What a gold mine i found in my run

[BeckyLa]

Oh well, no tv then.

But I have a question for all of you that do regular compost. I have a pile out in my side yard of deep litter shavings that I'm trying to compost. I've never done this before. From now on the stuff goes in the birds run, :lol, but I would like to compost the pile already started. So I added some kitchen veggie scraps, newspapers, etc., and then gave it a good water. Today I noticed that it's nice and hot in the middle which I think is a good thing. But tonight I also noticed that it is covered with flies. I bury any scraps over a foot deep and cover them well so I didn't think flies would be a problem. Am I doing something wrong or are the flies ok?

 

[joanm]

you shouldn't have flies unless you've added any meat or meat fats to your compost pile. Any meat is a no-no!

 

[nmantime]

Quote:
I'll be honest Becky, consistent composting is still a mystery to me. I would follow all the rules and sometime i'd get a good pile going and other times i get what you have a fly magnet... But then I got chickens and all my problems went away (that sentence should be in a song). They turn over my piles and all i do is occasionally pitch it back into a heap and wet it down. Now I throw anything qeastionable (like leftovers containing meat, old fruit, veggies) into the run and let the girls go at it... they get nutrients and then compost the poop into the run... Maybe these ladies are making me lazy....

Norm in N.CA

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
You must have magic chicken poo in your compost...

She is trying to compost deep litter bedding. Any wet manure is going to attract flies. The flies will go away as the chicken manure starts to break down. It won't take long. Turn it once a week or so and keep it moist. It will do its thing.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

BTW, don't just clean the deep litter out of the coop into the run. After the first rain you're going to have a nasty fly covered mess. The chicken poo is just too concentrated in the deep litter. It's better to compost it in a pile. If you want to throw leaves and grass clippings, weeds, and garden leftovers in the run the daily manure load will break it down over time, just don't try to add months of manure all at once.

 

[cookiesdaddy]

Norm & Nifty,

I am new at raising back-yard chickens and at composting. I live in the Bay Area. The weather is so dry and my yard hasn't been water for several years. I notice that there are very little worms in my yard, I think because of the lack of watering for several years. I've finished buidling a run for my chickens under 2 redwood trees. Should I water the run regularly to attract worms to the surface? Do you water your run?

As for my compost pile, I just could not get it going. A month ago I had to go pick up some composted horse manure to add to it. It heated up for a few days and then the temperature dropped down again. And there are still very few worms in the pile. I'm tempted to buy some worms off Craigslist to get it started. Good idea?

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Boy, this could turn into a whole composting thread (which we should start). Long story short, in the East Bay I've seen lots of successful composters with worms in their bins. The worms aren't required, and are often driven out of a hot / "cooking" compost pile. Composting is almost an art as much of a science. Browns / Greens / Water content / Heat... it can drive you insane.

Worms definitely like moist better than dry. If you can make a good environment (food, moisture, etc.) they should come to you. If not, find a neighbor or search craigslist and get some worms to start.

I don't specifically cater my compost pile to worms, so sometimes there are a ton and sometimes there are none... depends on what I've got cooking in there at the time. I do know this: They don't like a hot cooking compost pile that has a ton of ammonia smelling chicken manure. Moderation in all things if you want worms.

 

[cookiesdaddy]

Thanks Nifty for your reply. It makes sense that worms do not like a "hot" pile.

Now my other question regarding attracting worms to the run. Should I water it regularly? Do people water their chicken run? How did Norm get so much worms in his run? My run is really dry right now.

Thanks!

 

[nmantime]

Quote:
I don't water my run at all. this will lead to a smelly mess in the heat. The only water that hits the run is during the rainy season... What happened in my run was just chickens being chicken. I had hard dirt on top of clay a couple of feet down. But with me adding all that other stuff( the leaves, grass clippings, pine needles, straw, pruned branches, plants from the garden, kitchen compost, etc...) there was always something on the ground for them to dig in. It seems to me that as they scratched and pooped and i added stuff and during rainy season/dry season it all composted out and the worm and bugs came a crawling. In my lower yard now the only moist, crumbly soil is where i have added compost and mulch like the garden areas and in the run.... but i water the garden and till the soil. In the lawn sitting area down there I just water and mulch mow the clipping and it slowly seems to be coming around. Really cookiesdaddy, this works for me and it took 3 years and it was all by accident as i did not plan it out. now that i suspect I know what happened i am trying to duplicate it again. I think one of the keys to get good soil going is to have food there for all the little bugs and bacteria and worms to eat. I just happened to create that type of situation by chance and now i can crow about my magic chicken soil.... it just take a while to turn this CA hardpan dirt into good ole soil...

Norm in N.CA

 

[cookiesdaddy]

Thank you Norm for sharing your discovery. I'm going to do the same. I know turning around the backyard soil takes a few years, but at least now I have a "method" to try. If you can turn it around in Vallejo then I should be able to do it in San Jose too!