deep litter and compost

[irish44395]

I am getting ready to clean out my deep litter coop. Its going in the compost pile wondering if I should count it as green or brown or both trying to keep my ratio at 30% green
Thanks

 

[Wolfie2]

I count it as high N2 but then, I never have the right ingredients @ the right time to make good compost in a timely manner. I just put stuff in the bin (Can't make it on the ground due to fire ants), Turn it occasionally and it will, in about a year, turn to compost.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I am getting ready to clean out my deep litter coop. Its going in the compost pile wondering if I should count it as green or brown or both trying to keep my ratio at 30% green
Thanks

If it is really heavy in fairly fresh poop, count it as mostly a green. If it has very little fairly fresh poop in it count it as mostly a brown. If you've kept it slightly damp and it looks more like compost than either poop or bedding, count it as neutral. If you have a droppings board and remove a lot of poop from the coop that way it may mostly be a brown.

I don't know how you've managed it, how long it has been there, how much poop has been mixed in, or what you use for litter. I don't know what yours is but for most people I'd consider it slightly brown.

 

[irish44395]

If it is really heavy in fairly fresh poop, count it as mostly a green. If it has very little fairly fresh poop in it count it as mostly a brown. If you've kept it slightly damp and it looks more like compost than either poop or bedding, count it as neutral. If you have a droppings board and remove a lot of poop from the coop that way it may mostly be a brown.

I don't know how you've managed it, how long it has been there, how much poop has been mixed in, or what you use for litter. I don't know what yours is but for most people I'd consider it slightly brown.

its been in there for a year I don't have poop boards the only fresh would be what was drop in recent days so I thinking brown or netural

 

[gtaus]

I am getting ready to clean out my deep litter coop. Its going in the compost pile wondering if I should count it as green or brown or both trying to keep my ratio at 30% green
Thanks

Some of us dump our coop litter into the chicken run for composting in place. Chickens will rip that stuff up while scratching and pecking for food.

I have about 7 square feet per bird in my coop, my chicken poo to deep litter ratio is heavy on the litter - so my spent coop litter would be considered brown. When I dump coop litter out into my chicken run, I like to top it off with a layer of grass clippings. I would suggest the same thing for a compost bin.

 

[Alagirl]

I am getting ready to clean out my deep litter coop. Its going in the compost pile wondering if I should count it as green or brown or both trying to keep my ratio at 30% green
Thanks

just pile it up. You don't see farmers mixing manure piles up with green stuff.
Don't overthink compost. In most cases it happens without added work. it just takes longer.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I’d guess that the bedding is about the right ratio already, so as others suggested…puke it up and see how it goes. If it’s not decomposing, add more greens. If it’s smelly, add more browns.

 

[gtaus]

You don't see farmers mixing manure piles up with green stuff.

Not quite sure where you are going with that. Manure is considered green material, so, if you wanted to use it as compost, then you would mix it with browns/carbons like straw.

I had a good friend that lived on a small farm. I spent a week with him on his farm. The only manure piles they had were dirty bedding scooped up from the barn. It was a mix of straw and manure. Mostly straw, but certainly lots of manure in the mix. They loaded that stuff up on a manure spreader wagon and spread it out on their fields. They called it "Sunshine Fertilizer" back in the day. Yeah, it smelled like manure. It was not compost like we would use in our gardens.

its been in there for a year I don't have poop boards the only fresh would be what was drop in recent days so I thinking brown or netural

If it's dry and doesn't smell, I would think it's more on the brown side. But if you dump it straight into a compost bin, give it a bit of water, and it does not heat up - then add some greens to the mix. I can tell my coop bedding/litter is mostly brown, so I just add grass clippings with it.

If it’s smelly, add more browns.

The nose knows. A good compost pile should not smell bad. If it does, you can usually correct it by adding browns and mixing well.

I tend to error on the brown side. My pallet compost never smells, but it probably takes longer to decompose. Not a big deal for me, I would rather let it sit longer than have to turn the piles.

The chicken run compost system works better for me as the chickens will do all the turning and mixing of the material. I can just dump layers of browns and greens in the run and the chickens will mix everything together on their own.

 

[Alagirl]

Not quite sure where you are going with that. Manure is considered green material, so, if you wanted to use it as compost, then you would mix it with browns/carbons like straw.

I had a good friend that lived on a small farm. I spent a week with him on his farm. The only manure piles they had were dirty bedding scooped up from the barn. It was a mix of straw and manure. Mostly straw, but certainly lots of manure in the mix. They loaded that stuff up on a manure spreader wagon and spread it out on their fields. They called it "Sunshine Fertilizer" back in the day. Yeah, it smelled like manure. It was not compost like we would use in our gardens.



If it's dry and doesn't smell, I would think it's more on the brown side. But if you dump it straight into a compost bin, give it a bit of water, and it does not heat up - then add some greens to the mix. I can tell my coop bedding/litter is mostly brown, so I just add grass clippings with it.



The nose knows. A good compost pile should not smell bad. If it does, you can usually correct it by adding browns and mixing well.

I tend to error on the brown side. My pallet compost never smells, but it probably takes longer to decompose. Not a big deal for me, I would rather let it sit longer than have to turn the piles.

The chicken run compost system works better for me as the chickens will do all the turning and mixing of the material. I can just dump layers of browns and greens in the run and the chickens will mix everything together on their own.

well, it normally does not sit out like compost, for three years and counting.
And it is not turned as compost is. A farmer might run a font loader up there and fluff it, but that is Diesel and time.
So the product is relatively fresh when it's put out, usually once a year to make room for the next season of 'night soil'
yes, the color is just a guideline: Green stuff like plant trimmings are generally richer in nitrogen. and the brown stuff is woodsy material, needing a little longer to break down.
Just because poop is brown does not make it so in compost terms.
If you treat the poop like compost it should break down fast and become odorless compost.
In time.

 

[gtaus]

I am getting ready to clean out my deep litter coop.

Just thought I would upload a picture of my composting chickens hard at work. Last fall I dumped all the wood chips deep bedding in my coop into the chicken run. In this picture, you can see how well the wood chips, leaves, and grass clippings have broken down from last October. I hope you can see how black the compost is. It's ready to harvest any time I want. For me, my chickens make compost in the chicken run much faster than what I get from my pallet compost bins.