I have a compost bin that I put my used FFOF soil in (4X4X4ft.) I am currently taking care of my neighbors chickens, the coop was just cleaned out and I have access to a pile of chicken manure mixed with wood shavings from the coop floor. I'm thinking I may get a couple wheel barrels full of it and add it to the compost bin. It will "cook" all winter. I'm thinking that cooking for several month until May-June should mellow it out and make a pretty decent soil. Like to try and go organic on the next grow. Any advice or comments would be welcome.
Chicken Coop
- Thread starter Phytoplankton
- Start date
Would love to hear the answers I can get all kinds of farm manure.
Some garden lime would be good- chicken manure is rather acidic but has high N. A couple cups ought to do for 16^2 ft.
I recently got some chickens and I am adding the wood shavings and chicken poop from the litter tray to my compost bin. I understand it is a 'hot' mix if it hasn't undergone 'cooking' before use. I will be most likely use it in future grows and in the vege garden too.
A few years ago my sister grew a plant that was on the site of where her previous chicken coop used to be, I guess the ground absorbed a lot as she said the plant grew fantastic. Certainly sounds great to get from your neighbours, but I'd let it decompose for a nice long while before using.
A few years ago my sister grew a plant that was on the site of where her previous chicken coop used to be, I guess the ground absorbed a lot as she said the plant grew fantastic. Certainly sounds great to get from your neighbours, but I'd let it decompose for a nice long while before using.
Adding Lime seems to be a really good thing to do when chicken manure is added to a compost pile.
While looking at a few articles it does seem that the use of Lime is really good for compost piles when chicken manure is part of the mix. Two of the best things it does are speeding up the decomposition as it raises the temperature of the pile. As the pile becomes hotter and the decomposition speeds up this would really help break down the wood chips. And the lime helps to eliminate odors if the pile starts to smell which they sometimes do when the decomposition is taking place quickly.
Might be good to add the lime for one other reason. I found several gardening articles that mention that most compost piles start off acidic and become neutral to somewhat alkaline as the decomposition finishes up.
Along with chicken manure being alkaline on its own adding some line could really balance out the mix by early next summer.
Been a long time since I kept chickens and made compost, but we would rake it up dry and crush it into the compost bin
We also added wood ash for K which ups the pH a bit
We got through a hell of a lot of wet tea leaves too
We also added wood ash for K which ups the pH a bit
We got through a hell of a lot of wet tea leaves too
The other day when I was looking up articles and websites on chicken manure in compost and the acid or alkaline levels I started to notice that there were more than the usual number of sites out of the British island.
Was kind of surprised at that.
Alfalfa (hay, pellets or meal) and biochar help make killer kompost too. The former isn't expensive at all by the bale and the latter is expensive as hell.
Here's a good read about alfalfa: DIY Alfalfa Fertilizer for Higher Yields - Rodale Institute
Biochar is like housing for soil microbes so it's great for compost and living soils.
Here's a good read about alfalfa: DIY Alfalfa Fertilizer for Higher Yields - Rodale Institute
Biochar is like housing for soil microbes so it's great for compost and living soils.
Biochar is really simple to make on your own and does great things for your soil in reasonable percentages. Same with wood ash, just not from BBQ briquettes which often have chemical flame starters in them.
Also, in addition to alfalfa, malted barley from a beer making store is great for the compost pile because of the enzymes that help facilitate the Microbial breakdown of the raw ingredients.
Fresh chicken manure is considered a "hot" manure, unlike something like rabbit that can be used fresh. But running your neighbor's stuff through your pile will give you some really good nutrient laden compost for your grow.
Also, in addition to alfalfa, malted barley from a beer making store is great for the compost pile because of the enzymes that help facilitate the Microbial breakdown of the raw ingredients.
Fresh chicken manure is considered a "hot" manure, unlike something like rabbit that can be used fresh. But running your neighbor's stuff through your pile will give you some really good nutrient laden compost for your grow.
