Chances are if you raise chickens, you also have a green thumb. Maybe it’s because people who grow fruits and vegetables consider chickens a natural extension to their food-producing repertoire, or maybe it’s because these same people aren’t afraid to get a little dirty. But one thing that very few chicken owner/gardeners realize is the beneficial relationship between raising chickens and composting. Sure, many chicken owners add their flock’s droppings to their compost heap, but most are leaving a whole lot of composting possibilities unrealized by not composting right where their chickens live!
In 2019, I moved my compost operation right into my chicken run. Chickens are natural composters! By scratching in a compost pile, they provide oxygen to the microbes that cause the pile to decompose. And their poop makes it even better! Everything normally destined for the compost pile goes into the chicken run, and more. All of your orange peels, banana peels, carrot peels, celery ends, apple cores (minus the seeds), watermelon rinds, cantaloupe rinds, onion ends and skins, you get the idea… goes into the run.* I must admit, I did feel a little rude throwing my garbage on someone else’s floor, even if it was the chickens. I had to remind myself that the point of throwing stuff in the run wasn’t to feed the chickens necessarily, but to feed the compost.
Benefits of composting with Chickens
- Other “critters.” Guess who else likes to eat compost? Insects! That is another reason the chickens like to dig through it. And when I turn the compost, I find big earthworms underneath. Since when do worms hang out in a chicken run? Both insects and earthworms are wonderful for a chickens’ diet.
- No need to sort. Usually when you compost, throwing in bones and meat or cooked food is taboo. Not when the compost pile is your chicken run. EVERYTHING goes.* Chickens readily pick out the meat and cooked food, so it does not stay in your compost. No sorting necessary. (And bones can be picked out of compost when you are spreading it.
- Boredom buster. Throughout my years of not composting with chickens, I felt terrible that my chickens seemed terribly bored. They would sometimes pace back and forth next to the fence, trying to find a way out. Now, my chickens seem busy and happy all day long, hunting and digging. If things ever do seem too dull, I can always quickly push the compost into a pile, and they busily push it back down throughout the day. It’s Disneyland for chickens.
- A place for leaves. In the fall, we usually have bags upon bags of leaves left over after stuffing our yard waste dumpster to capacity each week. I’m telling you, we used to be drowning in fall leaves—and now I’m not even getting rid of one leaf! However, before dumping the leaves in the run, I shred them. I use either my lawn mower or leaf blower (on suction mode), and I just bought a new leaf shredder that shreds the leaves really quickly. At first it seems like the leafy mountains will never fit, but you would be surprised how much they condense after a little time.
- A place for lawn clippings. People are advised not to include grass clippings in their compost pile because the clippings tend to clump up and get moldy. Not in a chicken run! Those chickens are all over that grass as soon as it’s dumped in the run, spreading it out and pecking at it.** When I decided to use lawn clippings in my compost, I also decided to use only organic products on my lawn. (I also spread a lot of the compost from the run right back on my lawn.)
- A place for coop crap. How convenient is it to throw all the used and dirty shavings from the coop right into the run? I really had to convince myself to do this. It seems unsanitary, not to mention rude. But used wood shavings and chicken poop are great for compost, so in it goes. I do mix it with the other compost materials on the floor of the run, and no chicken complains.
- No more mud. I noticed after I started composting that I didn’t have a problem with mud anymore. Granted, my run has a roof now. But even when I spray water on the compost, there is no mud.
- The finished product is compost! When it was time to start mowing the lawn again in the spring, all my dead leaves and old lawn clippings were now rich, black compost. Many wheelbarrow-loads full. I added this to my vegetable gardens and lawn (removing bones here and there), and started making new compost with a fresh pile of grass clippings, which the chickens were thrilled to dig into.
Drawbacks of composting with chickens
This is definitely a little more work. You need to shred the leaves in the fall, and also store some of the shredded leaves so you can add them to grass clippings in the spring and summer. It’s also good to regularly add water to the compost to help things decompose. I found that it was well worth the extra effort, but not everyone has the time to do this. It also takes a little effort to have an organic lawn, although my lawn certainly hasn’t suffered.
Tips
In order to make sure everything decomposes by spring, stop adding new composting materials in the late fall. Make sure all leaves have been shredded.
*Things I did not put in the run were: avocados, green potato peels, most apple seeds, and anything moldy or rotten. I also did not compost weeds or large plant matter, like end of season vegetable plants from my garden.
**Chickens who eat grass or grass clippings should either have access to poultry grit to aid with digestion. Grass given to chickens should not be very tall.