Getting rid of chicken waste/empty food bags etc.

[jools2014]

So many uses I hadn't thought of Ally! Great ideas there.

art-my feedbags are all paper, definitely not plastic. Great link thanks.

 

[saulsx]

Lots of great advice already, plus some ideas I hadn't thought of that we're gonna start using, like re-using those nylon/plastic feed bags as drop cloths.

We toss the waste - spent bedding (shavings, shredded paper), poop, straw, everything - into a compost pile. We currently have 3 piles going now, all basically just open bins made out of scrap wood wrapped in either old chicken wire or hardware cloth, that we keep a distance away from the house near the back of the property. Rats and mice haven't been a problem, yet. We do see the occasional mouse out in the tall grass or in the brush, but we have lots of hawks, rat snakes, and get the free roaming dog or cat from time to time. Haven't ever had one in the house.

Ants on the other hand...

I've heard about using mint, too. We have a couple of varieties of mint that we planted right in the ground and let spread wild around our peach trees. Not sure if it's helping keep anything away. Might repel rats and mice, but I know it doesn't work on ants since fire ants built a nest right under a chocolate mint plant.

We keep the chicken waste in a separate pile and plan on giving it about a year, til next season, before we use it in the garden.

As far as burning trash, our county is pretty relaxed about it, usually requiring a permit only for large burns and certain things. We aren't supposed to burn plastic or certain plants like poison ivy that can potentially harm people or livestock (lots of farms around here) that might be downwind. Our county actually does recyclables collection. We've done small burn piles of scrap wood that we can't re-use. Other than that, we keep our trash in bins outside away from the house til it's time to haul it to the dump, which is a couple miles away. Saves us a few bucks a month on having somebody pick it up. And re-use everything that we can.

 

[jools2014]

^^ Never had a problem with ants, hope you get that sorted out!

I just put some peppermint on some cotton balls around the pen-not sure if it's working or not yet-not seen any rats since but then they mostly come in at night. Can't wait until my ducklings are on the pellets as I have to leave chick feed out for them and it's encouraging rats and mice not good!

 

[foodlover]

Hey there,
What we do here is, we have hired a bin rental company . We can throw all kinds of waste in it, including chicken waste and at the end of every week they come and collect the bins and replace it with new ones. The best part is that I don’t have to worry about segregating the waste. We just dump the waste in it and there is no issue of rats also because the bins are covered and nothing gets spilled outside. They don’t charge too much also. So I think it’s the best to use bin rentals and stop worrying about your waste.

 

[jools2014]

Hey there,
What we do here is, we have hired a bin rental company . We can throw all kinds of waste in it, including chicken waste and at the end of every week they come and collect the bins and replace it with new ones. The best part is that I don’t have to worry about segregating the waste. We just dump the waste in it and there is no issue of rats also because the bins are covered and nothing gets spilled outside. They don’t charge too much also. So I think it’s the best to use bin rentals and stop worrying about your waste.

That's a brilliant idea-thanks, will look into it!

 

[scooter147]

I use the feed bags as trash bags. They cannot be recycled so I don't want to just toss them in the trash. They fit perfectly in my kitchen trash can. Makes me feel better to give them a "final" purpose.

The pine shavings in the coop I simply spread on my garden in the winter.

 

[aart]

Quote: Those bins are huge!!
Would take forever to fill them up.....and it doesn't look like they have lids.....wouldn't want that stinkiness in my yard.

I give my chicken poop to a buddy who composts it..we have 4 three gallon kitty litter bucket that we rotate 2 at a time.

 

[camershek]

We just always burn our waste