I am thinking of putting my 4 chooks onto my payroll. I feel they need to be reimbursed for all the hard work they do for me everyday!! They are doing such an important job - turning all our household organic waste into the most glorious rich compost. Tirelessly, happily, energetically, and never complaining.
We have a great system working in harmony with nature. People that have visited me are amazed at how simple and effective this way of making compost is. So here is how we do it.
Each morning after I have collected the eggs, I shake out the chicken pooh from the hay in the nest boxes into a bucket - and it is astonishing how much pooh 4 chooks can produce overnight! Luckily the pooh drops off easily and I put the 'poohless' hay back in the nest boxes to repeat the same thing the next day. A little bit of hay gets discarded each day, but this adds great dry matter to the compost.
The chook manure is then dropped into my first compost bin where I put fresh grass clippings, non invasive weeds, leaves, small twigs, mussel and oyster shells and all our organic household waste. I also feed leftovers and greens to them in this 1st compost bin. As soon as I drop anything into this bin, the 4 of them are into it with gusto. Pecking at any tasty morsel, devouring their washed and dried eggshells, finding live protein from turning over and scratching up everything else. Every day I rake this from side to side and end to end to keep it turned over and composting.
HERE is the link to a short video showing the girls working this bin!!
After about 2 weeks, I take the frame off the 1st stage and rake the contents into another fenced off area using some scraps of timber as my framework.
The chooks continue to scratch through this, and I continue to rake this from side to side and end to end each day.
I put the original square timber frame back where it was and start the process again.
I don't add anything new to the compost in stage 2 and in another 2-4 weeks of turning it over and the chooks working it, I can then rake it all up and use it on my garden.
It is such a simple and efficient way to make compost, and I would never go back to using the compost bins that I used to where I ended up getting a wet, soggy, and cluggy mess.
I have also started a worm farm in a 10L paint bucket and that is growing nicely so will make a bigger house for them soon, and the vermiculite and worm wees will add a lovely extra to my garden along with the compost my beautiful chooks make!!
So my chooks lay me 4 eggs every day, they make the most amazing compost, they supply me with wonderful manure, and give me and my family a lot of pleasure to watch and be with them, and our little dog really thinks they are playing with her when they chase her up and down the run.
Living in an urban area, I am very aware of the potential to attract vermin with my chooks and compost making so I have a humane trap I purchased from the Moehau Environment Group, positioned beside the chook run. So far I have not caught anything - and I am not sure if I am happy or disappointed about this!
If you have any questions about this process of making compost this way - please ask on this blog. Happy to answer what I can.
Happy composting everyone!!
Jo
