What typically causes stinking is that it is too wet. The stuff needs to be damp enough for the microbes that break it down to live and reproduce but dry enough so that the microbes stay aerobic (oxygen-breathing). If it is too dry they can't stay alive and reproduce. If it is too wet they can't breathe oxygen so the anaerobic microbes take over. The anaerobic ones are the ones that stink and get slimy.
In your barrel composter moisture control is more important than getting a precise mixture of greens and browns. Greens tend to hold moisture so if you err I'd have a bit more browns than greens. The closer you get to the right browns-greens ratio the faster if will go but don't beat yourself up too much in trying to get it perfect. I've tried going through those formulas and there is a lot of guesswork involved.
I don't have a barrel composter, I use a regular compost pile. But my son does. He doesn't have chickens and mostly loads it with kitchen wastes, which are mostly greens. He does use some dried leaves and dried grass clippings but probably should use more browns. The smell isn't that bad but don't put it in an enclosed (non-ventilated) place.
If your material has adequate moisture it will start composting, the microbes seen to just show up. But one trick to getting it to start faster is to toss some dirt in there. It doesn't take a lot, a small shovelful. Topsoil from your yard should have a lot of organic material in it and a lot of the right bugs. And I agree, when you finish a batch don't clean it out that well. The stuff that is left behind will seed the next batch.
I have one of those sifters too, made from 1/2" hardware cloth. With my compost pile anything that goes through is compost, anything that doesn't goes back in to keep working.
Not sure what's going on in your coop with those droppings boards. How often are you scraping them? Poop does build up under roosts and it will stay wet once it gets thick enough. Typically it takes it two or three days of staying wet before it goes anaerobic and starts to really stink. Sometimes you can get a really stinky poop but most aren't that bad. Depending on my chicken density on the roosts and how humid the air is I may have to scrape my droppings boards once a week or sometimes I can go as long as 6 weeks. That six weeks would be in the winter when I only have a few chickens and the air is really dry.
What you describe with those dropping s boards just doesn't sound right. There's something going on that I don't understand.
In your barrel composter moisture control is more important than getting a precise mixture of greens and browns. Greens tend to hold moisture so if you err I'd have a bit more browns than greens. The closer you get to the right browns-greens ratio the faster if will go but don't beat yourself up too much in trying to get it perfect. I've tried going through those formulas and there is a lot of guesswork involved.
I don't have a barrel composter, I use a regular compost pile. But my son does. He doesn't have chickens and mostly loads it with kitchen wastes, which are mostly greens. He does use some dried leaves and dried grass clippings but probably should use more browns. The smell isn't that bad but don't put it in an enclosed (non-ventilated) place.
If your material has adequate moisture it will start composting, the microbes seen to just show up. But one trick to getting it to start faster is to toss some dirt in there. It doesn't take a lot, a small shovelful. Topsoil from your yard should have a lot of organic material in it and a lot of the right bugs. And I agree, when you finish a batch don't clean it out that well. The stuff that is left behind will seed the next batch.
I have one of those sifters too, made from 1/2" hardware cloth. With my compost pile anything that goes through is compost, anything that doesn't goes back in to keep working.
Not sure what's going on in your coop with those droppings boards. How often are you scraping them? Poop does build up under roosts and it will stay wet once it gets thick enough. Typically it takes it two or three days of staying wet before it goes anaerobic and starts to really stink. Sometimes you can get a really stinky poop but most aren't that bad. Depending on my chicken density on the roosts and how humid the air is I may have to scrape my droppings boards once a week or sometimes I can go as long as 6 weeks. That six weeks would be in the winter when I only have a few chickens and the air is really dry.
What you describe with those dropping s boards just doesn't sound right. There's something going on that I don't understand.
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