FAILURE @ HT COMPOSTING!

[Bridebeliever]

Thanks everybody! Keep posting...keep talking...I'm reading and learning over here! I don't think you could mention an article or YouTube video that I haven't read or watched. LOL Yes, I have read the one on NW Edible and yes I have read composting with chickens.
I think I do have a lot of manure in my pile. 11 chickens and 6 months of daily cleaning. We are nuts about keeping the coop clean because we like to go in there with the girls. Seriously, we clean out the coop with a kitty litter scoop and a big spoon so we are taking out lots of poo and not a lot of pine shavings. Here's a resent picture of the coop to give you and idea of what it looks like:

The outside:

They do spend their whole day outside unless the weather is really awful and they don't want to. So I guess mostly we are collecting nighttime poo.

I think my problem is a combination of turning too often, not enough green stuff and not enough moisture. All the videos I've watched show people really hosing down their hot compost. I thought living in Washington was enough water for it but maybe not.

 

[Bridebeliever]

As a funny. When I went out to take the temperature of the pile yesterday my DD was like "um, Mom, isn't that our steak thermometer!?" I said "Yes, but I'll wash it really good." She said "Oh gross! Chicken poop today steak tomorrow!" She thought that was the grossest thing ever. We'll see her reaction next time we have steak! LOL

Anyways, I think I need to go ahead and buy the proper compost thermometer!

 

[Gatewayto]

That is pretty funny.. yes do - have a separate one for food and a separate one for compose.... heheh

 

[Weehopper]

Don't really know that much about composting, but I believe you can buy compost starter at garden centers. I am sure it would come with directions.

 

[Bridebeliever]

Yes, and the compost thermometers come with directions too. And I've read enough directions to explode my head!

Directions and execution/reality are two things that are not working out for me right now.

 

[Weehopper]

Lol! Have you considered rabbit manure? You don't have to compost it. It never burns, and it really makes everything grow.
If you don't have rabbits, you probably know someone who does, and would be happy to let you have as much as you need.

 

[Bridebeliever]

Oh yes, my daughter has 3 rabbits...should've said their stuff was in the compost pile too. Poop, urine and Timothy hay scraps.

 

[Drex]

I put straw in my compost piles. It allows for more oxygen and a overall higher temp. Less turning but there is still the need for the shovel and fork.

 

[Bridebeliever]

Thanks for that! Yes, mine has some stick and whatnot just because it is sitting directly on the ground and it's foresty area. I was thinking it was too much in the shade? It gets afternoon sun though...of course we are in WA, so it all depends when the sun shows up!!

 

[Bridebeliever]

3 days, no stirring and I've got NOTHING going on with this pile.

So I decided on a do-over. I split the pile in half, took the half I want to hot compost with over to a more sunny area on the property, added more green stuff and about 6 gallons of water. It has a few sticks in it, lettuce, weeds, coffee grounds, rabbit poo, rabbit urine, timothy hay, leaves, and of course pine shavings and chicken poo. I'm hoping the dousing of water will help it along. It's not as wet as I think it should've been so I'm hoping the addition of water I gave it today will help it along. I covered it with a tarp so the chickens will leave it alone. It's now down to a more manageable size for turning it too.

The other pile I'm going to leave as a cold compost. It's got all of the above things in it minus weeds because I don't want to cultivate those in my compost. We also got to digging and added about 150 worms to the pile! I'm hoping the worms dig down far enough that the chickens don't find and eat them! I guess I need to get some kitchen scraps in to that pile for the worms to eat too?

Well,

really hoping for something to happen with this pile soon! I'm going to go buy a compost thermometer today!