Keeping Chickens

Chicken Manure Compost Bin

I posted the other day on Chicken Manure, and again with photos of our plastic compost bins full to the brim with chicken poo, bedding and straw waste material from our chickens on the Chicken Run post.

We have a ‘three’ compost bin system, we have two plastic compost bins that hold 330L of compost material and a homemade compost heap made from pallets and the like, that we use to hold ‘mature’ finished compost, that we then ‘dip’ into for use round the garden etc.

The three bin system is basically a means of ensuring your compost is aerated and helping with the natural breakdown of your kitchen and garden waste material into compost, by transfering it from one bin to the other as the bins get full. By the time the compost gets to the home made pallet affair, it’s basically ‘usable’ and stays in this ‘maturing’ until used, or it gets bagged up if we have a particulary good compost production year!

We fill the first plastic compost bin with garden waste such as grass cuttings, old flowers, nettles, spent bedding plants, and other weeds and the like from the garden. We also have a kitchen compost caddy that we use to collect tea bags, vegetable peelings, fruit cores and peelings, coffee grounds and the filter paper, egg shells and the like. We also put scrunched up newspaper in this to stop the compost being too ‘green’.

Anyway, the other day we had the free magazine from the local council pushed through the door. Usually this goes straight in the paper recycling bin, because in the immortal words of Captain Blackadder, it’s ‘soft, strong and thoroughly absorbent’!

Just as this right riveting read was about to be dropped into the paper recycle bin, I noticed that on the front cover there was a picture of a compost bin and a headline about ‘Bagging A Compost Bin’ bargain.

I quickly flicked through to the compost bin bargain page, and found that for once the council had included a useful article… The article was headlined in bold, proclaiming that ‘At Least 30% Of Your Household Waste Bin Could Be Composted!‘

The article had a three step composting plan and a useful list of suitable compostable material divided into ‘greens’ and ‘browns’. Basically greens are easily compostable materials and browns are compostable materials that take a little longer to compost down.

Like a good cake mixture, a compost mixture has to contain the right mix of greens and browns to compost down well. Too many greens and you’ll have a ‘smelly’ wet compost heap. Too many browns and your compost heap will be dry and will take forever to break down into usable compost.

The three step system is divided thus.

Step 1 is all about the placing of your compost bin. The bin needs to be sited on level well drained soil, so that worms and other ‘friendly’ organisms can easily get into the bin and ‘help’ with the composting process.

They also suggest that the compost bin be placed in a sunny spot to help speed up the composting process – again like baking a cake, compost needs to be ‘cooked’ at the right temperature.

Last in step one, they suggest placing your bin on a ‘wire mesh’ to stop interest from ‘furry’ visitors. We’ve never had a problem with furry visitors. I think as long as you don’t add ‘pre-cooked’ material or dairy / meat to your compost bin, then it shouldn’t be a problem.

Step 2 is all about making good compost. It starts off saying that if your compost is too wet add some more brown material, if it’s too dry add more green. It also says that if your compost has a strong odour then it’s a indication that your compost has too many greens and to add more browns. That’s pretty obvious I suppose.

It then goes on to aerating your compost. Compost needs to be turned regulary to promote aerobic breakdown. The problem with kitchen waste and the like is that it gets compacted easily, and then your compost heap becomes anaerobic. The main problem with this for us composters, is I think that anaerobic compost takes longer to create. It also has a tendancy to be a bit smelly – think bogs etc.

So to aerate your compost you should turn it over with a fork on a regular basis, (or use a three step compost bin plan) and/or add scrunched up newspaper, toilet roll tubes, corregated cardboard, egg boxes (not that we plan to have many egg boxes spare to put on the heap as we’ll be using them to store our eggs in!) as these materials help to trap air pockets in your compost heap.

It then suggests some compost materials that will help speed up the composting process. Apparently nettles, soaked comfrey leaves and urine are good compost activators. Our boys have taken to ‘weeing’ on the compost heap at every available opportunity… This may be more to do with ‘going’ in the wild, then helping with the compost, but ‘every little helps’ I suppose!

It suggests covering fruit and vegetable scraps with a layer of soil, grass cuttings or shredded paper to help cut down on fruit flies and suggests that furry visitors can be deterred by not adding meat, fish, bread or dairy items. These can however be composted and I’ve seen a composting system called Bokashi that allows you to use these materials.

It also says that if you have bees and wasps attracted to your compost bin, that it’s a indication that your bin is ‘too dry’ and to add cold water to it.

Step 3 is all about using your compost and is I suppose the ‘fun’ part of composting. You get the satisfaction of using homemade compost around the garden that otherwise would cost you a small fortune in the garden centres.

It states that it can take between six to nine month to make good compost, but that in my opinion depends on what you’re actually putting into your heap in the first place and the conditions you keep your compost heap in. Generally you should have ‘usable’ compost quicker than that if you aerate, keep the temperature up and ensure your mixture contains a good balance of greens and browns.

Compost can be used on flower beds and vegetable patches to improve soil quality, retain moisture and suppress weeds. It can be used to ‘feed’ lawns and trees and as I’ve already said can save you a small fortune if you usually buy your compost in a garden centre.

So what’s a green and what’s a brown material? See below.

Greens
Tea bags, grass cuttings, veggie peelings, old flowers, fruit scraps, nettles, coffee grinds and filters papers, spent bedding plants, comfrey leaves, rhubarb leaves, young annual weeds, pond algae & seaweed.

Browns
Egg shells (crushed), egg boxes, cereal boxes, corrugated cardboard packaging, newspaper, toilet and kitchen roll tubes, garden prunings including dry leaves, twigs and hedge clippings, straw and hay, bedding from vegetarian pets such as chickens, rabbits etc, wool, feathers, nail clippings, hair, feathers, ashes from wood, paper and BBQ charcoal, woody clippings – saw dust etc, natural fibre string, tumble dryer lint, old natural fibre clothes – wolly jumpers etc, vacuum bag contents, tissues, paper towels and napkins, corn on the cob, pine needles and cones.

‘Secret sauce’ compost receipes…

Add your confidential waste to the compost heap. Like many people I have a paper shredder, as I don’t like the idea of putting old letters and post with my personal details on them into the paper recycle bin. When the shredder is full I add this to the compost heap. It’s paper, so it’s a brown material. You’re also certain to ensure you keep your details from being stolen from the bin!

I also like to add horse manure to our compost heap. We have a few stables in our area and they leave the manure out in bags outside the stables by the side of the road. Our stables give the manure away free – it just costs you a empty bag to replace the one you take your manure away in. This seems to help speed up the composting process and is my heap’s ‘secret’ receipe!

Further reading, there’s a wealth of information on compost online so check the below and do a search in your favourite search engine.

The council’s article was promoting the fact that you can get a cheap compost bin from a Government funded scheme at Recycle Now. This is the site we got our plastic compost bins from a couple of years ago. The Recycle Now site is a excellent resource and is worth visiting.

BBC Gardener’s World is excellent.
Portsmouth Council’s Compost Site is good.
Norfolk’s Site about compost problems is informative.
Compost Bins & Other Stuff

Related posts:

1. Cleaning Out The Chicken House
2. Fox Kills Chicken… The Morning After
3. Chicken Manure
4. Fox Kills One Of Our Chickens
5. Axminster Chicken Keeping Saga – Hugh Responds!