Poop management

[Oztexchix]

Noob alert! have 6 pullets, that we have raised from 5 days old, in a coop, with a 20x40 outside run. Sand is the base for the coop (with a little DTE) with dirt, hay and leaves outside the coop. I have been taking the poop out of the enclosed run, scooping it up with the hay and leaves, and depositing it in a pile along the side of the house. For the outside area, I just rake up hay and poop with a muck rake, and throw it on he same pile I'm pretty sure this is not a sustainable way to manage waste. Any advise is appreciated!

[/IMG][/IMG][/IMG]

I'm thinking we will bag up he entire pile this spring, and start over with a better method. I've included pics of my pulleys, coop, and chicken yard.

 

[Oztexchix]

Chicken yard

 

[junebuggena]

Once that poop has aged for about a month, it makes great fertilizer.

 

[Oztexchix]

Poop and bedding pile

 

[Oztexchix]

I'm worried that the poop pile won't age because I keep adding to it. And, is it okay to let the chickens scratch in it?

 

[junebuggena]

You're making compost! The chickens are doing all the work for you. As they scratch through it, they are removing weed seeds and bugs, and they are turning it over. I don't bother aging it. I just take the pitch fork and scoop as much soiled straw as possible into my wheelbarrow and then dump it straight on the garden beds. When it's mixed with bedding and leaf litter, the manure isn't as 'hot' as it would be on it's own.

 

[dlp40]

I will say that IMO as long as the pile is turned regularly and it is no too cold for the bacteria, bugs/worms, and microbes to do the breaking down, you should be fine.

I have a smaller run with 6 hens and i do a 2 pile method. It has worked very well for me. I add to one until i fill a 8' long x 2' wide section, about 3-4' tall, and then i just turn that one until it turns into fantastic dirt. Durring this turning time i add to pile two. When pile one is done breaking down i move it to the garden. Then switch focus to pile 2 and repeat.

As for chickens scratching in it......absolutly yes. Add kitchen scraps minus meat and fat and let the girls turn it. They get bugs and worms and you don't get a sore back.

That's just how i would go about it and others will have their way as well. In the end try what you think will work for you and dismiss or stop what doesn't work for you.

Hope this was helpful.

 

[aart]

Once that poop has aged for about a month, it makes great fertilizer.

You're making compost! The chickens are doing all the work for you. As they scratch through it, they are removing weed seeds and bugs, and they are turning it over. I don't bother aging it. I just take the pitch fork and scoop as much soiled straw as possible into my wheelbarrow and then dump it straight on the garden beds. When it's mixed with bedding and leaf litter, the manure isn't as 'hot' as it would be on it's own.

No concerns with heating the pile to kill salmonella and E.coli??

 

[junebuggena]

I mulch in between planting seasons. It takes at least two months after mulching before anything is harvestable. Where I'm at the gardens need the heat from composting mulch to produce. In the summer, when the edible garden is producing, it all goes into the ornamental garden. I've got a lot of places to dump it.

 

[aart]

I mulch in between planting seasons. It takes at least two months after mulching before anything is harvestable. Where I'm at the gardens need the heat from composting mulch to produce. In the summer, when the edible garden is producing, it all goes into the ornamental garden. I've got a lot of places to dump it.

Ah...so you don't put one month old chicken poop on your food.
Good to know.