Where to compost deep litter bedding

[Devorah]

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.View attachment 3461481

Thanks so much (and what beautiful chickens)! I have a ton of deep bedding which I’m going to remove from the coop in a few weeks. I don’t think I’ll be able to accommodate all of it in the run, but I’ll try to put in as much a possible. I still am having difficulties understanding what “rake back” means: do you mean simply take a rake and turn over things? I do that every morning in the coop.

 

[Devorah]

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.

Thanks so much! I will have to harvest the material in the fall. If I dump some of the coop bedding in the run by the end of April/beginning of May, that should be enough time to harvest it and then spread it on the garden around November. Agreed?

There was no real reason for doing sand in the run other than I inherited a dirt run and heard that sand is good for the chickens. I dislike cleaning it everyday though …

 

[SandyRiverChick]

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

For me personally it depends on whether or not it is going in soil for vegetables or under trees, bushes. I dump it directly into my garden throughout the winter because by spring due to the massive rain that we get, nutrients have leached down into my very sandy soil. I used to have to cover my garden beds in winter but now I just add chicken poo/bedding on top. In spring I add another layer of garden soil mix. For landscaping, I always dump it under the plant in a ring making sure not to get to close to the main plant. I don't go through the trouble of composting it first. Rain again helps to leach it into soil. My Dad was a master gardener and he advised me to compost and sift first but I'm to lazy and I've had zero problems with my method. I apply horse poo directly to garden and landscaping this way as well.

 

[Devorah]

For me personally it depends on whether or not it is going in soil for vegetables or under trees, bushes. I dump it directly into my garden throughout the winter because by spring due to the massive rain that we get, nutrients have leached down into my very sandy soil. I used to have to cover my garden beds in winter but now I just add chicken poo/bedding on top. In spring I add another layer of garden soil mix. For landscaping, I always dump it under the plant in a ring making sure not to get to close to the main plant. I don't go through the trouble of composting it first. Rain again helps to leach it into soil. My Dad was a master gardener and he advised me to compost and sift first but I'm to lazy and I've had zero problems with my method. I apply horse poo directly to garden and landscaping this way as well.

Thanks very much!

 

[Percheron chick]

Since you are not married to sand in the run, I would start switching over to a composting run. Shovel out the coop into the run. As things green up add grass clippings, weeds and kitchen waste. Sprinkle scratch on top to get the girls to stir it up. If the run is covered, spray it down with water now and then. Add your leaves and pine needles. It will be gardening gold.

 

[Devorah]

Since you are not married to sand in the run, I would start switching over to a composting run. Shovel out the coop into the run. As things green up add grass clippings, weeds and kitchen waste. Sprinkle scratch on top to get the girls to stir it up. If the run is covered, spray it down with water now and then. Add your leaves and pine needles. It will be gardening gold.

Thanks. The run is covered. Why do I need to spray it with water on occasion?

 

[Percheron chick]

Compost needs moisture to decompose.
The chickens will also love a little red neck air-conditioning when it gets hot

 

[aart]

You could do a hot compost.
Takes lot of water and regular/frequent turning.
Fully composting wood shavings is not easy.
A compost thermometer would be a very handy tool for this process.

 

[fuzzi]

I did the deep litter method years ago with my first chickens. All our garden wastes, yard clippings, etc. went into the run. I also brought home buckets of day-old salads and brown produce from work (restaurant) and the chickens loved it. And insects that were attracted to the food were quickly enjoyed by the flock. Never had mess or smell. And when I harvested soil below I found big earthworms, "nightcrawlers".

I'm using the same method for my new flock. They love the leaves and weeds I throw in on top.