Is it ok for my chickens to have access to the compost made from my house rabbit and hamster litter/

[dawg53]

I'd like to know what that farmer in Vermont feeds his chickens when the snow and ice is piled up about 3' (or more) deep.

 

[seminolewind]

Right on, Michael. It would be pretty gross to let them dig in compost for all their nutrition. In all that fresh urine and feces, I would be worrying about disease.

 

[donrae]

I would also wonder what his bird's production is, egg-wise. That's why most of us keep birds, for the eggs. The high production birds of today have some nutritional demands that must be met to churn out those eggs every day.

 

[lazy gardener]

I think I can speak a little bit to this issue from the documentation in Harvey Ussery's book: The huge compost piles are kept under a roof like cover, and I believe are mechanically turned (if memory serves correctly) Refuse from local restaurants is a frequent addition, so there is nutrient there in addition to that found in the regular home compost heap consisting of manure and plant refuse. He may also have a few guard dogs. I think any hen would be considered lucky to live in such a place.

IMO, birds greatly benefit from access to compost piles. In addition to the nutrition provided through vegetation, seeds, and lots of insects/worms, I think they get a huge pro-biotic load as well as the copious amounts of fungi and perhaps some molds found in a good compost pile.

That all being said, as much as I encourage free ranging, and access to compost piles when the BYF keeper is able to do so, I think it's extremely important to provide feed through a balanced commercial feed or if you are able to do so, a home made balanced feed formulation. IMO, birds are domestic animals, and we expect a lot from them. Their care should include a reasonable pay back to them in exchange for their services rendered.

 

[GreenSahara]

I'd like to know what that farmer in Vermont feeds his chickens when the snow and ice is piled up about 3' (or more) deep.

Supposedly the compost creates enough heat to melt the snow.

 

[AGB680]

The article is listed in the Learning Center under Hatching Eggs - "Composting with Chickens" and here's the pasted section specifically about this Vermont farmer:

Karl Hammer of Vermont Compost Company (vermontcompost.com) doesn’t feed any purchased feed to his flock of several hundred chickens. Instead, they free range on his mountains of compost, gleaning all their nutritional food from the compost made from food scraps, cow manure, and hay. Most of the food waste comes from local restaurants, schools and other institutions. Our family visited Vermont Compost Company in 2011, and it was incredible to see first-hand. These photos are ones that we took while on the "tour". The healthy and happy chickens were all busily working for their food, while helping to turn and aerate the compost. The covered area is to prevent crows from raiding the compost piles, which would spread disease and pests to the chickens. The chickens are guarded by two German Shepherd dogs.


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[AGB680]

My rabbit and hamster litter will be combined with regular compost of leaves, grass clippings, dirt, veg scraps - note: rabbit and hamster poop IS vegetable matter just like the cows manure! I would feed my chickens more in the winter and less in the warmer months but I wonder if like this Vermont farmer, it would be feasible to let them totally free-range in my large backyard and compost heaps. I would also give them DE to protect against parasites and diseases as also noted in another article regarding coop hygiene.

 

[AGB680]

"Some people are against chickens working with compost, and they have their “legitimate” reasons. If you like a neat compost pile and one that stays in its container or heap, I’m sorry, but chickens won’t be able to help you very much. Those earthworms that the chickens go crazy for, can be a host for gapeworm larvae, so they prefer to just feed them GMO commercial feed in a barren dirt yard. They also say that you also shouldn’t let your chickens near your compost pile, because it may contain moldy or rotten food scraps, moldy chicken feed or other harmful things that the chickens may eat. What I have found is that chickens are smart enough to know what is good to eat and what isn’t, provided there are other food options available to them. If you’re really concerned about the risk, you can put the moldy food in a compost pile that in not accessible to the chickens, and later move it to the chickens compost once the food scraps have decomposed. Personally, I think if you use common sense and are careful what you put into your compost pile, it will be just fine. Otherwise, Vermont Composting Company wouldn't still be raising chickens on compost."
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[Michael Apple]

What I have found is that chickens are smart enough to know what is good to eat and what isn’t, provided there are other food options available to them.

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Kind of like this? This person always has feed available to their chickens: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/842757/yellow-runny-poop/80#post_12515785

 

[Michael Apple]

My rabbit and hamster litter will be combined with regular compost of leaves, grass clippings, dirt, veg scraps - note: rabbit and hamster poop IS vegetable matter just like the cows manure! I would feed my chickens more in the winter and less in the warmer months but I wonder if like this Vermont farmer, it would be feasible to let them totally free-range in my large backyard and compost heaps. I would also give them DE to protect against parasites and diseases as also noted in another article regarding coop hygiene.

Let those of us who've raised poultry 30-40 years know how that works for the health of your birds. Do that for a couple years and get back to us.