rabbit & chicken manure?

[thistlebloom]

I also load my chicken pen with leaves that I bring home and hoard from fall cleanups. When those get all shredded I put a bale of straw in there and let them work on that. They also get everything that would go in the compost pile, which is mostly because their pen is about 30 feet closer than the compost pile and I'm often weary!

In the fall I dig out the top 4 inches and spread it on the garden.

 

[Mel Gibson]

Not much idea about this.

 

[Beekissed]

Here's a vid about my deep litter and how I compost it in place in the coop, what materials I use and how I manage it. Since I never clean out the coop, I have compost available all the time and don't have to build it all year to get it or pile it outside and wait until it mellows. I just sift out the fine, mulched particles and use it to side dress. When I want to mix potting soil, I'll take some of the very rich, moist compost from the lower levels and mix it into my seedling mix.


Pardon the stuttering around, I'm none too good speaking to a camera....

 

[so lucky]

Bee, I am assuming that the coop originally had a dirt floor. Do you not have issues with critters tunneling in or digging under?
I love the deep litter concept, but since my coop has a wood floor, I have to watch the moisture level. I do continue to throw straw in for several months, but sweep/scoop the coop bare a couple times a year and start over.
Thanks for sharing the video. Your chickens look contented.
Oh, another question. Since you feed fermented food, is keeping water thawed out often during a cold day less critical? (Considering the moisture content of the fermented feed)

 

[Beekissed]

No critters...I have a Jake.

I keep my FF pretty dry compared to most folks and I've found that the water is still pretty critical. I had a bucket in there with horizontal nipples for awhile this winter but found the birds weren't getting enough from that(were picking the snow off my boots when I came to the coop!), so switched over to heated dog bowl and could really tell they had been lacking...they immediately started guzzling water.

I think, if I had a wooden floor, I'd put down some thick plastic sheeting or tarp and go for it...just too many good benefits to DL to pass it up. I'd put down that moisture barrier, put in a layer of soil/leaves from the woods or compost pile and then lay in a thin layer of hay to keep the moisture there, then layer in the rest of your materials but I'd use a variety, according to your ambient humidity levels. Using plastic or tarp, you'd want to put down a thick layer for the initial bedding, just to keep the chickens from scratching at your plastic. Usually I advise layering it in as needed, but if I were building on this type of coop floor, this is how I'd do it.

 

[so lucky]

Good ideas. Jake looks like critter insurance.

 

[centex101]

I'm one of those lazy gardeners. I just clean my coop out once a month. Just dump in one big pile. Put a fence around it or my chickens will scatter it all over my yard. During the dry summer months I might water it and run my tiller over it but don't get to crazy with it. Then stop adding to it around Dec. Then I use it on my broccoli, cauliflower, and tomato beds in march. Then in April I'll dig out a 1-2 ft wide hole 18 or so inches deep and place 4 shovels of nothing but compost, then I'll plant my Black Diamonds, cantaloupes, squash and zucchini in there water and walk away. My compost is nothing more than chicken droppings with rye grass hay and just a tad of goat dropping and if there's so oak leaves laying around next to compose pile they'll get mixed it. I really like using rye grass cause I don't have to fight a lot of grass in the garden during summer months. Then in the fall that rye grass would just pop out by itself and I let my chickens eat off that all winter long spreading more fertilizer. Again I'm a lazy gardener.

 

[ducks4you]

I have a "Rose". This is a rabbit she killed right before work, soooooooooo.....I brought it in the basement for her to finish. At the end of the day she left the tail.

 

[so lucky]

Left something for Mom, huh?

 

[Beekissed]

Good dog!!! That's Jake's favorite meal and he leaves nothing...gulps it down as quickly as possible. The cat used to do the same thing...rabbit must be just delish and easy to eat, for them to eat them so quickly.