Where to compost deep litter bedding

[Devorah]

Hi everyone —

Within the next month I plan on doing my annual cleaning of the coop. I use the deep bedding method so need to accommodate a ton of accumulated bedding for composting. We live on a large piece of land in the country next to the woods. I was thinking of dumping the old bedding in a fenced-in area, but my inexperience cries out for some help.

I would be grateful for suggestions from all you wise folks. Thank you!

 

[NanaK]

I use pine shavings inside my coop. I also use a droppings board under the roosts. I have 22 chickens at present. Droppings from the board are cleaned daily into a bucket with a lid. Every few days it is emptied in my large compost bin near my veggie garden and worked into various yard waste, etc.

Once or twice a year the shavings from the floor are pushed out (through a door) in to the run. The run has deep litter consisting of leaves and straw from my yard. The chickens work the shavings right into the mix.

No smell, no flies. For 10 years this has worked really well. I can go in the run, rake back the mix and harvest extra compost anytime I need it. I also solved the problem of a wet run when we've had hurricanes, heavy rainstorms. The chickens love to dig into it for bugs and making dust bath holes. Works really well with minimum work for me.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Hi everyone —

Within the next month I plan on doing my annual cleaning of the coop. I use the deep bedding method so need to accommodate a ton of accumulated bedding for composting. We live on a large piece of land in the country next to the woods. I was thinking of dumping the old bedding in a fenced-in area, but my inexperience cries out for some help.

I would be grateful for suggestions from all you wise folks. Thank you!

If you don't want to use it yourself for a garden or landscaping (I put it not only directly in my garden and compost bin in winter but also directly under mature shrubs and trees as mulch,) you can put it on Craig's list for free and you'll get gardeners who will come get it. If you really are dumping it in the woods, I'd spread it out and wet it down just to make sure you don't start a compost fire.

 

[Percheron chick]

Most of us will dump it in the run and get another use out of it. It will start composting and be ready to harvest for next year's garden.
You can top dress your flower beds, mulch around trees and shrubs, spread it on the fields, start a compost bin, start a worm bin.... anything but throw it in the trash.

 

[Devorah]

If you don't want to use it yourself for a garden or landscaping (I put it not only directly in my garden and compost bin in winter but also directly under mature shrubs and trees as mulch,) you can put it on Craig's list for free and you'll get gardeners who will come get it. If you really are dumping it in the woods, I'd spread it out and wet it down just to make sure you don't start a compost fire.

Hi! We do want to use it for gardening. Don’t you have to wait a year though before you can use it?

 

[Devorah]

Most of us will dump it in the run and get another use out of it. It will start composting and be ready to harvest for next year's garden.
You can top dress your flower beds, mulch around trees and shrubs, spread it on the fields, start a compost bin, start a worm bin.... anything but throw it in the trash.

So if I dump the bedding into the covered run now, the chickens will continue to poop in it throughout the year. Can I use it next spring for gardening despite the chickens’ ongoing use? My partner, who is a gardener, said you have to wait a year to use it bc of pathogens.

Also, I currently have a sand run. Can I dump the bedding onto the sand or do I have to remove the sand first?

 

[Devorah]

I use pine shavings inside my coop. I also use a droppings board under the roosts. I have 22 chickens at present. Droppings from the board are cleaned daily into a bucket with a lid. Every few days it is emptied in my large compost bin near my veggie garden and worked into various yard waste, etc.

Once or twice a year the shavings from the floor are pushed out (through a door) in to the run. The run has deep litter consisting of leaves and straw from my yard. The chickens work the shavings right into the mix.

No smell, no flies. For 10 years this has worked really well. I can go in the run, rake back the mix and harvest extra compost anytime I need it. I also solved the problem of a wet run when we've had hurricanes, heavy rainstorms. The chickens love to dig into it for bugs and making dust bath holes. Works really well with minimum work for me.

What do you mean by “rake back the mix?”

 

[Happy hen lover]

So if I dump the bedding into the covered run now, the chickens will continue to poop in it throughout the year. Can I use it next spring for gardening despite the chickens’ ongoing use? My partner, who is a gardener, said you have to wait a year to use it bc of pathogens.

Also, I currently have a sand run. Can I dump the bedding onto the sand or do I have to remove the sand first?

I'd dump into sand persnally. It would drain, have beneficial bacteria in it to help the "break down" process. And the bedding should add some substance and fluff to sand if you know what I mean.

 

[Percheron chick]

So if I dump the bedding into the covered run now, the chickens will continue to poop in it throughout the year. Can I use it next spring for gardening despite the chickens’ ongoing use? My partner, who is a gardener, said you have to wait a year to use it bc of pathogens.

Also, I currently have a sand run. Can I dump the bedding onto the sand or do I have to remove the sand first?

What most of us do is either do the deep clean of the coop in the fall and spread directly on the garden. That gives it 6 months to mellow and incorporate into the beds. The other choice is to harvest the run material in the fall and throw it on the garden for again a 6 months mellowing period. Personally, I go directly on the garden in the fall. Eliminates the double handling plus it gets one task off the list for next year's garden. My other choice is to add to the compost bins when the pile gets a little lazy and needs a jump start.
Chicken manure only needs 4-6 weeks composted under ideal conditions. It needs to heat up to 140-160* to kill most pathogens. With the high N content, it heats up easily. If you have tons of space then you can let it age a year but I'd rather reap the benefits this year.
What's the purpose of sand in the run? Native soil? Personal preference? If you really like it, I would set up compost bins and leave it alone.

 

[NanaK]

What do you mean by “rake back the mix?”

I used to have a sand run. I had a rake with hardware cloth attached to it to rake and bucket the poo. Without raking there were too many flies. So I read up on deep litter for the run. I just started adding leaves, pine straw, coop bedding and when I don't have these I throw in a bale of wheat straw. These are carbon materials. Poo adds nitrogen. As long as you have both not only are you making compost but also you'll have no smell or flies. I can rake back the "mix" on top (stuff that's not broke down yet) to get to the finished compost. The chickens are constantly digging and stirring it up.

I also have a large compost bin by my garden. I add the poo from the dropping boards to that and it's mixed with various other tree trimmings, lawn debris and such. Part of our land is wooded so I have lots. My neighbor also gives my all her leaves in the fall.

I agree 6 months is plenty of time for a hot compost pile to break down and be safe for edibles.

Here's a photo of part of my run showing the "mix" on top.