Poop Shelf and Tumbler Composting Help Please

[kpetronis]

This might be 'gardening' category - but I'm not sure since it has to do with poop shelves.

I have a potentially dumb but hopefully simple question that I may already know the answer to, I just want some opinions. I have installed poop shelves and have inherited a compost tumbler. My plan is to throw a bunch of brown compost (chopped leaves) into the tumbler, and every day add the poop shelf contents into the tumbler - and slowly fill it to it's capacity (aiming for a 2:1 brown to green in the end). My assumption is by doing that, it's not going to start to officially compost itself until I add water and tumble it around, get it in the sun to keep it warm, etc. If it hangs around that long without composting, does it lose 'potency' and composting potential? Is that how it's done?

*Or* should I be adding new poop/browns/rotation/(and some water) into the tumbler every day and and having one big, long, drawn out composting process with new material every day? Your tried and true methods would be appreciated.

Also - holy crap it's amazing what the bedding does (without poop shelves) to mask the smell of the poop. The smell of the coop in the morning with the poop shelves in is wretched...I don't know how the chickens stand it all night

 

[NatJ]

Also - holy crap it's amazing what the bedding does (without poop shelves) to mask the smell of the poop. The smell of the coop in the morning with the poop shelves in is wretched...I don't know how the chickens stand it all night

I recommend a lot more ventilation. That smell is not good for the chickens.

Or, you could take the poop shelves back out. When there is plenty of poop in the bedding, just put poop + bedding into the compost tumbler. (Assuming the bedding is something you can compost. Sand does not compost, but almost all other chicken beddings do.)


I have no personl experience with compost tumblers, but in general it is true that completely dry material will not compost. Getting it the right amount wet will start it going.

 

[kpetronis]

Thanks for your input on the composting - that was my understanding as well.

I'm hoping its not ventilation and I'm just not used to the full-force of fresh poop. See my attached coop pic. I've got 3 windows, 2 gable vents, (the chicken door of course) and the main/big door stays open whenever the weather isn't bad so...ventilation shouldn't be my problem. Only 9 chickens so I think I should be good for ventilation, no? Even the residual poop on the shelf after scraping stinks enough to make me gag a bit

I'm using hemp bedding (which has been great, btw) - but is expensive so its partly why I want to try the poop shelf rather than continually adding/removing bedding. Up until this point, I've been cleaning out the coop once a week - I find the smell is OK for about a week then it get stinky. So...I got nuts, I shovel the bedding into a hardware cloth "sifter" (for lack of a better term) and shake it like I'm panning for gold - it lets bedding fall through and big poop clumps stay in the sifter (which I then go empty out).

 

[Kusanar]

Ok, I'm going to try to say this clearly, feel free to question if it doesn't make sense.

I would figure out about what a cleanings worth of poop is and therefore figure out how much carbon material you would need for that amount of poop (rough estimates, no need to actually calculate just eyeball it), then put about 3-4 cleanings worth of browns in the composter, get it damp, then add poop as you clean and keep everything damp, once it starts getting a little stinky, you now have too much nitrogen for the carbon, toss more carbons in and repeat until it starts getting stinky. This will keep you close to the limit of nitrogen you can have with your carbons and therefore break down faster.

Also, never clean your composter out, leave some in there to start the next batch.

 

[NatJ]

I'm hoping its not ventilation and I'm just not used to the full-force of fresh poop.

If it stinks, then something isn't right. I don't know if it's the ventilation, the poop board, or something else. But if it did not bother you before, and does now, then it's not good for the chickens either.

I'm using hemp bedding (which has been great, btw) - but is expensive so its partly why I want to try the poop shelf rather than continually adding/removing bedding. Up until this point, I've been cleaning out the coop once a week - I find the smell is OK for about a week then it get stinky.

Dry leaves make fine chicken bedding-- the chickens will poop on them and shred them, and then you can compost them.

I've always considered "chicken bedding" to be any dry plant matter that was easily available to me, and the cheaper the better So dry leaves, wood chips, wood shavings, hay or straw, dried grass clippings, small amounts of shredded paper (large amounts mat together.) Basically, I tend to build a "compost pile" in the chicken house. It won't decompose while it stays dry, but you can add water when you clean it out and do want it to start breaking down.

I got nuts, I shovel the bedding into a hardware cloth "sifter" (for lack of a better term) and shake it like I'm panning for gold - it lets bedding fall through and big poop clumps stay in the sifter (which I then go empty out).

Clever idea. In that case, would it help to put bedding on the poop board, and sift it each day? (Because you say the poop smell wasn't a problem when the poop fell into the bedding.)

 

[kpetronis]

Ok, I'm going to try to say this clearly, feel free to question if it doesn't make sense.

I would figure out about what a cleanings worth of poop is and therefore figure out how much carbon material you would need for that amount of poop (rough estimates, no need to actually calculate just eyeball it), then put about 3-4 cleanings worth of browns in the composter, get it damp, then add poop as you clean and keep everything damp, once it starts getting a little stinky, you now have too much nitrogen for the carbon, toss more carbons in and repeat until it starts getting stinky. This will keep you close to the limit of nitrogen you can have with your carbons and therefore break down faster.

Also, never clean your composter out, leave some in there to start the next batch.

Kusanar - so you're of the opinion to slowly add poop/carbon/water over time and let it fester slowly as I fill it up with a little more poop every day?

 

[kpetronis]

Nat,

All I'm saying is with bedding, the poop falls to the floor, they kick the bedding around to cover it up, and then it smells decent. I think the simple fact that 12 hours and 9 chickens worth of chicken crap out in the open and not covered by bedding is going to stink - whether its in a coop, a giant open barn, or outside in the open...getting within 5 feet, its probably going to stink no matter what. Let's face it...it's crap, it stinks no matter where you put it.

I started out using pine shavings like the rest of the world - but I when I saw just how much dust was collecting on all the surfaces and inside of the coop, I couldn't leave it in there with the chickens. It can't be good for their respiratory system. Hemp on the other hand appears to be damn close to dust-free and is very good at absorption. I may try the deep litter method but I have to modify my coop a little for that.

 

[Kusanar]

Kusanar - so you're of the opinion to slowly add poop/carbon/water over time and let it fester slowly as I fill it up with a little more poop every day?

Yes, but hold it fairly close to the nitrogen limit so it will compost faster. If you have too much nitrogen it will stink, if you have too much carbon it will break down extremely slowly, so if you add a little nitrogen at a time until it starts smelling, then add a little carbon, you can find that sweet spot that is ALMOST stinky.

My reasoning is that it takes a little while for the bacteria to build up and get up to speed breaking things down, it will take less time for them to break down the last batch you put in if you have a ton of bacteria in there working already than it will if you have little to no bacteria and a full tumbler.

 

[aart]

Yes, but hold it fairly close to the nitrogen limit so it will compost faster. If you have too much nitrogen it will stink, if you have too much carbon it will break down extremely slowly, so if you add a little nitrogen at a time until it starts smelling, then add a little carbon, you can find that sweet spot that is ALMOST stinky.

My reasoning is that it takes a little while for the bacteria to build up and get up to speed breaking things down, it will take less time for them to break down the last batch you put in if you have a ton of bacteria in there working already than it will if you have little to no bacteria and a full tumbler.

Excellent post!

Need to keep moisture levels right too.

 

[kpetronis]

Yes, but hold it fairly close to the nitrogen limit so it will compost faster. If you have too much nitrogen it will stink, if you have too much carbon it will break down extremely slowly, so if you add a little nitrogen at a time until it starts smelling, then add a little carbon, you can find that sweet spot that is ALMOST stinky.

My reasoning is that it takes a little while for the bacteria to build up and get up to speed breaking things down, it will take less time for them to break down the last batch you put in if you have a ton of bacteria in there working already than it will if you have little to no bacteria and a full tumbler.

Thanks for your input, greatly appreciated!