Worm Composting With Chicken Manure And Pine Shavings?

[Veg87]

I've been doing vermicomposting long before i got chickens (i'm impatient and regular compost takes too long for me). i personally use earthworms for my chicken poo, and i usually only feed those particular worms chicken poo and carbon (lots of carbon since manure is hot) as i've found that if they are given too many other food options they'll neglect the poo. i've found they fair better in the hotter manure compost than the redworms do (the reds are the best for garden and kitchen scraps, they seem to be much more efficient than the earthworms, the chickens seem to prefer eating the reds too plus i'd feel weird feeding earthworms that mostly eat poo back the the animals the poo came from [and i need as many as possible to take care of all that poo]). i've also read a handful of articles that stated the earthworms do a better job of destroying potentially harmful bacteria in the poo which is important for me because i like to grow a lot of root crops. just my thoughts and experience, hope it helps someone.

oh, i'm not really sure how good the pine shavings would be in qauntity, the acidity might bother the worms. i would include another more plentiful source of more neutral carbon just to be safe, or maybe use aspen bedding instead of pine. it seems people are fairly opinionated on types of shavings that they use. personally, i use sand and sift it frequently. i tried cut straw for a while and it was quickly all over the place where i didnt want it and in the water and food, so i never even considered shaving since i can only assume the same thing would happen but worse... thats just me though, to each their own, do whatever works best for you.

 

[jruhle]

I layer my compost with seaweed, litter, cardboard, leaves etc. I went to stir the bin and it was full of beetles, worms, and a pair of newts so I left it alone. I've started a new pile, I ran out of compost this spring so thought I should make more! My garden did great using it!

 

[tancookchooks]

I have a first year worm farm and they are doing well. Will they survive from the four free range chooks and Maritime winter if I transfer them to the compost heap this fall.

 

[lazy gardener]

It depends on what kind of worms they are. Red worms are the ones commonly used for vermiposting. They do not withstand freezing. And they are not likely to tunnel deep into the soil to keep from freezing. Your best bet may be to move them into your basement for the winter. I've killed several batches by letting them get too cold. My last batch was gathered from the garden under some sheet compost and cardboard. They've been happily reproducing in my basement for several years. They almost completely died out one very cold winter down stairs, but resurrected.

 

[shortgrass]

It depends on what kind of worms they are.  Red worms are the ones commonly used for vermiposting.  They do not withstand freezing.  And they are not likely to tunnel deep into the soil to keep from freezing.  Your best bet may be to move them into your basement for the winter.  I've killed several batches by letting them get too cold.  My last batch was gathered from the garden under some sheet compost and cardboard.  They've been happily reproducing in my basement for several years.  They almost completely died out one very cold winter down stairs, but resurrected.

X2

That far north, they will need to be brought in... A basement would be perfect to overwinter

 

[pfields]

For the last year and a half I've been taking the poo covered with PDZ and putting it in our compost bin along with shavings, vegetable scraps, etc., and that bin is full of worms. This morning I cut up a pineapple and put the sides in the bin and the worms are already covering it. They are short worms with lines across their bodies, not earthworms. I was wondering if those were safe to give to the chickens.

 

[lazy gardener]

Yes they are. You have an active colony of red worms.

 

[Veg87]

For the last year and a half I've been taking the poo covered with PDZ and putting it in our compost bin along with shavings, vegetable scraps, etc., and that bin is full of worms.  This morning I cut up a pineapple and put the sides in the bin and the worms are already covering it.  They are short worms with lines across their bodies, not earthworms.  I was wondering if those were safe to give to the chickens.

All of my birds go crazy for worms out of my bins, they have a easier time eating the redworms compared to the earthworms. I will say that depending on the size of your bin, you may occassionally be able to vermicompost citrus waste (pineapple rind, orange peel, and the like) it is not agood idea to add those things frequently as the acidity can be harmful for the worms and if the amount or frequency is high enough it can create an unsurvivable environment for them. I've seen mine avoid orange peel to the point it became very moldy and I once tried to put in papaya rinds withe a bit of the fruit on them and it very quickly putrified and killed off that bin of redworms befoe I could seperate and save them. On the other hand, they seem to love tightly trimmed cantelope rind and seem to compost quickly. I usually let the chickens pick the rind almost clean and then toss it to the worms with just a tiny bit of fruit still on it.