Feeding chickens in compost bin

[Chicken-poodle]

I have this compost bin which is about 4 feet in diameter, and typically is 1/4 to 1/3 full at any point. Lately composting has been going very well, because I have a bunch of black soldier fly larvae eating and heating up the pile. I don't have my chickens yet (still building the run), but it seems to me I could put one or two chickens into the bin to forage for the larvae while I am out weeding (and supervising). What does this group think of this idea? I know chickens like to eat these larvae.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0085O6NXQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[rosemarythyme]

Don't see why that wouldn't work. Chickens would love to dig through compost.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Agree it’s worth a try. The chickens may be nervous - but if not, they’ll probably love scratching and snacking.

BTW...I have that same composter...but I put it together so it’s less “stiff” but has about 3x the capacity. Seemed to work ok.

 

[reddogmaster2]

Excellent idea!

 

[Mark Park]

there's an excellent video on yout ube of a permaculture gardener that collects up restaurant and produce shop scraps by the ton and dumps it into his chicken run. The girls scratch through it and turn it into compost for the garden. It looked like a terrific system. I'll see if I can find it.

 

[Mark Park]

Here it is:

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Yes, that guy ("Edible Acres" is the YouTube channel) does some really interesting stuff with compost and chickens. He's got a whole series of videos that are well worth checking out.

He gets his food scraps from a local restaurant and a co-op I believe. I source mine from a local food pantry. They get big donations of food that's about to go bad from supermarkets, big box stores, and other businesses.

They often can't give it all away before it goes bad, and then end up having to throw it out...and pay to have extra pickups from their waste management company.

So, you can help your chickens and help a food pantry keep their money focused on doing good, not hauling waste.