Ann Baker

William Bronson wrote: For a very experienced take on small scale chicken composting with restaurant scrap, try Sean at Edible Acres.
Heres a 35 video playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLihFHKqj6JerKruLfMcxdNKDRHkGxgwwz&si=TrUqBWZbUlfCFPY0

Oooh, I know what my next video binge session will be!

Thank you everyone for sharing your thoughts.

I'm really hoping that the poke restaurant one town over will be my source.  They have chicken on their menu but it's an after thought for anyone who got drug to the poke restaurant, I imagine.

Awesome William and Leora.  It's good to hear your success stories utilizing similar principles.

So, I've got another question that's kind of on the ridiculous side.  

I've been wanting to get my flock to 60-75 hens by next summer and feed them all from the compost piles following the design in the video. Right now I'm at twenty.

I'm wanting to get food scraps from a local restaurant but I've always kept a chicken-less food scrap bin because of the idea that feeding chickens chicken somehow seems icky or something.  I know restaurants are not going to sort out chicken from their food scraps and I sure don't have the time or inclination to do it myself.

So, I'm just wondering where people fall on the what scraps do you feed your chickens spectrum? 😂. I also plan to sell the eggs and I'm kind of wondering what customers might think, say, or do if they know their eggs are coming from chickens eating chicken, like I'm running some kind of operation akin to a factory broiler operation where they have to cut their beaks instead of an ecologically enriching pastured egg farm.  I'm sure I'm over thinking this but I'm happy to hear your input.

Jay Angler wrote: I recall being told that Alpaca manure is like rabbit manure and that it can be applied directly to plants. That doesn't mean it wouldn't work in Geoff's chicken system - just interesting info. Joel Salatin has chickens underneath raised rabbit cages, but that's a different system.

My WAG* would be that the chicken bedding alone would have enough 'heat potential' simply by using a little lower bedding to poop ratio if you found the pile wasn't heating up?

I really don't see any big harm in trying this. There are plenty of ways to adjust the pile after the chickens have moved on if you're finding the "compost" part of the process isn't working. Shoveling the remains into a worm composting set up, for example?

Regardless, if you try this, please report back with how it worked, for better or worse, ideally with a bit of info about things like your ecosystem, size of flock etc. Geoff is in a warm climate, for example. Some ideas cross ecosystems, and some don't.

*wild assed guess

Yes, similar to rabbit manure and can be applied directly to plants.  The chickens in Joel's system are getting plenty of microorganisms to eat but as you say it's a different system- slow composting and his primary food for the chickens is still his custom-mixed feed.  I love the terminology WAG, by the way!

Timothy, I think the name "chicken tractor on steroids" is misleading and kinda dumb honestly.  A chicken tractor really has nothing to do with the system, in fact if your moving it daily it doesn't work unless your somehow collecting and storing the chicken-manured bedding to add to a pile at the beginning of the next week. It could just as well be a stationary coop that your using, in fact that's whats in his video.  The only important factor from the chicken tractor (or coop) is that you collect the chicken bedding weekly from the tractor or coop (it must be 1/3 a cubic yard or more if doing a larger pile) and that forms the base layer of the pile.

Maybe I'll have my husband pee on the alpaca manure.  Peeing outside to add nitrogen to the soil is his specialty.  Any thoughts about compost getting too wet if left uncovered in the rain?  My number one goal is providing the chickens with food entirely from the system, the awesome and quickly produced compost is pretty exciting too but secondary.

Yes, that's the video Matt. I like your advice, thank you!  I might start with less desirable cow manure just to get started, I suppose and then do the second pile with alpaca manure.  That way they still will have enough food from the first pile plus the scraps on the second pile if the alpaca manure slows down the process too much, I suppose.  When I am at the feed store, I keep telling myself "this is the last bag of feed I'm going to buy" and then I don't start the pile because of feeling conflicted about not having an answer to my questions or it not working for some other reason.

Youtube

The system is comprised of 1/3 cubic yard chicken bedding, 1/3 large animal manure, 1/3 food/garden scraps.  The chicken bedding provides carbon, nitrogen, and beneficial microorganisms to the mix, the animal manure provides beneficial microorganisms, insects and seeds and more for the chickens to feast on along with the food/garden scraps.  The chickens continue to provide manure while eating atop the piles as well as aerating them by their scratching.  The piles are fully composted after 4 weeks.  I don't really know much more than that and I am amateur at best regarding compost.  

Hi, everyone.  I am starting a chicken tractor on steroids and have two questions.

First, I am wondering if using alpaca manure as the large animal manure would work.
Geoff Lawton just says large animal manure in his youtube video.  I have easy access to cow manure from a neighbor but he raises his milk cows using conventional practices which  I'd prefer to avoid.  I have a source for alpaca manure and would prefer to use that because their diet and the owner's overall husbandry practices are much better.  I'm concerned because alpaca manure is not as wet and not "hot" it might not work.

Secondly, I live in a rural area outside Seattle so we get a pretty decent amount of rain and I'm concerned that if I don't have the compost feeding piles covered they'll get too wet and not compost well enough to provide the microbioata that the chickens feed on.

What do you think?

Gratefully,
Ann

Paul Fookes! Amazing!
How much did your system cost?

Jack, after reading your reply, I realized that you are 100% right in dissuading me.  King county would absolutely sue my pants off! I can get rather dreamy about sustainability and forget all about some very important matters pertaining to my daydreams.
So, perhaps someone can give me advice as to how big of a tank I would need if we were to route everything from the barn remodel which would include a kitchen and bathroom minus the toilet with regular use for a family of four and we'd also like a separate occasional use bare-bones kitchen for large gatherings.

A farm near us had an above ground holding tank that their farm store with full bathroom and wet bar went into and they would just have it pumped. But,  I have no idea how big a holding tank would be reasonable for our plans or how often I should expect to have it pumped.

Thanks for any input!