[digby]

I have been putting all my kitchen waste in the compost bin as usual - only raw veg, fruit cuttings. and after the recent spell of bad weather the compost even at the top of the bin seems to be quite soily already - Do you think I could have mice or rats in it? or should I just be happy it is working quickly?  I've had a good old shake of the bin, and nothing ran away quickly which I would have thought they would have done.

[Trillium]

You don't say what type of bin you have - dalek, open bin, other? Do you layer the kitchen scraps with brown matter like straw, leaves or wood type chips? It's mostly a matter of layering that builds the heat of a compost bin which is what makes 'the magic'. If it's a closed bin, it's possible you have worms there doing the work for you. Time to do a big of investigating by digging into the pile centre and see what's happening.

[digby]

Think you're right!  I have a dalek shaped bin, and have been running it for about 4/5 years now and have never known it change quite so quickly, which is why I think I might have little furry 'friends' messing up the layers.  Most of the stuff down the bottom is ready to use now so it's time for a good old dig anyway.