how long does it take chicken manure compost

[GardenerGal]

Christie Rhae, I love your chicken pen! It's like a work of practical art.
Wish I could live in Hawaii and not need winter shelter. What do you do when there's a big storm with heavy winds?

I live on a small property of only 60'X116', and every inch of open ground has poultry poop barn "cleanings" spread out over it. But no odor, bugs or varmints. And it doesn't burn the plants because the poop is mixed with other things and not concentrated. That's a key factor to safe application of raw manure. But it's enough poop to override the nitrogen needed to break down the shavings and debris. I am amazed at how balanced a "system" it is to use the manure this way.

 

[HickoryHollow]

Rufus,
Try this: Pull the center of the pile out to the edges forming a "divit" in the middle. Cover the compost pile with black plastic. Poke a small hole in the center of the plastic and pour some water in. The black plastic will hold moisture in, and collect heat that REALLY speeds the process inside the pile.
Tim

 

[daddykirbs]

I throw mine in this and it takes care of business pretty fast. I would say less than 2 months for sure.

 

[daylily]

Rufus,
Try this: Pull the center of the pile out to the edges forming a "divit" in the middle. Cover the compost pile with black plastic. Poke a small hole in the center of the plastic and pour some water in. The black plastic will hold moisture in, and collect heat that REALLY speeds the process inside the pile.
Tim

I like this Idea for my compost area! I just went through 5 bags of top soil as I used the other composted soil up on the garden area! Now I'm working on my second one which had more branches in it. Great and clever! Thank you!

 

[gjensen]

I have a lot of birds, and produce a lot of compost. I use the deep litter method. Pine shavings is the bedding material.

When, I clean out (every four - 6 months), I make several 5x5x5 piles. I wet it, and add a little lime as I build it in layers. It gets really hot, really fast. I flip it every week or two until it quits heating up (about 3 months). I re wet as needed when I flip the piles. Depending on the time of year and it has quit getting hot, it is piled up into one large mound where it sits until the space I intend to use it is empty.

Because I am regularly mixing in fresh bedding, and adding a new layer to the top, the newer bedding is not going to be finished decomposing for a while. Since I rotate garden plots, I will till it in and plant in that space the following season. When I do this late fall, that space would be planted the following spring and their is little evidence of the wood chips by then. Usually that space gets a cover crop in the time it is empty.

It is composted in piles for a few months, it sits for a length of time, it is tilled in, and cover cropped. It is planted the following season. My gardens get get three plantings a year. Every area gets a rest, compost, and a cover crop after two or three plantings. Depending on the timing, what I am growing, and the weather.

 

[omaeve]

I have heard some greenhouses use the fresh compost To warm the greenhouse by putting a two foot line wall of plastic a foot and a half to two away from out side of green house and fill this area in fall with hot compost all winter to help warm the green house in the spring place in a pile for fall to late winter planting..my brother used this and painted 55 gallon drums of water inside green house the sun warms the water ant both compost and barrel warm green house.

 

[niarrausa]

I have two places I garden. One gets filled with chicken poop while the other grows food. Then the following year, I switch. The funny thing is, sometimes people think I have two gardens because the other garden will keep growing while I am filling it with chicken poop. I let it compost back into the ground. The plants don't seem to mind that the fertilizer is supposed to be too strong. I also water my pile with human urine and rain water. My plants grow very well and I don't pay for fertilizer. But that's my two cents. I also like to grow plants that come back every year on their own. I'm a lazy gardener. I want to reap without having to constantly sow. I think that that is alot wiser than going to get a plant from some store every year and trying to make it grow or constantly buying seeds. It's nice when the plants come back on their own every year. Especially my berries. Yummy!

 

[Arielle]

Old organic gardner here...so here is the scoop on composting! You need a 50/50 mix of "brown" and "green" parts. Brown is the carbon base for your compost. Some good browns are dried leaves, hay, COMPLETLY dried lawn clippings, any type of paper from newsprint to old printer/copy paper, bark, wood chips and so on! Greens are easy to come by, fresh grass clippings, uncooked vegi scraps from the kitchen, garden scraps, basically any non-dried plant material...and of course...manure! And here is a big time saver, the smaller your green and brown scraps, the faster this goes! So if you have any way of doing this..weedeater, chipper...do it! It can save you as much as two weeks! Here is how it goes:

You want a section of land about 3 feet by 3 feet...this is about the smallest you want to work with and you'll see why later.
Put down a 3 inch layer of browns, sprinkle LIGHTLY with water and a smidge of dirt..any old dirt. This is basicaly what those compost starters are so don't waste your money on 'em.
Then put down a 2 inch layer of green. You don't want TOO much green because the bacteria that is going to do your work can't handle it...it'll give off an ammonia smell. If you smell this at any time, throw in a few forks of dried leaves and turn. Another sprinkle of dirt but not water, the greens are wet enough.

Just keep doing this until you get a 3 foot pile. Then take a gardening fork and turn/mix everything REALLY well. Give it one last LIGHT sprinkle and let it set. About two or three days later go out and ease back the pile and feel inside. Is is getting warm? Great! That means you have good bacterial growth! This is also why you want such a large pile, it helps hold in the heat and speed up the process. Some piles have been known to reach 140 degrees! Leave it alone for another three days and then go turn it. If it looks dry..give it a light sprinkle of water. You may see these long grey or white threads...those are your buddies the bacteria...you want to promote that growth!

Basically every four days or so, go turn the pile and give it a sprinkle if it is dry. You don't want it soaking wet, just moist. Each time you turn it, the pile will heat up again as bacterial growth spreads. Depending on the size of your scraps when you start...you can have good compost in at little as a month! And as someone stated above...save a bit for your next pile...it'll help fire up the new one!

compost101 !

 

[Jeanna Marie]

I have no idea what the answer to your question is so pose I will pose another. I grew up on a commercial farm and when our birds were removed.. the manure and shavings were hauled to local farms where it was spread and then two weeks later turned and planted. Is there a difference in the wait time in planting if you spread it thin like that? And boy does it stink!

 

[DLBUTTER]

My question is, if I keep adding poop to the compost pile every time time I clean poop boards and the run area say every ten days,won't the poop keep the compost at a point where it can't be used. I.e. Too hot or bacteria from the poop not being broken down. (Unsafe) would keeping it in a bucket for a couple months and add it then be better