Leaves in chicken run turning black, good or bad?

[gtaus]

Good compost smells like dirt in the spring. Although it might be hard to identify that dirt smell with all the poop around...

I only have 10 chickens in a 13 x13 chicken run. I never smell any chicken poop. Next year I plan on building a larger run, but I think my current size is doing well. I seldom see any chicken poop in the chicken run. I think it gets turned under almost as fast they drop it. Same thing with my deep litter bedding in the coop. Rarely see droppings accumulate even under the roost bar. If I do, I just throw some scratch in that area and the droppings are gone the next day.

 

[gtaus]

We put out a sign for our neighbors to drop off their bags of leaves, because most of the time they get turned away at the dump yard once they fill up. So our neighbors drop their bags at our place.. We give the girls a few bags every few days during the winter (snow covered grounds out here) than we use other bags as treats durning hot summer days as the bags have been rained and snowed on.. So they love the mucky cold leaves. We give them bags as extra bedding.. Or just beacuse we get alot of bagged leaves and they just love scratching thru them.. A FREE TREAT and TOY and BEDDING

Very nice. I scored some bags full of leaves from one of my neighbors this year. He was all excited that I took the bags off his hands and saved him a trip to the landfill. I was all excited about having dry, bagged leaves in plastic bags that I can use this winter. Win-win for everybody.

 

[gtaus]

Looks fine to me. Chickens agitating it is just like turning a compost pile frequently - distributes active microbes which makes it decompose faster than without turning. Give it a few weeks and likely the chickens will be foraging through it to find the worms this will likely promote

Thanks for the response. I don't think I'll have a few more weeks, though. It is supposed to snow in a couple of days. Anytime we get snow in October in Minnesota, it could be here for the winter. I hope to still get a number of snow free weeks, but you never know.

 

[perkolator]

Thanks for the response. I don't think I'll have a few more weeks, though. It is supposed to snow in a couple of days. Anytime we get snow in October in Minnesota, it could be here for the winter. I hope to still get a number of snow free weeks, but you never know.

Oh dang, bummer - well I guess that's what happens over there
Still wearing shorts and a tshirt over here in CA

 

[gtaus]

Oh dang, bummer - well I guess that's what happens over there
Still wearing shorts and a tshirt over here in CA

Yeah, alright, I understand the whole California thing as I was stationed in Santa Barbara for a few years way back in 1993-1995. The weather was beautiful. My California friends asked me what it was like in Minnesota and I would tell them that Minnesota is known for having all 4 beautiful seasons; Winter, June, July and August.

I have been trying to compost for years, but in our weather, it literally takes years to make compost from leaves. I cannot believe how fast my chickens are turning leaves into compost like material for me.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Oh dang, bummer - well I guess that's what happens over there
Still wearing shorts and a tshirt over here in CA

I've been sweating in shorts and a t-shirt in Georgia, lol. I was so excited when the highs showed in the 80s for this week instead if the 90s...we have seasons here but they're like, pollen season, hell's front porch season, possibly fall for a couple weeks and then some mild winter occasionally.

 

[Compost King]

I cannot believe how fast my chickens are turning leaves into compost like material for me.

You are turning your chickens into Beasts of Burden! I love how they drop in nitrogen pellets as they crush up those leaves. Out of all the benefits of having chickens the great job they do with breaking down compostable materials has been the most beneficial.

 

[Hughes Wildlife Farm]

We collected 80 bags last Fall from our yard and neighbors. Some in plastic bags, others in paper bags.. We will put out the last of those bags this week and next wk. Getting ready for the leaves to fall with a nor easter storm hitting the Cape Cod area this week. Love free bees

 

[NH Chicken Mama]

That's just amazing. Again, I was surprised to see those leaves turn black in just a few weeks in the chicken run. I might be getting more value from the compost than the eggs which we really enjoy.

I was thinking this today as I was breaking up bits of chicken poop all over my lawn with the hose. My lawn will look amazing next year between the birds and our mulching mower (previous owners used fertilizer so the soil is depleted).

I'm glad that you posted this - I didn't know I could put the girls to work composting my leaves! My chickens love to hang out on the edge of the woods, under trees with overhanging branches, in little chicken sized depressions in the leaves. I think I'm going to add a nice little set of hanging branches to mimic this in their run when I finish it and start piling leaves in. Thanks for posting!

 

[NH Chicken Mama]

You are turning your chickens into Beasts of Burden! I love how they drop in nitrogen pellets as they crush up those leaves. Out of all the benefits of having chickens the great job they do with breaking down compostable materials has been the most beneficial.

I think I agree that the composting ability and the nitrogen nuggets may actually be more valuable than the eggs! I spent tons of money on loam mixed with compost for my gardens and it was JUNK. If chickens expedite the composting process on top of crreating fertilizer and then on top of producing eggs, they are worth their weight in gold!!!