deep litter: what to do with used shavings?

[Sam The Yam]

I have an old bathtub that I am using for a compost. I have found that if I take some of the bagged steer manure that you can buy, and put a couple bags of that in the tub, then add the shavings as you clean, and mix occasionally, that it creates a very nice mixture that you can then put out into the garden and turn in with the soil. Mine has broken down well.

 

[2DogsFarm]

I use a modified deep-litter method for my horses and the resulting compost is awesome. Besides manure it has uneaten hay and the pine shavings I bed them on.

I don't even bother to turn the pile - just heap new on top of old and turn it in the spring. I can see it steaming when the weather warms up in Spring.
The bottom layer is dark, rich compost filled with earthworms.
After that has been carted away, the top layer becomes the new bottom layer for the next year.

In Fall, after all the flowers have died back and the veggie garden is finished, I put fresh manure directly fro mthe stalls on top and over the Winter it composts itself. I just till it in come Spring.

I've started a small compost pile from my coop (too lazy to walk it over to the barn pile) and will use that for the veggie garden next year. I may start tossing it out in my 1ac wildflower meadow this year - who cares if it burns some of the weeds (meaning unwanted wildflowers)

 

[2DogsFarm]

Just want to thank the BYCer - Jessica from VA - who PM'd me and mailed a very cool article about creating a compost yard that gets used as a garden

I'll be doing a variation of this next year & hopefully it will make up for the total failure that is my veggie garden this year.
I tried strawbale gardening and don't know what went wrong,

but it is truly pitiful.
Even my zucchini are puny! WhatTheHeck

 

[mrsgibber]

Those of you composting shavings in the chicken yards...do you only put in the shavings and not their poo?

 

[hikerchick]

the poo is the best part!

 

[tdkmom]

My dad has an outside wood burner that he uses year round to heat the house & their water. I keep a garbage can w/ bag outside the door & throw it in there. Then when the bag's full I just take the whole bag to him and he burns it. He said it's great in there and it's sort of recycling because he doesn't have to cut as much wood this way.