First, you need a source of organic material. I compost all of my kitchen scraps, as well as food that goes bad in the fridge. But that's really not enough material to keep the chickens fed, much less turn into compost.
My house is a drop-off site for Compost Coalition Austin, a volunteer driven organization that provides a way for producers of food waste, like coffee or sandwich shops, to collect organic material and provides volunteers to pick it up to either compost in their backyards or deliver to nearby community gardens. I do both. Every week, I get several buckets full of of goods.
Next, you need a place to compost that material. I've got several compost bins in my backyard, including this bin attached to my secure chicken run. Read Building a Chicken Coop out of Shipping Crates for details on how I made my coop.
Inside the chicken run, my hens can access the goodies. A set of slats keeps the girls from kicking too much material out of the compost bin.
The chickens have their pick of the most amazing food scrap salad. The decomposing food attracts loads of bugs, which the chickens also enjoy eating. Whatever the chickens don't eat eventually becomes compost.
About once a week or so, I pile up all the material on one side of the compost bin. Sometimes I sprinkle a bit of scratch on top. That encourages the girls to scratch and peck the pile to bits, which accelerates the breakdown of the material. Birds generally poop wherever they happen to be, and that adds more nitrogen to the compost.
Sometimes the chicken run compost pile gets too wet during a rain, so when it's time to harvest, I might have to dry the compost out a bit before using or storing it.
My plants are very happy I compost with chickens!
1 comment:
This composter attached to the chicken coop is an inspired idea! I am totally going to try this with my coop. Thanks for sharing your invention.
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