When cleaning out my hens - I know its ok to compost the old straw and wood shavings. But what about the stash of hen droppings? Are these ok? ::)
when you think that 7 kilo of rooster will cost 5.00, you're going to save a fortune !!
I put some straw and poo staight into my compost bin.
Be careful you don't use it too soon though because it's quite strong and can burn young crops. I put my chook-mook into tubs with grass cuttings and soil and leave it at least 6 months before I use it.
I put all the chicken poo plus the wood shavings from their shed on the compost heap & it's all I ever use in the way of fertiliser - brilliant stuff. Also used to use all the guinea pig straw & droppings but the piggies are no longer with us. :'(
Not as far as I know. I use it on everything - in fact it's what I fill my raised beds with so it's what everything actually grows in.
just short of 3 weeks after cleaning them out, today I went to shovel the waste off the top of the nesting boxes. There must have been about 10lbs in weight already. Best keep on top of this job. Downside is that the wood of the nesting boxes seems to be rotting fast.
Nice aroma too KT :) I have a dropping board under the perch which I clean every 2 or 3 days ..I usually sprinkle some shavings on after cleaning seems to make
the job easier next time ...
I used shavings but was told they take forever to rot down into compost. Thats why I never bothered this time around. Have I done right or wrong... :-\
I have never had any problems using shavings in the muck/compost heap..
You may find they take slightly longer than straw/hay etc to break down and are slightly more acidic than these .. But hen muck is high in nitrogen so will take em down OK.... The upside I find is that muck etc where shavings have been used seems more friable and easier to spread .. Cheers Jim..
I don't keep chickens myself... but I know a woman who does. So I'll be off to fill 20x60l compost bags this week! Shaving and straw base both are great!
;D
Wood shavings and poo put inside a thick plastic bag will rot down a lot quicker so you could stack these alongside the compost bin and add it later. As for the top of your nest boxes ( I have ours treated with wood preserve as for fences)if you cannot clean it each day put down a good layer of newspaper but do clean it often. you could also try some thick plastic sheeting similar to pool liner and nail it to the tops to save them.
Chicken pens need to be cleaned out daily. I use Hemcore and the resulting compost is good. It all goes to the lotty in the plastic compost bins. Cleaning is an easy job if done regularly. My nest boxes are all cardboard so they can be burned and replaced. Hens don't like laying in dirty conditions.
Now got some fibre glass boxes that will wipe and clean brilliantly. No decomposition there i reckon. ;)