I have 2 compost piles. I use both for yard waste, grass clippings,leaves, add chicken poo and shavings from spot cleanings and 'big changings' and then also add coffeegrounds, tea bags, any fruit or produce scraps the chickens don't go for. Rinds of melons, squash, pumpkin they leave. I mostly use the black plastic composter during the winter though even nothing much composts when it is so cold here. I use deep litter over the winter months, that'll go out in a big compost pile come spring. Will mix in contents of plastic composter. During the summer both pile and bin are in use and I get the best compost for the vegetable garden. To the OP....a compost pile does not need anything artificial. There are some products available to add to get a new pile started but they are not chemicals. You can also just use some soil layered in the pile to get the pile going. I was always told not to put grease, meat, cat or dog poop or dairy in the pile. In cold climate small piles do not produce enough heat to break stuff down. I still add to the pile all year round. You can also get used coffeegrounds from Starbucks and some other coffeeshops for free, that is good to add to the pile too. (Not that I don't drink enough coffee to have plenty of grounds to add without extra supplies....) You'll get wonderful natural fertilizer for vegetables an other plants and improvement to your soil!!!!! And you cut down on waste for the landfill! If the chickens haveaccess to the pile, they'll scratch around and help 'turn it'. They love finding worms and goodies in there
