Using your chickens as compost workers

[Percheron chick]

The purpose of a compost pile is multi faceted. Return nutrients to the soil, reduce landfill and the costs associated with, provide a varied diet and entertainment for the chickens, reduce feed costs, provide a medium for larvae (reducing pests since your chickens will eat them before they hatch)..
My chickens enjoy an active compost pile. All plant matter from the farm and house ends up in the pile. I also volunteer at the food bank and weekly bring home boxes of past their prime produce. It all goes in the pile. Days later what is left will be the onion, citrus peel ( they do enjoy the inside of oranges) coffee grinds, avocado and banana peels. Chickens do not eat foods that are going to make them ill. They aren't going to touch onion skins.
Your pile can be as simple or as involved as you make it. A low fence will keep everything contained and help to hold the heat.

 

[Acre4Me]

We have a small raised bed that we turned into a compost pile, it is not in the chicken run. When we clean out the coop, we often toss the used shavings out to the run. The chickens love to scratch through it, and spread it out. We toss scratch grains to them and they scratch through some more. During grass mowing season, we toss in the cut grass sometimes - they scratch it around. In the fall - leaves are added. Seems that all this stuff is breaking down pretty well in the run. When we let them out to free range, they often go to the compost pile. They will scratch through it, but don't really turn it over very well, but they do pick out their favorite bits!

 

[baileybrood]

The purpose of a compost pile is multi faceted. Return nutrients to the soil, reduce landfill and the costs associated with, provide a varied diet and entertainment for the chickens, reduce feed costs, provide a medium for larvae (reducing pests since your chickens will eat them before they hatch)..
My chickens enjoy an active compost pile. All plant matter from the farm and house ends up in the pile. I also volunteer at the food bank and weekly bring home boxes of past their prime produce. It all goes in the pile. Days later what is left will be the onion, citrus peel ( they do enjoy the inside of oranges) coffee grinds, avocado and banana peels. Chickens do not eat foods that are going to make them ill. They aren't going to touch onion skins.
Your pile can be as simple or as involved as you make it. A low fence will keep everything contained and help to hold the heat.

Thank you for your advice!

 

[want2know]

There is a simple solution to this!

Don’t put things you think may be toxic to your chickens in your open compost area. Build a compost stall that you can close. Get a tumbler. Put it in the trash.

Some interesting compost facts:
Onion skins actually take a surprising amount of time to break down.

6 chickens can flatten a tree and weed rootbound abandoned compost area roughly 4 feet tall and 16 feet in diameter in a couple of months.

They WILL dig down a foot, 2 feet, or more sometimes to get at bugs, grubs, scraps, fluffy stinky soil to sunbathe in, or just for chicken giggles on a nice day.

Agreed, my chickens dig some mighty deep holes, even move rocks.

 

[GenevieveHad]

I have a cheap tumbler I put things that aren’t good for them in, to break down faster, then when it’s full I empty it into my compost to help everything else break down faster. Seems to work for me
I do agree about them spreading it everywhere though when they go through it. I keep a three bin composter behind my garage, that way it’s not an eyesore... not much grows back there so when the chickens free range and dig through it it’s not a problem

 

[Foster's Freehold]

Yes, I think I"ll just leave out the onion skins, etc.... I use a lot of onion! I can't imagine very small pieces of cooked onion will hurt them, right?

Like other scavengers, if they are regularly fed, they won't eat anything that is poisonous to them. I've stuck about everything in my composter that they have access too and haven't run into trouble yet.

You could also set up a worm bin. Grind all the stuff you don't want to give the chickies and pour it into their box. Few months, worm casting rich compost.