How do you start a compost pile??

[GaDawg]

My husband just called and said that someone he works with is interested in chicken litter for his garden. So i was wondering how do you start a compost pile when you clean out your coop? do you let it just be outside or do you put it in a container? He suggested a trash can, but I didn't think you should put it in plastic. Shouldn't it breath? lol

Thanks for any suggestions...

 

[Chickenaddict]

I add my chicken bedding with the grass clippings, old veggies, and leaves from the yard, Garden lime is great for breaking down straw, hay and pine shavings. I turn mine once in spring and once in the fall and add to the gardens the following spring. I just recently gave away a HUGE 16 ft ong by 6 ft wide by 5 ft high pile of excellent compost to a guy with one fabulous john deere tractor in exchange for some help with yard work using his tractor. It was an all day job but well worth it for both of us

. Makes it a little easier to turn it twice a year now lol

 

[GaDawg]

So you don't put it in any container, you just keep it in a pile near your coop?

 

[halo]

Just pile it up and make it easy on yourself. If you can kind of square off the top like a volcano, it will help to let rain or snow sink into it and keep it moist.

 

[GaDawg]

ok thanks, that sounds easy enough

 

[RockyToggRanch]

There are a lot of different ways to compost. From tiny worm compost bins under your sink for kitchen scraps, to elaborite 3 or 4 bin systems or expensive compost tumblers. It really depends on where you live and how much space you have. The basics are the same regardless of size or style you chose. You need only layer browns and greens. Lawn clippings, leaves, kitchen scraps (not meat or dairy), etc. If you turn the pile it breaks down faster. The larger the pile, the hotter it gets and the faster it breaks down. It needs moisture and air. Large pieces of matter will break down slower, so if you run twigs and leaves through a shredder it speeds things up.

So, if you have a pile of chicken coop debris, depending on how much you have, just pile it up, add all the good yard and kitchen waste.

A simple set up to start out with might be a circle of chicken wire reinforced with a few stakes. Just layer in green stuff (high in nitrogen) with brown stuff (high in carbon). Keep moist, but not soaked. When it turns to compost, just lift the cage off and set it in a new spot.

You should check out your local cooperative extension for a guide called

Composting to Reduce the Waste Stream

perhaps you could find a link on Cornell University's website.

 

[jbowyer01]

We took a large plastic trash can and drilled holes in the bottom and along the bottom sides . We through pretty much everything into it (veggie material, yard waste, bunny and chicken poo) keep it moist and turn it every so often.

 

[seismic wonder2]

My compost takes a little longer than most...I pile it up and the chickens throw it all over the yard looking for the cool treats I must have buried there....Why else would I have made such a large pile?

 

[Gloria]

Quote:

I hear ya!!! I got the same thing going on over here!! Crazy birds they just throw it wherever they want it.

 

[Chickenaddict]

LOL mine do the same thing but it helps turn it and mix things up. gadawg i just pile it up and turn it but really you don't have to be picky about it like i am and could get by with only turning it once a year. last year we had a famiy of rabbits burrow under it to make a nest for winter.