Run cleaning and compost

[mtnchickens303]

I wanted to share how i keep my coop/run clean and how often i do it. To make sure the coop doesnt have an ammonia smell ever i clean out the pine chips once a week. The area under my roosts usually gets soiled faster so i add extra pine chips there to absorb everything. The run also gets raked and "turned" weekly. I completely till the run with a shovel for two reasons. One the hens get fresh dirt to dust in and they are not walking on old feces. Two they are all about the worms i dig up and usually are inches away from my shovel as im doing this. After all my waste is cleaned out i put it in compost "run" so to speak (see pic below). I lay out all the waste evenly then toss a layer of dirt on it. After that i rake it into a pile and leave it. The next time i clean i rake the old dirt/waste flat again then toss new waste on top, throw dirt on it then rake everything into a pile again. Once the compost run fills up i will build standing compost bins to put it in for a year. This method is a bit of work but it keeps mess and smell way down.

 

[JanetS]

Thank you for sharing. How many chickens do you have?

 

[Bryant Redhawk]

how long does it take to make finished compost using your method?

I don't do all the spreading and re-heaping but would do so if it means I can get finished compost faster than 6 months.

Nice heap bins by the way.

 

[mtnchickens303]

I still have to finish building the compost boxes out of pallets so once its full i dump everthing ive been mixing in it and leave it alone for awhile. The reheaping part just makes sure its mixed well before going into the boxes. Ill make sure to keep adding progress pics to show the final parts. I have 6 chickens I went half way on with a really good friend of mine. After 4 months of of clearing this space of a HUGE pile of 12x12 logs, building a coop, gardens and these heap bins, thank you Bryant, we can finally stop throwing away organic waste. My hope is to get dirt next year, maybe maybe not.