[new_2_veg]

just a quick question about cleaning out my hens


i will clean them out twice a week or when needed but i have sand and wood shavings on the floor, i cant compost this can i?

thanks

nathan

[Lost in France]

I use wood shavings and yes they will compost but do take a very long time to break down. We have loads of grass clippings in the summer and these, layered with the henhouse shavings, will, one day be lovely compost!! The sand too won't hurt..I add the cleanings from our large aviary and these are mainly sand.

Good luck, enjoy your girlies!

Judi

[new_2_veg]

hi

i wasnt sure if someone had said something about it makes the compost to high in something but maybe i got it wrong

thanks

nathan

[Gary]

just a quick question about cleaning out my hens


i will clean them out twice a week or when needed but i have sand and wood shavings on the floor, i cant compost this can i?

thanks

nathan

Hi
Im not sure but i think its high in nirogen and needs a long time to break down  :!: ,a friend of mine has a seperate compost bin and leaves it in for about 12 months :o

Gary

[hotterotter]

high in carbon, which if not properly composted will take nitrogen from your soil to finish breaking down.

[Charlwood1005]

Like any compost the use of high wood content will upset the balance, this can be offset by mixing in plenty of green stuff to help balance the finished product.

[oddbuthappy]

every day when i check for eggs and replenish food and water, I take with me a cat litter tray scoop and a bucket... i use the scoop to pick the poo out the wood shavings, a quick jiggle shakes most of the loose wood shavings off so far less goes on the compost.

Because I do it once a day with the other routine tasks there's rarely much there so it's a quick easy job and the coop remains lovely and clean and fly free.  I only really need to do a big coop clean once in a blue moon for the sake of freshness and to prevent/get rid of crawlies.... which means far less shavings on the compost... less money, less work, cleaner coop... seems to work for my girls

[poultrygeist]

I do similar but I use a nice big rubber glove and try to make it compost friendly.
My OH however uses a poop scoop and shoves it along with the shavigns into a placcy bag and then the bin. She has less patience than me but then she does it more often  :oops:

Have to watch for those compacted lumps that hide under in the corners !
What a lovely topic  :?

Rob

[GrannieAnnie]

Try doing it with 300 odd though OBH!!!!!!!  I just shovel it in the wheelbarrow.  I do compost mine, but I don't usually use my compost for a year anyway!!!!!

[oddbuthappy]

Try doing it with 300 odd though OBH!!!!!!!  I just shovel it in the wheelbarrow.  I do compost mine, but I don't usually use my compost for a year anyway!!!!!

lol... cor, i don't envy you Grannie! :shock:

[blulagoo]

:roll: On this topic - can anyone advise - is it ok to use shredded paper in the henhouse? I am getting a cube on Thursday to put 3 girls and a boy in (chickens not children!) and wondered if I could use paper or maybe paper/shavings mix?

Thanks

[poultrygeist]

There's been a couple of postings before from people who use shredded paper. Apparently it works well but has to be changed more often due to sogginess.  

Rob

[Lost in France]

We compost the shavings, layered with grass clippings. The compost is very slow to decompose so should be left for at least a year. We have friends who use sawdust for their horses and again they take a long time to breakdown. Now we can add alpaca poo, maybe it will speed the decomposition up a little!! We should have the biggest veggies in Brittany!!

Another thought...I used the partly decomposed chicken shavings in my bean trench as they hold the moisture. Beans fix nitrogen so it seemed ok...anyway we had whopper beans and very prolific so will be repeating it this year!

Judi