Allotments 4 All

I have finally got a compost bin this year and have started filling it with veg peelings etc.... I also stick the chicken manure in but I'm finding I have loads of manure compared to the rest. I only have 4 chooks so a manure pile would take an age to build up but I don't know what I'll get if it is all mixed with the kitchen waste. I have read about making sure your compost is a balanced mix so I wonder if I should only put some manure in and chuck the rest or if it is okay to have a mainly manure pile in my dalek. I know it will take a while to break down anyway as the girls have wood shavings but I'm happy to wait, I just wonder what I'll get in the end.
Do you think I should just keep going and treat it more as well rotted manure than compost when I eventually get to use it.

Keep chucking it all in is my view. The veg peelings and chicken manure with wood shavings will breakdown fairly well as the hen poo is a great compost activator high in nitrogen.

If worried about the balance add more green waste, with summer nearer you will soon have other stuff to go in. And if it gets a bit wet add some shredded newspaper of brown material.

The other secret is to stir it up now and again, weekly or more frequently is best but monthly is OK. This increases the air in the compost which is needed by the bacteria.

I have now cut over from using wood savings for my hens and instead use Amboise or Hemcore. These are hemp based bedding and break down far quicker than wood chip, little differance in price.

HTH

Jerry

Lucky you with all that chook manure!
I seem to have oodles of outer cabbage/broccoli leaves just now going into my compost bin.
If you have overwintering beds with no crop, you might consider it worth growing green manure on them (rather than leave the soil bare) specially for the green layers in your compost heap - thinking winter rye - as well as for soil conditioning, if you're concerned about the balance.  ::)