I'm new to the composting thing. I've had gardens before used fertilizer but since got chickens a couple years ago wanted to make a compost bin with my chickens poo since it is supposed to be great for the garden. Can some one give some tips on creating a correct compost pile. Is there a thread or sticky here that can get me some help, tryed to search but did not get very far.
Starting a compost pile with chicken manure
- Thread starter dun chick
- Start date
CARS
Leafing Out
I have more of a decomposition pile than a compost pile but here is my method. If I didn't have such a huge bedding to poo ratio I would get more serious about doing it right.
In the fall I do a complete clean up of the coop. I take that fresh poo which is what everyone says is too "hot" to use directly and place it on my garden beds after everything is harvested. It acts as a weed blocker until next spring when I mix it into the garden bed. All the bedding/poo that doesn't fit on the beds gets put on it's own pile to break down.
So now I have a fresh pile next to last years pile which after the second winter/year is 90% decomposed and ready to use. Does that make sense? Basically I have enough space to have a pile for each year. One pile fresh, one pile from last year and one pile is ready to use. They only get turned when they move over to the next spot.
(I also have a pile that I call the 500 year pile. That is where everything that can breakdown over 100 years goes. Branches, bones that the dog doesn't want anymore, some old rusty metal, etc.)
I wish I could explain it more clearly. Good luck!
In the fall I do a complete clean up of the coop. I take that fresh poo which is what everyone says is too "hot" to use directly and place it on my garden beds after everything is harvested. It acts as a weed blocker until next spring when I mix it into the garden bed. All the bedding/poo that doesn't fit on the beds gets put on it's own pile to break down.
So now I have a fresh pile next to last years pile which after the second winter/year is 90% decomposed and ready to use. Does that make sense? Basically I have enough space to have a pile for each year. One pile fresh, one pile from last year and one pile is ready to use. They only get turned when they move over to the next spot.
(I also have a pile that I call the 500 year pile. That is where everything that can breakdown over 100 years goes. Branches, bones that the dog doesn't want anymore, some old rusty metal, etc.)
I wish I could explain it more clearly. Good luck!
patandchickens
Deeply Rooted
It's not really rocket science unless you are trying to set new land-speed records.
Anything will produce some sort of compost eventually. But your best bet is a mixture that is considerably dirtier than most people ever let their bedding get, but with some shavings or straw mixed in (not pure poo). If you use a droppings board or anything similar, this is pretty easy to achieve (just mix some used bedding in with the stuff that comes off the droppings board). If you do not, just clean out the coop periodically, then you are likely to have a carbon-biased pile that will not heat up well nor compost very fast; if you have access to any other 'pure' livestock manure you could mix that in, or fresh grass clippings (tho really those should stay on the lawn via a mulching mower), or even if you are quite impatient with a very carbon-biased pile you can add commercial hi-nitrogen fertilizer or ammonia or urine.
Make sure the pile is evenly moist but not wet.
The pile will not heat up if it is very small or constructed gradually, but that is not a big problem with chicken manure since there are essentially no seeds in it to try to kill.
Basically just chuck it somewhere, encourage it to stay not too dry and not too wet, and next fall see if the inside is 'done' enough to use. The outside parts won't break down much but they can become the inside of the *next* compost pile you make
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
Anything will produce some sort of compost eventually. But your best bet is a mixture that is considerably dirtier than most people ever let their bedding get, but with some shavings or straw mixed in (not pure poo). If you use a droppings board or anything similar, this is pretty easy to achieve (just mix some used bedding in with the stuff that comes off the droppings board). If you do not, just clean out the coop periodically, then you are likely to have a carbon-biased pile that will not heat up well nor compost very fast; if you have access to any other 'pure' livestock manure you could mix that in, or fresh grass clippings (tho really those should stay on the lawn via a mulching mower), or even if you are quite impatient with a very carbon-biased pile you can add commercial hi-nitrogen fertilizer or ammonia or urine.
Make sure the pile is evenly moist but not wet.
The pile will not heat up if it is very small or constructed gradually, but that is not a big problem with chicken manure since there are essentially no seeds in it to try to kill.
Basically just chuck it somewhere, encourage it to stay not too dry and not too wet, and next fall see if the inside is 'done' enough to use. The outside parts won't break down much but they can become the inside of the *next* compost pile you make
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
