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Chicken poo and compost!

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Hi guys.

Having only had my 3 chooks for a few weeks, I am still obsessively poo picking! (Probably pick up most of the poos they do daily). At present I've been emptying all the poo into the compost bin. But I'm getting a bit concerned about just how much chicken poo one compost bin can handle! Its an average sized plastic compost bin that you can buy from garden centers. Any ideas guys? Can it handle all my girls Poos? Or will I have to put them in the rubbish bin :?

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I was very worried about poo as i tried composting and was useless at it so didn't really want to do one again. Also have hardly any plants so nowhere to put compost. Anyway neighbour has an allotment so she takes them off my hands. If she didnt i would freecyle it i'm convinced it would be snapped up!

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I think you have two options:

 

1. A chicken-poo-only compost bin, where you leave it to rot down like horse manure than use it as fertiliser. I put mine in a small plastic box out in the open to start rotting, then transfer it to a bigger bin to take to the allotment.

 

2. Mix it with plenty of other garden rubbish - it makes a great activator and should speed up composting time considerably.

 

Definitely don't throw it away - if you can't be bothered to freecycle it, with all the hassle of mailing lists and strangers coming to your house, contact your nearest allotments and find out if they'd like a regular "donation" :)

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. A chicken-poo-only compost bin, where you leave it to rot down like horse manure than use it as fertiliser. I put mine in a small plastic box out in the open to start rotting, then transfer it to a bigger bin to take to the allotment.

 

Is your plastic box in contact with the ground and open or is it a closed box? How long does chicken manure have to "age" before it can be used as fertilizer?

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I have 3 compost bins. They've been heavily used this winter, especially now I use Aubiose in the run but this mixes nicely with the chook poo and makes good compost.

 

My 3 bins are almost full now, but when weather warms up I will go back to blasting the poop with the hosepipe and it dissappears into the grass so compost bins cans can have a rest.

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. A chicken-poo-only compost bin, where you leave it to rot down like horse manure than use it as fertiliser. I put mine in a small plastic box out in the open to start rotting, then transfer it to a bigger bin to take to the allotment.

 

Is your plastic box in contact with the ground and open or is it a closed box? How long does chicken manure have to "age" before it can be used as fertilizer?

 

It's just a cheap lidded box that I bought from a pound shop, but with the lid left off. You don't want it open at the bottom - compost heaps need that to let in the worms, but the idea with manure is to let the ammonia evaporate and bacteria to start on the process of rotting it down. I pop the lid on during very wet weather, though!

 

I've seen various quotes on how long you should age chicken manure, anything between two months and a year :shock: The stuff in my lidded bucket to take up to the allotment is from the winter, so I'm guessing it should be OK by the time I use it on my squash in May/June.

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I filled my compost bins last year.

 

I had layers of chicken litter, grass, and paper.

 

It is lovely now, crumbly, odourless and ready for digging in.

 

Only yesterday I found a home for the excess...a friend who is setting up an organic garden at a local school is going to take some. :lol:

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Thats great information, thanks very much. :D

I started my compost bin again when the chickens came but there's just too much poo. I can put it in the council green waste bin but I hate to get rid of it :oops: I see it as one of the cost/benefits of chicken keeping :lol: Today I bought a compost thermometre so I can keep an eye on the temp's. Keen I know :roll: I could have been cheap and just stuck my hand in it to check but :vom:

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We've got two compost bins, a wormery and a council bin for the grass cuttings but I think we'll have to invest in another composter as they seem to fill up really quickly.

 

I'm hoping that the chicken compost will be ready for digging into the veg beds in the autumn but I guess I'll have to wait if it needs a year to rot down

 

BTW if anyone local to Camberley, Surrey wants a few composting worms to start their own wormery, let me know. I can usually spare large yoghurt pot full each month

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:shock::shock: WOW! Thanks all so much for all the great advice and ideas. I dont know why I hadn't thought of allotments before. There is an allotment site less than five minutes away, so i could just simply wander over and see if I can find anybody who might want it. Great stuff. if not, I shall get on freecycle. Ive never heard of it before, but it sounds a grand idea. I'm so glad it looks like I'll be able to find something productive to do with it.

Cheers Omleteers! (that rhymes) :lol:

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