Stinky hay - lots of it - how to manage it?

[msbee]

How do I manage a 5' by 4' compost stall of stinky hay? Should I rake it out across the run or keep watering the heck out of it? Add DE to it? I need it to smell down FAST. What do I do?

Thanks for any input.

 

[welsummerchicks]

Stiny hay might be getting too much water or shade. It isn't generally stinky.

It should be just wet enough to feel like a very slightly damp sponge when you handle it.

If there's mold in it, it's generally too dry. If there's runoff, too wet.

I might move my compost bin if it's in the shade.

Compost generally doesn't smell bad, if it's mixed up properly - if it's ALL hay it might not break down well. If it's not getting turned every couple months, same.

I mix my hay with - well - however much corn cob bedding comes out of the stall with the manure and urine.

I don't put any additives on it, lime or DE would tend to make it inhospitable to the creatures it needs. But I do turn it about once a month.

If I can, I try to run over whatever I put in the pile, with the mower or tractor mower, so it's in smaller pieces.

 

[msbee]

Thanks for the tips. I clearly have too much of just hay with a little straw. We just turned it out of the old piles into the new bin - both spots were very sunny.

I looked up green/brown compost items and will track down some grass clippings to add.

I will try cutting it up some too if I can.

I just have a complainy neighbor (she's blaming the chickens), and I want to take care of it as fast as possible.

 

[welsummerchicks]

hay is your green. You need brown - manure, something like that. We have a fantastically good hot pile with hay, manure and grass clippings.

We compost leaves separately - they do better with more light and air and less wet. We run over them with the tractor til they're in tiny pieces, which makes them break down faster, but they still take a long time.