Run Muck? What luck!

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

So, with spring finally reaching us here in the northeast and the ground not being frozen, it's time to start playing!

I have maybe a 10' x 15' area of the larger run that is just soggy. I deep litter in the run, and for some reason in this spot instead of getting a nice rich compost covered with leaves, straw, and wood chips, I get a soggy, anaerobic, foot-deep layer of compress organic material.

I plan to move this material into a proper compost pile once I have my setup built later this season, but chomping at the bit a little with spring finally sprung, I figured I'd break up the mucky area a bit with a pick ax.

When I started turning over the muck, which definitely has a sour smell, I was amazed by two things:

1. Just how good a workout swinging a pick ax is...talk about feeling the burn in a hurry!
   
   
2. The sheer number of worms and other creepy-crawly critters in the mix is really staggering

So, from now until I get the big compost area built, I plan to turn over a half dozen or so pick ax swings worth a day to expose the muck to oxygen (to hopefully get it moving from anaerobic to aerobic), expose the worms to the chickens (and provide them a lot of free protein and entertainment), and maybe burn a few calories myself!

Once the compost area is built, I'll get one more round of exercise carting what's left of the muck to become a great base for the compost heap. Between mixing in some extra carbon and getting it piled up high enough to heat up, I expect this muck will make great compost.

Talk about turning muck into good luck!

 

[cavemanrich]

Talk about turning muck into good luck!

Or muck into stronger muscles for you
Be careful not to overdo it on yourself
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Today we were out in the run working with the muck...bunch of photos in the blog post Run Muck Revisited.

 

[aart]

Today we were out in the run working with the muck...bunch of photos in the blog post Run Muck Revisited.

Surprising there were so many worms if the area was anaerobic.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Surprising there were so many worms if the area was anaerobic.

Yeah, I wish I'd gotten some pictures. I mean, it was a shocking amount in some places.

I mean, maybe the area isn't anaerobic, but based on the moisture and the smell, I was thinking it is.

But I'm no scientist...I'm just a chicken farmer.