Chickens and compost

Miss Jane and Miss Elizabeth, you'll be glad to know, are settling in brilliantly. I'll get some more pictures soon. Miss J will come within 2 feet of me, but Miss E is still set on that 4 ft. limit. That's fine; as long as they're healthy and happy, then I'm set. I DID get Miss J to snatch worms from my finger over the weekend, though! And, by the bye, I'm getting two eggs almost every day.

So, Sunday I turned the compost heap. I have a couple of those black hoops (see the picture, in the upper right corner). I had unfortunately put a LOT of hay in one of them and, as I turned the stuff over into the other hoop, found big clumps of spoiled hay with lots of... critters in them. It would take forever for it to compost properly, so I took half a wheelbarrow full into the chicken coop and those girls went NUTS! Two days later, that stuff is powder! I tossed another bucketful in there this morning and they went right for it. Problem is... what happens when I run out of partially composted hay!?!?? Are they going to hold the dog for ransom?

WOW! They sure do make short work of buggy compost, sounds like your having a blast with those birds. Hold the dog ransom!! Great idea. Keep it to yourself. LOL Haystack

I've been throwing my "compostables" into my raised beds and letting the chickens go through everything. Unfortunately now I want to plant in them...I am going to have some very irritated chickens.

I suggest you dont run out! hehehe You can always givve them other fun treats. We actually had a fun thread on chickens treats awhile back. Like cabbage, and stuff... I am so glad the girls are settling in nicely!! :D

So glad to hear that the Misses Bantam are doing well. They are certainly getting the royal treatment with buggy compost. That is a chicken delight! You have set the bar quite high....

Excellent news on the eggs as well! Are they white or brown?

I don't have my chickens yet (due in first of May) but am reading up on anything to do with compost and chickens since I am planning on keeping a couple of my compost bins in the chicken yard so that the little dears could have at said compost when I let them out of their coop. I'm a little woried, though, since I have read that I shouldn't let the chickens have spoiled veg and such as it might make them sick. Some of that does go into my compost bins. Does anyone have experience with this?

brigidlily, I just really like your bird bath and thought I would tell you so.

Hmmm. That is a good question. My chickens eat all the windfall fruit they can find and some stuff I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. They probably wouldn't eat really moldy, bacterial slimy food--but I wouldn't worry about them picking through a compost bin. They have been doing it for millenia.

Now someone more knowledgeable speak up. I am kind of a permissive chicken owner.....

If you care whether the compost stays in the bin, don't let the chickens help with it.

Our chicken yard runs along 2 sides of our garden making a great barrier for bugs to have to cross in order to get to the garden. We have horse pens and pasture on the other side of the chickens, so I'm sure there are many grasshoppers from that grass that get turned into eggs instead of munching my veggies. The other good part is that as I pull weeds from the garden, trim back old or overgrown veggies, or harvest the different types of produce, anything that's gotten past me as far as being in top eating shape, as well as all the trimming just get tossed over the fence to the chickens. They head straight for the garden anytime I do as they know they'll be getting treats. It's also a great way to pick and toss any bad bugs that do make it into the garden as they're on them like a dart. I've worried at times that I might feed them something they shouldn't have, but either they're quite tough or just naturally know what to leave alone. I haven't seen free range chickens have problems with what they choose to eat, so I wouldn't think you'd need to worry too much. They seem to be natural composters.

Kathy

Great set up Willowwind!

Thanks for the ideas, Willowwind.

Thanks, terri -- I love that birdbath, too. I threw some cosmos seeds all around it a couple of weeks ago and in a little while there will be a gorgeous cloud of airy yellow flowers around it. I put in a couple of roses, and am letting the mint do what it wants to do within reason. It will probably be a mint bed within a year or two!

Claire, the eggs (which are larger than I'd expected) are a gorgeous cream color, and very nice thick shells (and yummy orange yolks, but don't tell J and E that!) and there's no telling which eggs come from which hen.

I figure if I toss kitchen scraps and they don't eat them, the scraps will attract bugs and the hens WILL eat them. I only toss in fresh scraps (peels, etc.) but the compost I'm throwing in is quite a bit older. They seem to love it, though. I hope I don't regret it.