what do you do with all the poop ?

[andythescot]

Ours goes into the compost heap. And then it never comes back out...

 

[Wifezilla]

I have 2 black plastic garbage cans in the duck pen. I replaced the bottom with hardware cloth and drilled small holes all over it. That is where mucky duck straw goes. After it ages it a bit it gets used for mulch and fertilizer in the garden. I used the mucky straw on my tomato patch this year and it went NUTS. The plants overgrew their cages and tried to take over the back yard. I have been eating fresh tomatoes for months and have a bunch in the freezer too. I also used some on my herb garden and I have had a great harvest of basil. So next week I get to make spaghetti sauce

 

[Moabite]

If you keep 4 to 12 inches of litter (straw, leaves, etc.) on your garden you wont have to pull weeds and your shoes wont get muddy. Google "No Till Method". Just another way to compost. Ever seen a forest without mulch?

 

[PhilErvin]

In the back corner of my property I built a Redwood fence 6' high by about 16' long that encloses and hides the stuff behind it. That is where my compost bins (3) are. When we clean out the coop we take it all out to the compost bins where it is slowly digested. No flies cause I let the top dry out while it stays moist within. I reap the rich black dirt and incorporate it into my garden.

 

[cheri222]

I am the lazy composter, 3 current bins and never turn them. I fill them fall spring summer and empty them in the same order. Scrape off the top 6 inches of uncomposted stuff and its ready to go. I had one of those barrel turn things and way too little compost for all that turning. My piles are wood and wire 4ft x4ft and most times 4-5 ft high. The only time I have a smell is I keep a large garbage can outside the kitchen in the winter and empty it in the spring. The first year I had no drain holes and the neighbors thought it was a dead body. Must have drain holes if using a can. Right now I am putting the fall dressing on the beds--beautiful and full of worms. I will also add cow or horse poo if I can get it for free. I tell the kids they are feeding mother earth. My dad makes wine and I also get any stuff he filters off, also threw in a whole batch of Merlot last year that no one liked. No meat, no dairy.

 

[shareverwonder]

I scrape chicken poo from under the roost and throw it into the compost pile. We've used it to grow grass (it only took a week even in the heat of this summer). I put it directly on my garden after planting and had no problems. The garden grew wild. After all veggies were done, we put more poo and straw on top of our raised beds and are letting it sit till spring.

 

[bokboklady]

Quote:
I,m the same as you, dont do much gardning, leave it for the other half, but i think i will have to start useing it on the shrubs as i do have a massive garden and i,m wasting it i spose, so i must start putting the s--t into something usefull, i am a bit lazy i think, love the hens to bits and dont mind cleaning for them but i must re-think this situation. thanks for your comment, i love talking to all you lovley people over the water !.

 

[cottage19]

During the summer we add it to the compost pile but now that the garden is finished for the year I am putting it on the raised beds. In spring I'll let the chickens into the garden and toss scratch around - the girls with have everything ready for planting within a week...

 

[Wifezilla]

Google "No Till Method". Just another way to compost. Ever seen a forest without mulch?

YES!!! I advocate no till gardening. Also google the term "lasagna gardening". It refers to the layers of material you use to construct the garden bed, not the food you grow in it.

In Colorado, tilling is a great way to turn your garden in to a bind weed sanctuary. Since I stopped tilling, I don't have much weeding to do and my plants are doing great. If I can get some row covers to keep the white flies and flea beetles from eating my plants, things would be near perfect

 

[Chickenaddict]

We add ours to our compost mountain that no longer gets turned because of it's size. In the compost we also add, grass/leave debris from bagging up the lawn when we mow, old veggies, egg shells, and dirt/poo I rake out of the chicken run as well as old poopy pine shavings from inside the coop. It never smells and eventually breaks down by itself. When the pile gets out of control we post an ad giving it away free! Perhaps I should start charging for it?