Odour Control of Donkey Manure

Hey Folks, I am working with a pile of donkey manure at a friends' place. It has been accumulating all winter and is about 4 feet tall and a good 6 feet in diameter. I turned it once a month ago and will again soon.
Right now, it's pretty smelly...probably from the urine in the straw bedding too. I was thinking of covering it with a tarp next time I turn the pile. Any suggestions about odour control??? It's still kind of cold here so I realize the microbes won't be very active yet but some will! I'm all ears!

Add carbonaceous material, turn it in, wait. Repeat when necessary.

Donna LeClair wrote:Hey Folks, I am working with a pile of donkey manure at a friends' place. It has been accumulating all winter and is about 4 feet tall and a good 6 feet in diameter. I turned it once a month ago and will again soon.
Right now, it's pretty smelly...probably from the urine in the straw bedding too. I was thinking of covering it with a tarp next time I turn the pile. Any suggestions about odour control??? It's still kind of cold here so I realize the microbes won't be very active yet but some will! I'm all ears!

The following would be also beneficial to Chris, Bill and Alice, as I know that they have recently asked questions or had problems that could be addressed by simply using these steps...

Donna - This is what I'd do...gather some whey from your Kefir or yogurt-making or make some rice rinse/milk LAB. Figure out how much you are going to need, final stage and backtrack to see how much of the 'ingredients' you have to put together.

The following are notes from my protocol -

Instructions for Use:
If you are ready to use your LAB serum you will dilute the pure or stabilized Lacto-Bacillus Serum with non-chlorinated water at a 20:1 ratio (Water:Lacto). This diluted solution stores at room temperature/non-refrigerated, only for 6 months.

The 20:1 ratio solution is further diluted to 1 tablespoon to 1 liter or 4 tablespoons/gallon of non-chlorinated water used as a foliar spray (leaf-feeding), soil drench or given to animals in feed. You can drench the soil to rebuild and sterilize it from unwanted, harmful pathogens; it cleans and breaks down to release nutrients. The stabilized lacto-bacillus serum attracts other beneficial organisms to help enrich the soil. If your compost bin is out of balance, it will restore and correct.

Giving fermented LAB to any animal or fowl in their food/drinking water helps their digestion, many times over, and will re-populate the good bacteria necessary. As a result, our livestock will get more nutrients out of what they eat, eat less, get better growth and be healthier. This lacto-bacteria is good at deodorizing and breaking down organic materials, so it’s a very good ‘tool’ for the homesteader/gardener.

Feed 1-2 tablespoons/gallon for your chicken or animals water sources. Livestock that could previously only absorb 65% of their food nutrients can now obtain as much as 85% from the same foodstuffs. As they are getting more nutrition, you can feed them less, without loss. Changing from quantity focused, to quality. You can spray the bedding or deep litter of your livestock/fowl to control odor, break down the animal ammonia and pathogens. Just by this, your animals will not become sick.

You can also use this for Aquaponics and keep the fish healthy and their water clean. Again, it breaks the ammonia down and inhibits pathogens that would be attracted to the ammonia.

For septic systems, you can pour 1-2 cups of the 20:1 ratio solution to clear, recharge and rejuvenate the septic tank and drain field.

@Jay....there is so much straw bedding in the mix, I would have thought there would be plenty of carbon already but I can try adding more, thank you.

@Ollie.....I like the info. about the kefir....I will read the article more thoroughly later and give it a try! Thanks.

Straw doesn't break down or bind with the manure quite as well as other forms of dry matter one could add...I've seen straw turned up in gardens for a few years after added to the soil when used as mulched. Might try leaves, lawn clippings, hay, etc.

Often it just takes time...composting is something that really can't be rushed. You could use a tarp to keep excess moisture from rains off the pile and that may help a little but you will need some level of moisture to aid in the pile's digestion anyway.