What to do with coop litter

[Chicken Amateur]

I have an 8x10 chicken coop for my chickens and I use wood shavings for litter, which is a lot of litter. I've heard that chicken poop makes good fertilizer and I'd like to add it to the compost pile but I just can't imagine putting all that litter in with the compost. I think, especially where I live, the wind would make quick work of it and have it blown all over the place in no time. Plus, that's a LOT of litter to try to decompose in a simple compost pile. How can I get the chicken poop composted without all that litter? Any suggestions? Please don't tell me I need to separate it all out...ugh!

 

[bcmama]

Good question. I'd like to know to.

 

[JNB]

I dont do this myself but I do know people that put a layer of the litter over thier compost and then spray it down.. The poo liquifies. and drains into the compost pile... Also they do the same in areas of the garden and then rake the shavings up as needed. Some swear that doing this keeps weeds down because the shavings create a natural barrier and the poo fertilizes at the same time.

Like I said I dont do this myself so Im just passing others expierances on I compost some of my litter into my main compost. The shavings do take a pit more to break down so I turn mine and usually add grass clipping at the top..... I do spread my litter around the edges of my garden area... Slugs hate the shavings... and when I water it adds the poo to the ground..

I will say this my friend that does the above mentioned.. has an amazing garden each year...

 

[gstuartw]

Burn it. We have a burn ban now and my pile is building up. I will use it in the garden this fall and not burn it.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Some people clean their coops so often that the litter/manure mixture is 99% chips and 1% poop. We do not. We wait until the mixture is roughly 30% poop content. This just takes a bit of an experienced eye, I suppose. If either you or the birds do the "stirring" once in awhile, and your coop is dry and has full ventilation, this just isn't an issue at all. I suppose you could even go as high as 40-50% poop.

At 30% or above mixture, the content digests just about perfectly, either in a compost pile or directly onto the fields. We apply it directly from late September through March. Stockpile it during the growing season. The straw or shavings provide the proper carbon content and the poop provides the go-go-go. Our gardens thrive like nobody's business.

 

[Mtn Laurel]

Composted chicken poop makes the BEST garden fertilizer. Years ago I moved to a new house and put in my garden. My neighbor's garden backed up to mine, separated by a fence. Their garden looked twice as good as ours, beautiful strong plants, huge and abundant produce on the bushes and vines. I finally asked and - yep - he had a chicken coop out back and it was composted chicken manure that they were using. In fact, one of the reasons I wanted chickens was for the compost it would produce as well as for the eggs.

I'd definitely compost. Might want to do some research as certain ratio's of materials will cause your compost to really heat up and break down faster. You need a certain ratio of green plant matter + manure + dead plant matter + air and water to really make it cook and you will need to turn it. Maybe combining the right ratios will help get rid of it faster. I don't have so much waste that amount or space is an issue for me but I don't let one little poop get away from my compost pile!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Fred makes some real good points. I'm further south than him so I can't wait as late to put it on the garden. I like for it to have a couple of months to decompose before I plant if I put it directly on the garden.

I don't have a clue what your compost pile looks like. Some people just make a pile on the ground and some have some type of containment. I do know that parts of Colorado can be pretty windy. If you can put it on your compost pile and keep it damp for a while, it should not blow away, but that depends on how exposed your compost pile is. I'd think keeping it damp would be the key. You need to keep it damp for it to work anyway.

I have not cleaned the litter out of my 8' x 12' coop for three years so it is ready. That is a November project. As Fred said, if you keep it dry and occasionally rake it, you can manage. I did occasionally clean up piles under the roosts when they got prettty thick, but have recently built in a permanent brooder under the roosts which I use as a droppings board.

You might consider a droppings board. They poop a lot while on the roosts, so if you put a surface under the roosts and scrape that off occasionally, you can get pure poop to go on your compost pile. That extends the life of your coop bedding a lot.

 

[KnoxvilleChick]

I'll add to what others have said... A good compost pile should have an even 50/50 balance of stuff that is high in carbon (such as dead and brown plant waste, wood chips, fallen leaves) and high in nitrogen (chicken poop or any other farm manure, kitchen waste). Some people say to balance the brown (carbon) and green (nitrogen). Either way you word it, it works. The trick is to layer it in, so that the elements can work their magic on each other. Too much carbon/brown, and the pile breaks down too slowly. Too much nitrogen/green, things stay wet and slimy and smelly, and again, break down to slowly.

I like to put my browns from the yard and garden NEXT to my big compost pile. As I add greens from the kitchen, I put a layer of browns over it. With my wood chip bedding, I let enough poop get in there to help balance the ratio (probably about 30 percent, like Fred said) and then make sure I add plenty of kitchen waste with it to bring the ratio up. I clean out the coop about 2-3 times a year (with a poop board cleaned twice a week into the compost) and in the fall/winter it all goes directly on the vegetable garden instead of the compost.

If you want to clean out more frequently, you can still add some directly to the garden, even in the growing season. As long as it's not right on top of your plants ( I leave a 3-4 inch margin from the base of the plants), it won't burn them up, because of the added carbon from the wood chips. The wood chips will also improve the texture of your garden soil as they break down slowly; it makes an excellent mulch and will help reduce the need for frequent watering.

 

[BigRooNTN]

Great advice. The more I am on here the more I learn. Great post from Fred and KnoxvilleChick.

I wll be starting my compost pile this fall. Should be ready by next spring at planting time.

BTW; I am in Ktown too.

 

[braindead101]

Not mentioned above is the turning of the compost pile. Things get really hot in there, and you simply take your shovel and turn the pile over. The fresh stuff goes into the center and the hot stuff that has been cooking is on the outside. The more you turn the pile the quicker it cooks. Once or twice a month works fine, depending on the size of your pile. If the interior looks gray to white, and is hot, it's a good time to turn it. Some mornings, if the pile is big enough, you'll see it smoking, a sure indicator it's composting. Never use the entire pile or you have to start all over which can slow down the process. Add some of the old to a new pile for a quick start. The old should go in the center of the new pile. Also water the pile occasionally, it does not need to be soaking wet. Drying will slow the composting.