What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[ChicksnMore]

If you are interested in converting a cement mixer into a compost sifter, start with watching this YouTube video to get the idea of the design....

Then, I would suggest checking out my thread Harvesting my Chicken Run Compost - Black Gold!. I did a slight redesign on the idea of the YouTube video cement mixer compost sifter that does not require any drilling into the cement barrel. That means you can take off the compost sifter and still have a 100% hole free cement mixer. IMHO, it's an improvement on the original concept. It's both easier to put together, and it also preserves the integrity of the cement mixer if you ever want to use it for cement work at a later date.

I also made different sifter screen inserts for 1/4 inch fine compost for potting soil, 1/2 wire for compost for my raised beds, and 1/2 X 1 inch screen for top mulch compost. Well, you probably don't need to sift top mulch, but I do anyways and toss the larger chucks back into the chicken run for more composting action.

If you already have the cement mixer, then you can put together the compost sifter, barrel and all hardware, for about $50 (3 years ago when I did at least, current prices may vary).

Nothing better than making your own chicken run black gold compost in your own backyard, saving yourself 100's of dollars over buying the same quantity at the big box stores. It's one of the few significant investments I have made that has paid for itself in only hours of use.

The other big benefit to converting your chicken run into a chicken run composting system is that the chickens will spend all day outside, scratching and pecking in the compost, looking for bugs and worms to eat. I don't know what all they find to eat, but my commercial chicken feed cost goes down by half in the summer when my chickens are outside in the compost run.

I also find that the egg yolks are a darker orange when the chickens are digging and eating good stuff from the chicken run compost system. It's just a winning system anyway you look at it.

My current way of keeping my chicken runs is all about keeping it snake free as well as clean. But my youngest is off to college soon, so think this year I'll try going back to a litter method. Even with no litter for years, my oldest coops have soft, rich, amazing dirt. My new coops have rock hard, pale, chunky dirt...lol. Chickens do amazing stuff to soil.

Thanks for the info... definitely something I want to try.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

We converted garage storage shelves into seed starting shelves. We bought ours from Menards for around $150 and rigged up some grow lights which I believe my husband said cost around $75 for the grow lights including the bulbs. So instead of paying $600+ on smaller seedling shelves we spent $225 and ended up with a larger setup. (Please ignore the trays. I ordered new ones for this year, but was impatient to start today so I used some disposable turkey roasting trays).

 

[gtaus]

We converted garage storage shelves into seed starting shelves. We bought ours from Menards for around $150 and rigged up some grow lights which I believe my husband said cost around $75 for the grow lights including the bulbs. So instead of paying $600+ on smaller seedling shelves we spent $225 and ended up with a larger setup.

Very nice setup. What kind of grow lights do you use? Also, are those soil blocks I see in the pans?

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Very nice setup. What kind of grow lights do you use? Also, are those soil blocks I see in the pans?

I will have to ask my husband what lights he used. Yes! It is the 2"x2" blocker from Johnny's seeds. I absolutely love it!

Edit: He said the lights were Sunco brand.

 

[gtaus]

I will have to ask my husband what lights he used. Yes! It is the 2"x2" blocker from Johnny's seeds. I absolutely love it!

Edit: He said the lights were Sunco brand.

I'll have to check on those Sunco lights. I just bought a number of seed packs this afternoon that I hope to start the plant indoors later this spring. I have the shelving, just don't have grow lights.

I made a DIY PVC soil blocker that works pretty well, but only one block at a time. Last year I bought a metal 4-unit soil blocker, but the one I got did not work well and I typically only got one of the four blocks that held together. Lots of redo's so I got really frustrated with it. Complained to the company that the soil blocker did not push out the blocks correctly and then sent me another one claiming the one I got must have been defective. The second one was as bad as the first, so I returned it for my money back.

But I was able to keep the first "defective" soil blocker they sent me. Later in the summer, I "rebuilt" that first soil blocker with longer bolts and modified the pushing mechanism and finally got it to work. So, I hope to use it this year.

I really like soil blocks, which is why I asked you about yours. I plan on trying a number of different types of starting pots this year - if I can get the grow lights I need and everything setup in time.

 

[ChicksnMore]

Anyone here found a good use for shredded paper? I tried using it in my nest boxes and I'm not liking how it sometimes sticks to the eggs. I do like it under roost bars...but curious if anyone's tried it as mulch in the garden or deep litter in coops. If you did, what did you think of it? Any other good uses for it besides compost?

 

[Sally PB]

@gtaus has a whole thread about using shredded paper. Hope he can provide the link... I can't remember the name of the thread well enough.

 

[gtaus]

Anyone here found a good use for shredded paper? I tried using it in my nest boxes and I'm not liking how it sometimes sticks to the eggs. I do like it under roost bars...but curious if anyone's tried it as mulch in the garden or deep litter in coops. If you did, what did you think of it? Any other good uses for it besides compost?

This is my second winter using paper shreds as deep bedding in my chicken coop. I really like paper shreds as the litter for the coop. I have a whole thread on the topic and my experience with using paper shreds instead of wood chips, which I previously used. Here is the link...

Using Shredded Paper for Coop Litter - As Good As Wood Chips?

I also talk about the advantages of using coop litter paper shreds to make compost. Compared to wood chips, the paper shreds compost much faster when I put them outside into the chicken run composting system after my springtime coop cleanout. Mind you, I was very happy with using wood chips which I got for free, but I am even more happy with using shredded paper as deep bedding in the coop, and then for composting.

Anyways, there are lots of great comments on that thread about using shredded paper as coop litter.

BTW, I still use pine shavings in the nest boxes because I don't like the way paper shreds will stick to freshly laid eggs. I still have over 3/4 of a bale of pine shavings I bought 15 years ago, but I only use it in the nest boxes. I have also used wood chips in the nest boxes, but I like the softer pine shavings for the nest boxes. I don't know if it makes any difference to the hens, but I would think they would like a softer nesting material. Paper shreds are nice and soft, but they do sometimes stick to the eggs which is why I have always used pine shavings for my nest boxes.

@gtaus has a whole thread about using shredded paper. Hope he can provide the link... I can't remember the name of the thread well enough.

Thanks for the shout out.

 

[ChicksnMore]

This is my second winter using paper shreds as deep bedding in my chicken coop. I really like paper shreds as the litter for the coop. I have a whole thread on the topic and my experience with using paper shreds instead of wood chips, which I previously used. Here is the link...

Using Shredded Paper for Coop Litter - As Good As Wood Chips?

I also talk about the advantages of using coop litter paper shreds to make compost. Compared to wood chips, the paper shreds compost much faster when I put them outside into the chicken run composting system after my springtime coop cleanout. Mind you, I was very happy with using wood chips which I got for free, but I am even more happy with using shredded paper as deep bedding in the coop, and then for composting.

Anyways, there are lots of great comments on that thread about using shredded paper as coop litter.

BTW, I still use pine shavings in the nest boxes because I don't like the way paper shreds will stick to freshly laid eggs. I still have over 3/4 of a bale of pine shavings I bought 15 years ago, but I only use it in the nest boxes. I have also used wood chips in the nest boxes, but I like the softer pine shavings for the nest boxes. I don't know if it makes any difference to the hens, but I would think they would like a softer nesting material. Paper shreds are nice and soft, but they do sometimes stick to the eggs which is why I have always used pine shavings for my nest boxes.



Thanks for the shout out.

I did find your thread and really enjoyed it . I've got bags full of shredded paper to use up at the moment and was hoping itd make good litter or mulch before composting. I haven't used litter in ages but my new runs have such horrid dirt. Rock hard and high clay content...virgin desert. It's going to take a while before they have good dirt they'll enjoy in there.

 

[gtaus]

I did find your thread and really enjoyed it . I've got bags full of shredded paper to use up at the moment and was hoping itd make good litter or mulch before composting. I haven't used litter in ages but my new runs have such horrid dirt. Rock hard and high clay content...virgin desert. It's going to take a while before they have good dirt they'll enjoy in there.

I don't live in the desert, but I imagine your challenge will be to keep the compost moist - like a wrung-out sponge. If the compost pile gets bone dry, it stops composting. Well, we all have advantages and disadvantages wherever we live. Good luck on your composting!