How do YOU compost your chicken manure?

[TLWR]

I built a new chicken/duck mansion and have been collecting the manure and putting it in a compost pile and so far, just adding veggie scraps from the kitchen.

Will this work? Do I need to add grass clippings/etc as well or just mix up my pile and keep watered?
What do you do to compost your chicken manure?


I also constructed a small greenhouse this winter and just mixed up some duck poop soup for the seedlings that are popping up in there.

 

[CanadaEh]

to compost chicken manure (which is exceptionally high in nitrogen), you need a good source of carbon (brown) materials - fall leaves, woodchips, cardboard, etc.

We have deep litter (collected bags of fall leaves) in both coop and run - there is no chicken manure to separate - it is being composted right there

 

[Rooapalooza]

Adding in leaves/hay/dead grass/brown bags/shredded cardboard/newspaper will help with the smell for sure. I have straw on the floor of my coop and rake it directly into my compost, which also has food scraps/leaves. It composts very quickly. Duck poop water in particular made a huge difference in my veggie garden; basically double of everything.

Will your chickens have access to your pile?

 

[Trish1974]

I compost in a corner section of my garden. Spring through fall its shavings mixed in with the chicken poop, in winter I use straw. I occasionally throw in egg shells. I turn it every month or two with a pitchfork and let it decompose a full year before using it.

 

[TLWR]

Will your chickens have access to your pile?

Not the current pile since it is by the greenhouse and my chickens like to destroy anything garden related, so they aren't being allowed there.
I may start a 2nd pile in their pen so that they can scratch at it. Otherwise the pile by the greenhouse is going to, well, be huge, and that's a lot of poop!

 

[Rooapalooza]

Amen on their garden destruction powers! I recommend having them in your compost though. They help break down the scraps and turn the pile looking for bugs and worms.

 

[Acre4Me]

I built a new chicken/duck mansion and have been collecting the manure and putting it in a compost pile and so far, just adding veggie scraps from the kitchen.

Will this work? Do I need to add grass clippings/etc as well or just mix up my pile and keep watered?
What do you do to compost your chicken manure?


I also constructed a small greenhouse this winter and just mixed up some duck poop soup for the seedlings that are popping up in there.

by "collecting the manure" do you mean poopboard scrapings (primarily poop) or bedding mixed with poop such as pine shavings or hay?

We remove the poopy pine shavings from our coop and put in the compost area. Additionally, veggie scraps, tea bags, coffee grounds, and egg shells get added. When we can, we turn the pile. Usually we cannot turn it in the winter bc it is frozen. This year is an exception. During the summer we will add grass clippings too, when we think of it. Basically it takes a while for the decomposition. However, you are in Southern Alabama,, according to your profile. So warmer, all the time. More humid/moist, more bugs, more fungi, etc. So I would expect your pile to degrade quicker than mine. If you have grass clippings, add them. If you are just putting in poop from a poop tray, then add straw or dead leaves, etc.

 

[TLWR]

by "collecting the manure" do you mean poopboard scrapings (primarily poop) or bedding mixed with poop such as pine shavings or hay?

So warmer, all the time. More humid/moist, more bugs, more fungi, etc. So I would expect your pile to degrade quicker than mine. If you have grass clippings, add them. If you are just putting in poop from a poop tray, then add straw or dead leaves, etc.

We don't use bedding, so just straight up poop. I can probably mow up some fresh cut green stuff and then add dead leaves later - the lawn is seriously growing right now, or the weeds in the grass maybe

 

[Acre4Me]

We don't use bedding, so just straight up poop. I can probably mow up some fresh cut green stuff and then add dead leaves later - the lawn is seriously growing right now, or the weeds in the grass maybe

Yes, then you'll need to "thin" it out a bit with some good browns and greens. Sawdust and wood ash can be added too.

 

[kristeninprogress]

I have two compost piles. One for mostly finished material, and one that needs to decompose. I add all chicken poop and bedding, wood ash, small sticks/vines, pine straw, veggie scraps, egg shells, yard clippings, and leaves. The chickens have access to it all the time. They turn it well and keep the ant population down, so less work for me! I'm in Southeast Georgia, so we have about the same climate. I started my first pile in July, and it should be ready in a month. I'll keep adding the more finished material from pile #2 until I get my garden started.

I also have several large tree trunks and limbs that I use to build new garden beds with the Hugelkulture method. I'm piling up the tree material, then leaves and grass clippings, finished compost, then soil. It's supposed to serve as a regenerative carbon source.