once smelled bad and that was when I tried giving them nuts that had been in the cupboard for two years. They went rancid so I dug them back out and threw it away. The bin was back to smelling good in a couple days.

For our first bin I filled a 50 gallon Rubbermaid tub half full out of our the compost tumbler. It was probably half done at that point. So in three months they've turned 25 gallons of partially composted food and 12 pounds of weekly kitchen scraps (blended for faster consumption) into about 35 gallons of soil. That was 500 worms.

Since that was so successful but slower than I wanted, I decided to increase the production with more bins and more worms. I've overdone myself though I got 2500 more worms and have only had a chance to create 1 more worm bin... It's been hard to keep up with their food demands at this point!

For the second bin I emptied the fresh compost tumbler (food scraps from last two months) that had barely composted into the new bin on top of a 1" layer of shredded paper. That was possibly 30 gallons and then I put 2" of our natural silty loam soil onto the top and mixed it into the top few inches of food scraps. The bin has roughly 1500 worms and in the last 3 weeks they have gone through about half of the food scraps already was well as two pounds of blended food scraps. In another month I expect the full bin will be done and then I will be asking my neighbors for their food scraps to help feed these guys

I have just enough leftover food scrap wannabe compost in the tumbler that I can make another bin but it's frozen solid so I may have to wait until I can get it out of the tumbler. Then I'll have a pretty solid system of bins for the food scraps we make. I figure the garden scraps once it's going will also wind up in the worm bins as supplemental food.

 

[gtaus]

Since that was so successful but slower than I wanted, I decided to increase the production with more bins and more worms. I've overdone myself though

That's a problem I have, too. I am making so much chicken run compost that I cannot use it all. Additionally, I just added another 2 pallet compost bins this past summer because I don't need to harvest my first 3 bins yet. I now have 5 pallet compost bins that are slowly composting material that I did not want to give to the chickens (moldy food, etc...). I just fill them up and let them sit. No labor involved until I finally decide to harvest the compost. Like money in the bank as far as I'm concerned.

 

[SpicyDisaster]

That's a problem I have, too. I am making so much chicken run compost that I cannot use it all. Additionally, I just added another 2 pallet compost bins this past summer because I don't need to harvest my first 3 bins yet. I now have 5 pallet compost bins that are slowly composting material that I did not want to give to the chickens (moldy food, etc...). I just fill them up and let them sit. No labor involved until I finally decide to harvest the compost. Like money in the bank as far as I'm concerned.

I could use all the compost I can get right now! We are new construction on what was wheat field until this year so the ground desperately needs some organic matter before the garden goes in. We just don't make enough scraps to feed all these worms long term

Just got the chicken run up so I may have to start chicken run composting after reading your messages!

 

[gtaus]

Just got the chicken run up so I may have to start chicken run composting after reading your messages!

I was so proud of my nice looking chicken run full of grass when I first built it. It sure was wonderful watching the chickens out in the run enjoying the grass. But in a few months, they ate and scratched everything down to bare dirt. Bare dirt does not look so good.

So, I dumped a load of wood chips in the run and that was much better. But then I got the notion to just convert everything into a chicken run composting system, layering in wood chips, grass clippings, and leaves. The chickens loved digging in all the litter. It kept them busy all day. Eventually, I got up to 18 inches of litter in the chicken run after dumping in all the fall leaves.

When I started harvesting the chicken run compost that fall, I realized that I had way more compost than I myself could use. That's a good problem to have. I bought a cement mixer and converted it into a compost sifter. I posted the results on a different thread here at the BYC forum, but the highlights were that I could sift about 12 large box store bags equivalent (24 cubic feet) of compost per hour, which I think at the time I said would have cost me about $60. In less than 4 hours, I estimated my investment in the cement mixer compost sifter had paid for itself.

Since then, I have sifted many more bags of compost from the chicken run and have tons more ready any time I want. On the scale I now make compost, I would not consider using my old manual 2X4 frame shifter. I'm too old and sifting that much compost manually would be too labor intensive.

Last year, I think I harvested about 60 cubic feet (30 bags) of compost and filled up all my raised beds and gardens. That was only about 15% of the compost sitting in my chicken run at the time. I still have the other 85% left over from last summer plus all the leaves I dumped in last fall. When you have that much compost, you can just let it sit and age and breakdown even more over time. It just seems to get better and better with age.

Best thing, of course, is that the chickens will scratch and turn the chicken run litter all day long. They love doing that type of stuff. It's just in their nature. They are always digging for worms and bugs in the litter. Anyway, their constant turning of the litter in the run breaks down everything much faster than I could ever achieve in my pallet compost bins. Their poo just magically disappears into the litter and makes everything even better.

Personally, I like the look of the chicken run litter full of grass clippings and leaves. It looks very natural to me. It never smells and never gets muddy. Even when the litter got to 18 inches deep, I was able to walk on top of it without any problem. Believe it or not, I had some visiting neighbors (I live on a lake) this past summer compliment me on the chicken run composting system because they immediately knew the value of the compost my chickens were making. It's all good for me, and as you can tell, I love spreading the word about my composting chickens.

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

I dumped a load of wood chips in the run and that was much better. But then I got the notion to just convert everything into a chicken run composting system, layering in wood chips, grass clippings, and leaves. The chickens loved digging in all the litter. It kept them busy all day. Eventually, I got up to 18 inches of litter in the chicken run after dumping in all the fall leaves.

This is what I've been doing since July in a 10x20 run...grass sure was pretty while it lasted lol.
My run has few feet that gets wet when it rains so I've been "fluffin" it with pitch fork to try and dry it out sooner in that area. I'm thinking it's like the deep litter method since it needs moisture.
I just wasn't sure if I'm thinkin right or not.

 

[SpicyDisaster]

I was so proud of my nice looking chicken run full of grass when I first built it. It sure was wonderful watching the chickens out in the run enjoying the grass. But in a few months, they ate and scratched everything down to bare dirt. Bare dirt does not look so good.

So, I dumped a load of wood chips in the run and that was much better. But then I got the notion to just convert everything into a chicken run composting system, layering in wood chips, grass clippings, and leaves. The chickens loved digging in all the litter. It kept them busy all day. Eventually, I got up to 18 inches of litter in the chicken run after dumping in all the fall leaves.

When I started harvesting the chicken run compost that fall, I realized that I had way more compost than I myself could use. That's a good problem to have. I bought a cement mixer and converted it into a compost sifter. I posted the results on a different thread here at the BYC forum, but the highlights were that I could sift about 12 large box store bags equivalent (24 cubic feet) of compost per hour, which I think at the time I said would have cost me about $60. In less than 4 hours, I estimated my investment in the cement mixer compost sifter had paid for itself.

Since then, I have sifted many more bags of compost from the chicken run and have tons more ready any time I want. On the scale I now make compost, I would not consider using my old manual 2X4 frame shifter. I'm too old and sifting that much compost manually would be too labor intensive.

Last year, I think I harvested about 60 cubic feet (30 bags) of compost and filled up all my raised beds and gardens. That was only about 15% of the compost sitting in my chicken run at the time. I still have the other 85% left over from last summer plus all the leaves I dumped in last fall. When you have that much compost, you can just let it sit and age and breakdown even more over time. It just seems to get better and better with age.

Best thing, of course, is that the chickens will scratch and turn the chicken run litter all day long. They love doing that type of stuff. It's just in their nature. They are always digging for worms and bugs in the litter. Anyway, their constant turning of the litter in the run breaks down everything much faster than I could ever achieve in my pallet compost bins. Their poo just magically disappears into the litter and makes everything even better.

Personally, I like the look of the chicken run litter full of grass clippings and leaves. It looks very natural to me. It never smells and never gets muddy. Even when the litter got to 18 inches deep, I was able to walk on top of it without any problem. Believe it or not, I had some visiting neighbors (I live on a lake) this past summer compliment me on the chicken run composting system because they immediately knew the value of the compost my chickens were making. It's all good for me, and as you can tell, I love spreading the word about my composting chickens.

That sounds amazing and unfortunately I don't have the three main ingredients: grass, leaves, and wood chips I've been waiting on a chip drop for 6 months but we are 5 miles outside the city so no one wants to deliver. Come spring we may stalk some trucks to get some.

Grass will be planted in the spring as we currently are bare dirt and leaves... Well we have 7 new trees we just planted so we could probably get a tiny modest pile next fall.

It's been a different world on this side if the mountains than on the West side of Washington where all of those things were in abundance. But I will keep this in mind more as we continue to improve the homestead. Maybe try straw instead of wood chips.

That is amazing how much success you've had and I bet your girls just love you for it!

 

[gtaus]

I don't have the three main ingredients: grass, leaves, and wood chips...

I just use what I have available. I don't believe you need all three ingredients. I have 3 acres of wooded land so I just have an abundance of those materials to use. Honestly, if you had even one of those materials I think it would work OK. Grass clippings would have to be spread out thinner to allow them to dry out. If not, grass clippings in a pile can clump together and go anerobic (smells bad).

Maybe try straw instead of wood chips...

A person has to use what is available. I used straw for many years, but it gets moldy and smelly if it gets wet or soiled. I find wood chips for my chickens works much better for me than straw. I would think straw in a sheltered coop would work better than straw in a chicken run where it would get rained on.

This winter I am using free paper sheds I make at home inside the coop as litter instead of using wood chips like I have the past 2 years. So far, I am really impressed on how well the paper shreds work as deep bedding in the coop. Another benefit of the paper shreds is that they will compost down much faster than wood chips when I clean the coop in the spring and dump everything out into the chicken run. Since it costs me money to haul our paper products into the town recycle center, I am better off shredding off our paper and light cardboard material at home and using it for the chickens.

I don't really care for the look of colored paper shreds out in the chicken run. When I dump paper shreds into the chicken run, I will cover them with grass clippings or leaves just to make everything look more natural. Having said that, the first good rain outside usually makes the paper shreds vanish like magic into the compost. Oh yeah, if you just dump dry paper shreds on top of the chicken run litter, they might blow into the yard. Been there, done that, too. Not a big problem, just took out the riding mower with the collection bags and "vacuumed" up all the shreds while mowing the lawn.

I've been waiting on a chip drop for 6 months but we are 5 miles outside the city so no one wants to deliver.

I did not have any luck with chipdrop where I live - about 10 miles out of town. But I discovered that we have a county landfill where the arborists dump all their wood chips. They have to pay a fee to dump the chips there, but it is free for me to take as much wood chips from the piles that I can haul out.

It only takes me about 20 minutes to manually fork in a full 4X8 foot trailer, 16 inches high, full of wood chips. If you work with lots of wood chips, then do yourself a favor and invest in a good fork. Don't use a shovel. Here is a picture of a fork like I use.

I have both a gas chipper and an electric chipper at home, but it would take me days to chip up a trailer full of wood at home. If I need lots of wood chips, I go to the landfill. My chippers at home are good for yard clean up of fallen branches, but I don't have the energy to spend hours chipping up wood for the major coop litter for the chickens. That would be too much work for me. But, of course, all the wood I do chip up at home does get used in either the chicken coop as deep bedding, in the chicken run compost system, or used in the pathways between my raised bed gardens.

Everything gets used at home and nothing leaves the property. If it's organic, I'll find some use for it.