Husband thinks it's ok to compost IN the chicken run. I disagree, who is right?

[5Australorpasaures]

Husband and wife disagree? I'll stay out of the middle of this one.

 

[WildNectarine]

Meanwhile, I’m here changing the paper liner for my pet quail every day all worried about germs…

 

[Sally PB]

Someone here on BYC has turned his chicken run into a composting chicken run. It has worked well for him for several years, and he gets hundreds of dollars worth of compost every spring for his planters and gardens.

I do both chicken run composting and compost bin composting. The bin is for the kitchen scrap bucket* and the chicken poop I clean off the poop boards every day. The run is for the shavings I clean out of the coop once a year, lots of leaves in the fall, buckets of weeds from the garden, and certain kitchen scraps that I'll have in abundance at times or donations from a neighbor. It has never been a problem. The chickens love all the things I bring, peck and scratch them into the dirt. I need to dig out a load of compost, as it's so high, my head is about to brush one of the metal cross poles in the roof.

*I would have two kitchen scrap/compost buckets, one for chicken-ok stuff, and one for not-ok stuff, but we have too many things on the counter as it is.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I do deep-litter in my run, average 6" or so deep, and occasionally toss scraps, especially weeds, in there directly. The chickens scratch it around and mix it into the deep litter (pine straw, hardwood mulch, bark nuggets, dead leaves, grass clippings, and bugs, worms, and chicken doots - lots of chicken doots), so in fact, it is composting.

If it gets smelly, there's either too much green (scraps, doots) or needs better mixing into the brown (the litter described above.) Throw some dried mealworms or something in there, and while they frantically scratch for the snack, they'll turn the litter for you. If that doesn't work, take out the excess and put it in your compost pile, where you will do the same work turning it as the chickens would do.

I like to create natural conditions as much as possible for our chickens, and making the "floor" of the run as similar as possible to a forest floor is a big part of that.

 

[Bawkbok]

I do deep-litter in my run, average 6" or so deep, and occasionally toss scraps, especially weeds, in there directly. The chickens scratch it around and mix it into the deep litter (pine straw, hardwood mulch, bark nuggets, dead leaves, grass clippings, and bugs, worms, and chicken doots - lots of chicken doots), so in fact, it is composting.

If it gets smelly, there's either too much green (scraps, doots) or needs better mixing into the brown (the litter described above.) Throw some dried mealworms or something in there, and while they frantically scratch for the snack, they'll turn the litter for you. If that doesn't work, take out the excess and put it in your compost pile, where you will do the same work turning it as the chickens would do.

I like to create natural conditions as much as possible for our chickens, and making the "floor" of the run as similar as possible to a forest floor is a big part of that.

Ditto to this - it is our method as well. Although I rely more heavily on the actual compost pile and less food scraps in the run that will mold. Essentially, if the chickens won't eat it within a day, it doesn't go in the run. Attracts way too many ants and other which they obviously don't eat.

Oh, and the next time you know you're right and your husband is wrong and he fusses about it, just say "oh, ok" and walk away smiling, grumbling under your breath is acceptable. Let him think he's right or that his way is better. Life is much easier that way.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Obviously, you have to size it your situation, but absolutely you can compost in your chicken run. As others have said, the key is to have a nice base of browns (I have lots of fall leaves).

A few pictures attached of chicken-run compost piles I have built. You can also "slow compost" in a base of carbon in the run. I do that as well.

 

[MapleLaurelFarms]

Obviously, you have to size it your situation, but absolutely you can compost in your chicken run. As others have said, the key is to have a nice base of browns (I have lots of fall leaves).

A few pictures attached of chicken-run compost piles I have built. You can also "slow compost" in a base of carbon in the run. I do that as well.

Is the last photo the finished compost? Wow that's some black gold you've got going on there! Love the straw bale composting inside the chicken run. Great idea!

 

[MapleLaurelFarms]

He says that the food and garden waste will just break down. I think it will introduce moisture and smell...

Well you both could be right, so how about letting him put all the scraps in there then introduce some browns and turn it? Work together to make it work.

In regards to disease, it would take a fair amount of unkept scraps along with general uncleanliness to cause any issues with the chickens. As long as you're practicing good biosecurity, it's unlikely your chicks will get sick from an abundance of natural vegetative scraps. Hens are natural composter aids, as is, and maybe mine have always been picky but they don't tend to eat subpar materials.

I've never thought twice about putting whatever we have in our run - grass clippings (and we have acres of it), non-meat or fat kitchen scraps, any and all garden discards and prunings, etc etc etc. A lot depends on your run build and number of hens, but even with a run under a roof, I've never had a single issue with breakdown.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Is the last photo the finished compost? Wow that's some black gold you've got going on there! Love the straw bale composting inside the chicken run. Great idea!

Yes, that's the final sifted compost. It really is gorgeous stuff and a sizable run produces compost faster than I can even use it. It's very low effort as the chickens turn it more than any human could ever manage, and add their own "high nitrogen additions" regularly.

 

[MapleLaurelFarms]

Yes, that's the final sifted compost. It really is gorgeous stuff and a sizable run produces compost faster than I can even use it. It's very low effort as the chickens turn it more than any human could ever manage, and add their own "high nitrogen additions" regularly.

Exactly this! And same here. We keep anywhere from 6-12 hens and they toss around and destroy every scrap I throw in there almost immediately. The only thing that might take longer are woody discards like berry canes etc.

I always just leave the run alone and only compost the coop cleanouts for the garden, but you've just convinced me to stop being an idiot lol!