Duck compost

[Musolff2015]

Conposting confuses the c*** out of me!! I'm hoping its alot simpler than it seems reading "how to blogs". I'm currently using hay in the duck coop. I've been changing it every few day but come winter will just be adding layers until spring as it will freeze. Can I just simply toss the saturated bedding into a garbage can with holes for air circulation and a cover?

I really hate to waste the bedding and toss it in the city garbage, but I also do not want to add on to my daily chores with animals and young kids just to monitor temp and turning.

I should also mention that I don't mind if it doesnt end up being fertile as I can just use it as fill in my yard.

 

[DiYMama540]

Sounds like a question for @Compost King

 

[PirateGirl]

Yes. Once in awhile roll your can around or dig through it with a shovel to turn it.

You can turn it in your garden in fall and let it continue to compost in place until you plant in spring, even if it’s not finished quite yet.

 

[Henry&Friends]

I use old straw as run bedding, garden mulch or fire starters. It holds moisture for plants, covers the rectangle of dead grass (my birds hop the fence) and if it’s dry, it burns. I’m not sure how long it would take to compost, but we already compost what we don’t give to the chickens anyways.

 

[PirateGirl]

The dirty duck water can safely go straight on your plants as well. It’s not too hot and won’t burn the roots.

 

[Musolff2015]

Yes. Once in awhile roll your can around or dig through it with a shovel to turn it.

You can turn it in your garden in fall and let it continue to compost in place until you plant in spring, even if it’s not finished quite yet.

Will it compost in the winter when we are below 30s from about november-March with 3/4 of those days being single digits or negatives? I would think it wouldnt compost being frozen

 

[PirateGirl]

not much composting activity happens over winter in a small container compost system, I don't add any material to my container over winter at all

 

[PirateGirl]

I'm not sure your climate, but if it's *mostly* broken down you can put it in the ground in say October and by planting time in May it's generally good to go, again, depends where you live and how long your ground is frozen.

 

[Musolff2015]

I'm not sure your climate, but if it's *mostly* broken down you can put it in the ground in say October and by planting time in May it's generally good to go, again, depends where you live and how long your ground is frozen.

Wisconsin.....where winter last 3/4 of the year and "spring" to "fall" goes through a viscous cycle of 3 seasons a day lol 2 weeks ago we were high of mid 50s lows of mid 40s, this week we have been hitting 80s during the day with lows of 45 by night. Last year we were hitting -50s with windchill so that's why I asked when you said if you put it down for fall it will be okay by spring because even the few piles of dog poop I ignore around mid October will still be there once the snow melts to clean it all in april-may

 

[PirateGirl]

Wisconsin.....where winter last 3/4 of the year and "spring" to "fall" goes through a viscous cycle of 3 seasons a day lol 2 weeks ago we were high of mid 50s lows of mid 40s, this week we have been hitting 80s during the day with lows of 45 by night. Last year we were hitting -50s with windchill so that's why I asked when you said if you put it down for fall it will be okay by spring because even the few piles of dog poop I ignore around mid October will still be there once the snow melts to clean it all in april-may

You can always do a test patch the first season and see what it looks like come spring. I don't know when you typically plant. Everyone's soil is different as well. Duck waste is not particularly harsh. It is safe to put on plants pretty much immediately, so if you put some in the ground in a small area and it doesn't break down as much as you'd like by the date you'd like you can just spread it around a bit more and it shouldn't harm anything.