One aspect of the ever evolving approach is that it keeps the steward consistently involved and avoids boredom and/or complacency. Helps to maintain the motivation to get out there in not the most pleasant of conditions and Do The Thing!
Such good info. Also happy you’ve “evolved” to a place in your production where you save time in each video by not apologizing for the road noise, we can hear you perfectly!
True, we can still hear and apologizing for it does nothing. In this video it kind of peaked and you didn't really flinch. I thought wow ok now does anyone else want to drive by?
I confess to getting a kick out of seeing that cattle panel tunnel still going strong despite it listing a little. reminds me to appreciate the DIY efforts that aren’t perfect ... but are perfectly functional. Your chickens are so content it’s great to see such a great system👍
Your composting operation gives me hope for ours lol. We have 30 chickens but haven't gotten even close to this. Time to step it up. Thanks for sharing!
This is a refreshing reminder that when we interact with living things - the variables are always changing. I run a small Apiary and have done so for the past 15 years and it seems that I'm constantly learning something new or looking for ways to do things better. Your 'eye' on better resource utilization is something that I deeply respect and emulate as well. The pine for our boxes is locally sourced from dying or dead Ponderosa Pine and I have a good friend who runs a small mill. Rough cut lumber at an amazing price. These little things, along with the 'regenerative mindset' makes it so rewarding a fun. We appreciate your work and philosophy! THANK YOU!
I am learning so much from your channel! Thank you for sharing your journey. Now I am brand new to chickens, I have 5 girls for two months now. I have been told by “experienced” chicken people no oranges and no potatoes, but I see them in your piles. I believe you said chickens will ignore what’s bad for them. I was also told nothing moldy, EVER but there has to be mold in the piles of your compost! I see you are in the Fingerlakes region. Perhaps when Covid is over we can come visit! Keep up the great work.
Welcome to the chicken world! I think it is super reasonable that if you have an easy way to sort out citrus, potatoes, coffee grinds, allium... sort it out! That can be composted in another system and it would definitely benefit the overall picture. We have enough material coming in that it just doesn't make a ton of sense to pick that thoroughly, although sometimes we do. Up to you of course, but anywhere you can put in more detail and thought and filtering seems worth it.
Appreciate you sharing your designs and techniques. Could we see your current egg collection setup? How many eggs are Sasha and you consuming? How do you like to consume them? How much is spent hay going for, in your area?
Egg nesting boxes are just milk crates cut out a bit so they can fit in, super simple, but yeah, we can document it. We get around 10-12 eggs a day right now in mid-winter and share with friends and family. Mostly we cook them in simple ways, we've never gotten tired of them! Mulch hay goes for $2.50 from the people we buy from per bale. $1-$3 per bale is a standard range.
I really enjoy watching you accomplish simple tasks with simple tools with simple explanations! Very therapeutic and calming. I hope some of the knowledge is seeping in. I usually understand what's going on, but I didn't quite get what the idea was here in this video.
The basic theme/idea of the video is to share simple methods of expanding and evolving a composting system, where a new area can be set up without cost/hassle that can take on the next piling of the material... Each time we pile up compost, it's a chance to get air and life into it, and to mix fresh ingredients to help with the overall balance and health... Thanks for watching!
@@edibleacres Yeah, I think I just was confused on the part of how the walls work and the shape of the pile etc. It seemed like you were using walls of leaves that could then be cannibalized into the pile for more carbon with ease at hand. I'm one who usually benefits from understanding someone's mindset as to how they came up with the solution, so I always like it when you say what the problem was, what you were thinking about it, and what lead up to the solution. The video explained really well leading up to that but then kind of jumped into the side expansion pile. Could be just me not understanding , it's not a critique but since you had replied I thought it would be best to clarify. I've been watching your videos as a subscriber for a while now, I always get excited to see the content you push out despite being in a totally different climate it's still helpful and fun
So cool to see all these chickens happy and roaming free. My landlord has 2 chickens. In the city I live in (I can't remember exactly) 4 chickens are allowed per house hold.
I like the idea of the rings as compost boundaries, and very good point about hot compost against plastic, good thinking! I am currently looking at how to design an upgrade in compost, so it's good timing for me to be seeing this, cool!
@@edibleacres That's great, yeah! Long as the rings don't rust, should be perfect. I was also eyeing those new "plastic pallets" that seem to sadly be getting more common, so much plastic, but if not for the plastic in contact with compost component, could otherwise be more useful than they seem in other upcycling fashions, they're rather uncreative and badly shaped things for much more than maybe string-together opaque and poor looking fencing.
I'm with you on the hot compost against plastic thing...just doesn't ring true with me either. I think compost systems are always changing and evolving - you don't ever reach a point where you think "Okay, it's done!". But who doesn't love the magic of making compost?
Also an experiment idea.... What about raising those cattle panel greenhouses up 3 feet with wood/tin siding then digging another 3 feet down and rigging up some kind of areator with tubing, covering with wire mesh, then covering with 1 ft wood chips. The airator would be a passive source of oxygen flowing up from the bottom. The wood chips would be a buffer between the airation tubes and the active compost and you would just replenish the 1ft of wood chips as needed to prevent the hay fork from tangling with the mesh bottom.
Another late notice from youtub for me, maybe I should look at it like they saved the best for last... lol Really love this channel I feel as relaxed as the chickens lol keep up the superb work and love for the chickens... thx...cheers guys...
Yeah, exactly... I think lots of folks have access to a ton of old random fencing segments they can work with, and who cares if they are bent up and rusty, they are just there to hold rotting stuff!
Love the update. I’ve worked hard to dial in the compost generation integrated into the rotating pastured layer, but now that it’s proper winter, the girls are heading to the high tunnel. I’m emulating your static system: don’t have leaves, but infinite hay. Thanks for your continued notes, I appreciate the thoughtfulness. What are the symptoms of actually folding in *too much* carbon to the pile? Leaves seem more readily broken down in compost over hay/straw. Tips?
I think hay is ideal. It can be tough if it is in huge piles since it's hard to pick through and move, but flaked out nice and light and fluffy it's wonderful. TOO much carbon would be that things just completely sit still, but with hay I think the C:N ratios are really nice already so I would doubt you'd hit that issue. I would think you'd run out of moisture in the pile before N...
@@edibleacres Thanks for the reply! I think you’re right about the moisture- that’s been a persistent challenge where I am. One last question: with the static food dump spot, I’ve seen you make a foundation of carbon underneath but do you throw it in on the food too, or wait until it’s made it’s “first move” to the next section as it evolves? Thanks again!
if you potentially intend on creating boundaries with your compost set up, like with the milk crates, you could create a wave like pattern and then fit your compost rings into the undulations to maximize space.
We invite rats to come and eat if they want, but they haven't been around in a while. They actually helped quite a bit with aeration when they were around in the past.
You either have to go taller or deeper and probably wider. What if you dug deeper eventually incorporating soil that is below grade with the material to move it all out and repeat every time you get back to uncomfortable standing height. When its all dug out you can add a thick layer of wood chips for carbon sponge before adding new material. If you go taller the cattle panel would need extra reinforcement but you might be able to dig pretty deep before the walls collapse in. If you had a way to collect the brunt of night manure all the birds produce and incorporate that into a large static pile outside it probably would create enough heat to make it through the winter without freezing the core and you just store all the excess there OR if you had to start from scratch maybe a one sided version thats more of a bioshelter with a large compost bank along the north and your walkway on the south and the whole thing is 2 feet or so below grade. It might make removal of the material a little trickier but you wouldnt need a taller structure, also it could have the potential of not overheating in the summer time and keeping the pile out of deluge summer rain...Maybe you just need a couple small size pigs you keep in a pigproof pen and have them convert all that food into bacon! We are working in a smaller space with only 15 birds and I just have a 5 foot tall by 12' long scrap board wall that i bank material against and if i time it right and keep folding in manured carbon scrapings from around the run the pile seems to keep from freezing solid (winters havent been as consistently cold as they used to be). No matter what it is a physically laborious chore to manage composting by hand on the scale you are so enjoy the excercise, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Great suggestions, thank you :) Unfortunately our site has really complex and large tree roots just a few inches down AND gets water logged if we dig down too far, otherwise your ideas are super great!
I forget what it's called (you will know). The very tall composting set up that has about five perforated PVC tubes running vertically to accommodate air movement. I wonder if some tubes would help out your tunnel compost. Though you are then still dealing with plastic and heat.... but perhaps concrete block laid sided by side so that the holes create an air tunnel, or even clay tile line. Though I think if you do move material to your planting beds or hugel mounds to finish and it gets to your desired temps, then the earth worms will show up, I meant to incorporate some manure one year and didn't quite get it managed. Ended up just being a small pile of manure that set on the garden over winter. In the spring when I forked it in, the number of baby worms was shocking.. Might be worth an experiment.
I got a question. We are in the slow process of building 2 compost bay's. In the winter there will be moastly horse manure(i got straw in my stables), kichen scraps and some garden waste. One bay will be 4x5 meters the other 4x3 i plan to only turn it once (i simply don't have the time to turn it the way you do). The plan is to give the chickens a "chicken tractor" where i can give them access to the pastures from the horses where the horses have been on (pasture rotation) to spread the manure and if it is needed the fresh layer of compost. They will have about 2 weeks per pasture in the summer. But...... In the winter time when our goverment has a "ophok plicht" (essentially chickens have to be caged) because of the bird flue that roams here about every winter (geese migration). The plan is to put the chickens where the compost/manure piles are so they have acces to them. The bigger lot will be the pile that will be added on and the smaller will be where the bigger pile will be turned in to and rest. And de bigger one will be the one where we will add the materials. Moastly about 1 big wheelbarrow of stable manure and 1 bucket of kichen scraps a day and other materials in can add. Now the question it will not be like your system but will the chickens have use for it like this ?? What do you think ? I just hope to add more nitrogen to the piles. I am thinking about adding perforated pipes for air and the chickens will have feed besides this system. Turning the piles will be done by hand i'm afraid (i don't have a front loader on the tractor) and i plan to do that over a couple off day's / weeks when they have acces to it, probably will be the first thing to do when the chickens are stationed there. For now i'm just thinking of combining multiple methods in to something that will work for us.
Complex questions like this are tough for me to keep up with... That said... I believe chickens will find value in any system like this you set up. If you have a chance to pile things even a little every few days, they'll get even more value. Doesn't need to be a huge turn, just piling up so they can kick apart. The more you pile the more value... Don't worry about adding Nitrogren, with your feed elements I suspect you'll have WAY more than enough... Good luck!
That will be some great compost, I am jealous of all those leaves! One thing that comes to mind is that during your final heating stages it might be a good idea to prevent your chickens from continuing to add gifts to your piles. I know it seems like just more goodness but the compost process is about breaking down the soil and killing off harmful pathogens. If the chickens add pathogens after your cooking process you risk them adding pathogens back into the soil through their feces. Mainly a concern if you grow anything you eat fresh and that touch the soil (carrots, lettuce, melons). A personal garden it may not matter much, but a commercial garden would want to be careful. Thanks for the video!
Good note. We're not too concerned with a little bit of their waste on the last phase of the soil since it will mainly be for nursery crops, but a good note to remember.
I was thinking adding air underneath your compost layer with commonly used plastic piping but understand your reasoning I’m not a fan of plastic myself . Possibly Combine huegel culture and adding air by using hollowed logs with holes drilled or bundles of limb wood formed into “ pipes “ tying limbs around several small rounds of wood in a couple of spots along the length or layers stacked cross wise on the bottom to help facilitate aerobic conditioning . Check with local tree services have them set aside hollowed out logs or branches . King town rd one might have something .
@@edibleacres It looks like your complaints and added steps are due to wet leaves clumping, as they are prone to do. For a static pile, having a tangled layer of small branches below might help aerate, but that would definitely interfere with your shoveling. Mongo's comments seem reasonable but might not give as much air flow as you'd like for this intensive system. I've seen other farmers having success with winter bedding that is much more course and/or higher C (ie wood chips, sawdust, straw), which is added a few times a week all winter (and can get several feet thick), then removed in spring and either put directly on perennials or composted for another year. Simple leaf mould might be an easier and higher value product for your leaf collection efforts.
How much food waste would you say you are putting into the system? And how often? Do you still like the soaked grain system you had in place? I love seeing how this evolves as you learn an experience things; thank you so much for being willing to share all of this! Your system here is actually the cornerstone of my farm!
We add some soaked grain most days, 5 gallon buckets worth every other day or so... The food scraps vary but may range from 30 gallons to 60+ gallons of food scraps per week.
@@edibleacres I'd love to hear more about how much usable food you salvage from compost. salvage has turned into a major part of our diet, I have bags and bags of frozen berries from the food pantry compost overflow. I also got several hundred slimy scallions that I trimmed and planted, they are growing nicely.
man I've broken 2 hay forks (one handle snapped, one fork fell off handle) already, and the Lowe's replacement is too junky to buy. even their replacement handles are junk. I will look into ordering one from AML
Half formed thought-I remember you mentioning that the locust staves that grow on your place are extremely rot resistant. Could locust be used for compost bins,or other needed/useful structures?
You should get some hard black plastic sheets and put them on the bottom of the northside of the greenhouses. Then you can put the compost right up to the green house with a barrier and heat sink. The heat should transfer through the sheeting if you mound it right up to the hard plastic. Added insulation also.
perhaps there is a place in your system to use your bales of "mulch hay"as your material to contain your compost. This provides you a non-plastic container and degrades your hay enough that when you go to mulch with after a season it's nicely inoculated with fungi and microorganisms. It also integrates more readily with your garden bed soil. Bonus: you don't have to give up space at the head of your chicken run to store hay. ...And if you don't get around to mulching with it, the hay just gets folded into your compost. Lastly, in my experience a board between the bale and the ground and another on top of the bale wall can greatly extend the life of your bales - not so important in my dry climate but possibly essential in your very wet context. Thanks for the videos!
Good note! We bought these bales at $2.50 and my cheap butt wants to keep them fancy for future use in the summer! But other than that silly reason you are absolutely right!
What if you were to add some hay to the compacted/anaerobic compost? It's a carbon source that won't stack as tightly as the leaves to start with, and it won't pack together as much under the chickens' scratching. I realise that the leaves are free and you have to buy the hay, but you could still use the leaves as the bulk of the carbon, and just use the hay a a 'conditioner' if an when there's a problem.
Great suggestion... We use hay quite a bit in this system and it does a great job, but since we have so many leaves it's been what I've been trying to work with. I think I need to look into some sort of grinder/shredder to get a better texture for the leaves at some point...
Great ideas! Thanks a lot for sharing your progress with everyone, please keep it up! Would placing your bulk leaves and other compost closer to that low tunnel/hoop help to insulate it? Just an idea. Also, ive seen where some folks dig a nice hole close to green houses to use as a compost area, covered, and the heat is directed up to the green house to help bring in a significant amount of heat using pipes and cheap solar fans. Not sure if I explained that well but I think you get the idea. Cheers!
Thank you for another good video, always feel inspired by you and the way you think. I'm trying to involve my 3 (!) chickens in our compost making but cannot come up with a good system. How their run is built there is only room for 1 or maybe two sections for compost and then another two or three sections outside of the run. I can't really decide which part of the composting process the chickens would enjoy/benefit the most. The very beginning, with leaves and other garden waste, no food scraps tho, can't push my neighbours much more ;) Or more towards the end when it's more of finished compost and maybe some more bugs in it... Any input on that to share? Happy new years and keep up the good work!
You two are like badass homestead pirates out there creating the richest soil and plants and happiest healthiest hens in ways that blow my mind. You do realize you are raising chickens and composting in suburbia in a really unique style right? Good... Keep doing it!!! There you and Sasha are out in the cold and muck feeding the hens human grade leftovers, turning anerobic-y compost. Move over petty "pretty" gardens.... Imo there's no prettier garden then a full circle system that works with love and hard work.
But living a little deeper in suburbia on an exposed lot on a well-traveled street, keeping my project petty pretty is what draws the uninitiated into permaculture. Roadside, it shouts "Permaculture!" in a more intentionally attractive way. People remember it. We once had a runner pause out front for a selfie in front of the "Long Run Farm" sign; I hope he went home and planted something!"
Really appreciate your invaluable sharing in so many topics. Just want to know if rodents, rats and squirrels become a problem in your compost projects ? My husband said that he has seen a rodent in the compost area. I hope A farm cat will solve the problem.
Glad you enjoy the broad topics! We see rodents sometimes... Chickens eat every mouse or vole they see... non-issue. We have seen rats a few times, but they really only helped with aerating the compost and got picked off by hawks and minks after a while. None of those elements in the system have proven to be a challenge at all..
@@edibleacres Oh. Thats way less than I expected. Read summer laying is at 0.7 but what you've said is 0.2. What you think is the reason? Or do you just care for tillage and eggs are just an addition? ;)
@@edibleacres Thank you for your quick reply! Your chickens look really healthy and I just love hearing their soft clucking sounds. It's therapy in the grandest sense. Happy New Year!
Ummm I don't know if you still have this problem. But if you get grains that chickens don't like eating like that big thing of soy you had. Maybe you can raise mealworms. They are super easy to grow and multiply you just throw them in the dry grain and forget about them and throw in occasionally veggie scrap. You only have to separate the caccoons that will turn into adults and lay hundreds of eggs. They are high in fat and protein anf is great for the chickens. The frass they generate can be used as fertilizer or can be further composted. It is rich is chitin which plants use to build itself.
We are so proud of those little friends. So many of them have deformed beaks but they seem to be able to get involved in all the parts of life here without problem... One day there was a worm on my boot and a new friend couldn't get it with her beak, but someone else got it :)
Have you ever considered starting with a much higher carbon to nitrogen ratio? Your chickens are continuously introducing nitrogen, and you will be adding nitrogen everytime you feed them scraps. Perhaps wood chips might help some with the compaction issue, although there is only so much you can do for that, outside of turning it with the hay fork.
Interesting you mention this, because as much as I've documented the need to always add more and more carbon, we somehow just ALWAYS run out of enough carbon! I'm at a point right now that with the density and heat of one area of compost we could probably use 20-30 yards of wood chips just to get things back on track. It's nuts.
Hey, I think I may have a solution. Leaves are good but their shape and texture causes them to stick together when wet, allowing more anaerobic bacteria and fungi to populate. Try shredding the leaves? Maybe it'll be easier to break down into compost and probably even be faster process. Maybe even tiny amounts of fine sand mixed in too to help breakdown the leaves. If you don't want to use power machines, maybe something like a potato sack filled with leaves and kicked around lol. Could be worth a try? add lots of fine leaves and sprinkle sand into the compost
I don’t think you need to actually turn the compacted compost, instead it maybe would be sufficient to make many holes ca 5 cm through the material. Off course it would be better with less leaves and more wood chips and sawdust. I don’t turn anymore I just stick holes into it compost much faster.
The empty garden beds seems like the perfect spot to me TBH. They are only frozen because there *isn't* a big mound of compost on top of them generating heat and acting as insulation. If there was compost, the soil layer would certainly be (more) thawed and more biologically active. I'm only half a zone warmer than you where I am outside Albany, and I've kept my soils thawed all winter in the past with just a few inches of mulch, let alone an entire cooking compost pile. Furthermore, nutrients would have a direct route into garden soil if there is any potential for leeching, and it looks like currently totally unused space. Seems a little more elegant and directly useful than jamming some bays into the non-garden spaces.
I hear you... But there are still large sections of unfinished food scrap, uneaten seeds, etc., that would benefit from exposure to chicken browse first... Ultimately I'm sure a good portion of this material will end up prematurely on the gardens and the leaching can happen in-situ like you mention.
Every time I think you've discovered the best way, you come up with MORE ways!My only concern is that your methods are very labor intensive in an expanding system.Have you ever considered a project of long sections of conduit buried in elongated compost piles of that seemingly 'surplus' material the chickens are packing too tightly?This would be a section the chickens do not access, but is material already well on it's way, but needs more time?The conduits would start in drawing cold air out of the outside air on the periphery of your yard area, heating it as it goes under/through this 'almost ready stuff', and bringing it to possibly green houses that the chickens are also not allowed into, and yet this system would keep a few greenhouses lush and productive 365 days a year?The conduits would be galvanized metal, thus eliminating the dreaded leaching of highly toxic plastics altogether.The entire length of conduit would slope gently uphill so as to utilize heats thermal uplift to make the whole system passive and energy input neutral.Cold/freezing air from outside becomes hot air for the house and garden! Anyways, LOVE your stuff Man!
I love the interaction between you and your chickens.
One aspect of the ever evolving approach is that it keeps the steward consistently involved and avoids boredom and/or complacency. Helps to maintain the motivation to get out there in not the most pleasant of conditions and Do The Thing!
Such good info. Also happy you’ve “evolved” to a place in your production where you save time in each video by not apologizing for the road noise, we can hear you perfectly!
Ha! Yeah, I'm finally getting used to the road enough that I just ignore it.
True, we can still hear and apologizing for it does nothing. In this video it kind of peaked and you didn't really flinch. I thought wow ok now does anyone else want to drive by?
I confess to getting a kick out of seeing that cattle panel tunnel still going strong despite it listing a little. reminds me to appreciate the DIY efforts that aren’t perfect ... but are perfectly functional. Your chickens are so content it’s great to see such a great system👍
It started out listing! Ha! Still listing and going strong
Your channel is so relaxing to watch, keep up the fantastic work!
Your composting operation gives me hope for ours lol. We have 30 chickens but haven't gotten even close to this. Time to step it up. Thanks for sharing!
“You just fold it in!” Have you guys been watching Schitt’s Creek?! Happy new year!! Much love to you and Sasha!
😂 Right!?!!
Healthyest and Happyest Chickens ive seen on the internet.
Thanks for sharing 🐣
This is a refreshing reminder that when we interact with living things - the variables are always changing. I run a small Apiary and have done so for the past 15 years and it seems that I'm constantly learning something new or looking for ways to do things better. Your 'eye' on better resource utilization is something that I deeply respect and emulate as well. The pine for our boxes is locally sourced from dying or dead Ponderosa Pine and I have a good friend who runs a small mill. Rough cut lumber at an amazing price. These little things, along with the 'regenerative mindset' makes it so rewarding a fun. We appreciate your work and philosophy! THANK YOU!
Sounds like a really great system you are evolving out there!
8.2K views 82.7K. Subs. Oh the difference of a decimal. Love watching your innovations to composting and gardening-farming.
Do this while you’re young. I could never move that amount of raw materials.
Your chickens are living the good life.
Kudos.
Happy New Year.
Those two girls at the outside bay kept saying "less talk more hay fork!"
I am learning so much from your channel! Thank you for sharing your journey. Now I am brand new to chickens, I have 5 girls for two months now. I have been told by “experienced” chicken people no oranges and no potatoes, but I see them in your piles. I believe you said chickens will ignore what’s bad for them. I was also told nothing moldy, EVER but there has to be mold in the piles of your compost! I see you are in the Fingerlakes region. Perhaps when Covid is over we can come visit! Keep up the great work.
Welcome to the chicken world!
I think it is super reasonable that if you have an easy way to sort out citrus, potatoes, coffee grinds, allium... sort it out! That can be composted in another system and it would definitely benefit the overall picture. We have enough material coming in that it just doesn't make a ton of sense to pick that thoroughly, although sometimes we do.
Up to you of course, but anywhere you can put in more detail and thought and filtering seems worth it.
Appreciate you sharing your designs and techniques.
Could we see your current egg collection setup? How many eggs are Sasha and you consuming? How do you like to consume them?
How much is spent hay going for, in your area?
Egg nesting boxes are just milk crates cut out a bit so they can fit in, super simple, but yeah, we can document it. We get around 10-12 eggs a day right now in mid-winter and share with friends and family. Mostly we cook them in simple ways, we've never gotten tired of them!
Mulch hay goes for $2.50 from the people we buy from per bale. $1-$3 per bale is a standard range.
Yay, more chicken TV ! Have a Merry New Year ! ! ! !
I really enjoy watching you accomplish simple tasks with simple tools with simple explanations! Very therapeutic and calming. I hope some of the knowledge is seeping in. I usually understand what's going on, but I didn't quite get what the idea was here in this video.
The basic theme/idea of the video is to share simple methods of expanding and evolving a composting system, where a new area can be set up without cost/hassle that can take on the next piling of the material... Each time we pile up compost, it's a chance to get air and life into it, and to mix fresh ingredients to help with the overall balance and health...
Thanks for watching!
@@edibleacres Yeah, I think I just was confused on the part of how the walls work and the shape of the pile etc. It seemed like you were using walls of leaves that could then be cannibalized into the pile for more carbon with ease at hand. I'm one who usually benefits from understanding someone's mindset as to how they came up with the solution, so I always like it when you say what the problem was, what you were thinking about it, and what lead up to the solution. The video explained really well leading up to that but then kind of jumped into the side expansion pile. Could be just me not understanding , it's not a critique but since you had replied I thought it would be best to clarify.
I've been watching your videos as a subscriber for a while now, I always get excited to see the content you push out despite being in a totally different climate it's still helpful and fun
So cool to see all these chickens happy and roaming free. My landlord has 2 chickens. In the city I live in (I can't remember exactly) 4 chickens are allowed per house hold.
Happy New Year, guys! I hope 2021 is a better year for all of us; very much hope to have my own homestead in England before this time next year!
I hope so too!
you guys should be crowned the chicken compost king and queen 😅 another great informative vlog.
Ha! :)
Happy New Year everyone!🍻
Love “Chicken TV” ❤️
I like the idea of the rings as compost boundaries, and very good point about hot compost against plastic, good thinking!
I am currently looking at how to design an upgrade in compost, so it's good timing for me to be seeing this, cool!
Always evolving and changing, but yeah, the scrap fencing made into rings to hold compost around the edges of a larger area feels legit to me.
@@edibleacres That's great, yeah! Long as the rings don't rust, should be perfect. I was also eyeing those new "plastic pallets" that seem to sadly be getting more common, so much plastic, but if not for the plastic in contact with compost component, could otherwise be more useful than they seem in other upcycling fashions, they're rather uncreative and badly shaped things for much more than maybe string-together opaque and poor looking fencing.
Happy new year from Germany!
I'm with you on the hot compost against plastic thing...just doesn't ring true with me either. I think compost systems are always changing and evolving - you don't ever reach a point where you think "Okay, it's done!". But who doesn't love the magic of making compost?
Happy chickens - love your composting -atb👍🏽
Also an experiment idea.... What about raising those cattle panel greenhouses up 3 feet with wood/tin siding then digging another 3 feet down and rigging up some kind of areator with tubing, covering with wire mesh, then covering with 1 ft wood chips. The airator would be a passive source of oxygen flowing up from the bottom. The wood chips would be a buffer between the airation tubes and the active compost and you would just replenish the 1ft of wood chips as needed to prevent the hay fork from tangling with the mesh bottom.
Cool idea... The challenge here is that there are big tree roots only a little bit below the surface here, unfortunately...
That sounds like a really interesting setup though!
Happy New year! Looking forward to 2021 and implementing many of the the great ideas shared here. Super excited!
try using woodchip as well for carbon source, leaves tend to leave very little air pockets when wet hence the ammonia smell.
I hear ya, we just have such a huge cache of leaves from the fall that I want to put to good use.
Another late notice from youtub for me, maybe I should look at it like they saved the best for last... lol Really love this channel I feel as relaxed as the chickens lol keep up the superb work and love for the chickens... thx...cheers guys...
So funny how tall you are with the compost . Happy New Year 🎊 praying for a blessed year.
Happy new year!
Happy new year to you and your wife!
Happy new year!
Thank you for all the knowledge you share. Happy New Year!
Happy new year!
I really like the rings for compost/containment, mostly because I have plenty of the fencing to make them but only about 3 milk crates!
Yeah, exactly... I think lots of folks have access to a ton of old random fencing segments they can work with, and who cares if they are bent up and rusty, they are just there to hold rotting stuff!
Blessings Abound!
Happy New Year
I love tomwatch your channel,and the Happy hens🥰
You are so kind
Love the update. I’ve worked hard to dial in the compost generation integrated into the rotating pastured layer, but now that it’s proper winter, the girls are heading to the high tunnel. I’m emulating your static system: don’t have leaves, but infinite hay. Thanks for your continued notes, I appreciate the thoughtfulness.
What are the symptoms of actually folding in *too much* carbon to the pile?
Leaves seem more readily broken down in compost over hay/straw. Tips?
I think hay is ideal. It can be tough if it is in huge piles since it's hard to pick through and move, but flaked out nice and light and fluffy it's wonderful. TOO much carbon would be that things just completely sit still, but with hay I think the C:N ratios are really nice already so I would doubt you'd hit that issue. I would think you'd run out of moisture in the pile before N...
@@edibleacres Thanks for the reply! I think you’re right about the moisture- that’s been a persistent challenge where I am. One last question: with the static food dump spot, I’ve seen you make a foundation of carbon underneath but do you throw it in on the food too, or wait until it’s made it’s “first move” to the next section as it evolves? Thanks again!
Those chickens are living large.
They work hard and we try to provide them a good life.
if you potentially intend on creating boundaries with your compost set up, like with the milk crates, you could create a wave like pattern and then fit your compost rings into the undulations to maximize space.
Interesting idea, I like it :)
So how do you get all of the leave bags? And where do yall get the veg scaps to add to your composting?
They drove through all their local neighborhoods and picked up every bagged pile of leaves they could find!!😉
Check out our past videos, we go into a lot of detail on all this...
How are you keeping rats down?
Cats?
We invite rats to come and eat if they want, but they haven't been around in a while. They actually helped quite a bit with aeration when they were around in the past.
@@edibleacres I see. Have you assessed whether local rats could be a problem with the health of the chickens, coup, feed etc?
👍your a smart man, keep it up.
I appreciate that!
Loved it. Question how do you keep your chickens in your yard?
We have a simple metal fencing setup around the boundary, you can see it in some of the shots. Nothing fancy but it has worked.
You either have to go taller or deeper and probably wider. What if you dug deeper eventually incorporating soil that is below grade with the material to move it all out and repeat every time you get back to uncomfortable standing height. When its all dug out you can add a thick layer of wood chips for carbon sponge before adding new material. If you go taller the cattle panel would need extra reinforcement but you might be able to dig pretty deep before the walls collapse in. If you had a way to collect the brunt of night manure all the birds produce and incorporate that into a large static pile outside it probably would create enough heat to make it through the winter without freezing the core and you just store all the excess there OR if you had to start from scratch maybe a one sided version thats more of a bioshelter with a large compost bank along the north and your walkway on the south and the whole thing is 2 feet or so below grade. It might make removal of the material a little trickier but you wouldnt need a taller structure, also it could have the potential of not overheating in the summer time and keeping the pile out of deluge summer rain...Maybe you just need a couple small size pigs you keep in a pigproof pen and have them convert all that food into bacon! We are working in a smaller space with only 15 birds and I just have a 5 foot tall by 12' long scrap board wall that i bank material against and if i time it right and keep folding in manured carbon scrapings from around the run the pile seems to keep from freezing solid (winters havent been as consistently cold as they used to be). No matter what it is a physically laborious chore to manage composting by hand on the scale you are so enjoy the excercise, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Great suggestions, thank you :)
Unfortunately our site has really complex and large tree roots just a few inches down AND gets water logged if we dig down too far, otherwise your ideas are super great!
I forget what it's called (you will know). The very tall composting set up that has about five perforated PVC tubes running vertically to accommodate air movement. I wonder if some tubes would help out your tunnel compost. Though you are then still dealing with plastic and heat.... but perhaps concrete block laid sided by side so that the holes create an air tunnel, or even clay tile line. Though I think if you do move material to your planting beds or hugel mounds to finish and it gets to your desired temps, then the earth worms will show up, I meant to incorporate some manure one year and didn't quite get it managed. Ended up just being a small pile of manure that set on the garden over winter. In the spring when I forked it in, the number of baby worms was shocking.. Might be worth an experiment.
Johnson Su bioreactor I think you mean? Something to explore for sure.
@@edibleacres That's the one!! I knew you would know it!
I got a question.
We are in the slow process of building 2 compost bay's.
In the winter there will be moastly horse manure(i got straw in my stables), kichen scraps and some garden waste.
One bay will be 4x5 meters the other 4x3 i plan to only turn it once (i simply don't have the time to turn it the way you do).
The plan is to give the chickens a "chicken tractor" where i can give them access to the pastures from the horses where the horses have been on (pasture rotation) to spread the manure and if it is needed the fresh layer of compost.
They will have about 2 weeks per pasture in the summer.
But......
In the winter time when our goverment has a "ophok plicht" (essentially chickens have to be caged) because of the bird flue that roams here about every winter (geese migration).
The plan is to put the chickens where the compost/manure piles are so they have acces to them.
The bigger lot will be the pile that will be added on and the smaller will be where the bigger pile will be turned in to and rest.
And de bigger one will be the one where we will add the materials.
Moastly about 1 big wheelbarrow of stable manure and 1 bucket of kichen scraps a day and other materials in can add.
Now the question it will not be like your system but will the chickens have use for it like this ??
What do you think ?
I just hope to add more nitrogen to the piles.
I am thinking about adding perforated pipes for air and the chickens will have feed besides this system.
Turning the piles will be done by hand i'm afraid (i don't have a front loader on the tractor) and i plan to do that over a couple off day's / weeks when they have acces to it, probably will be the first thing to do when the chickens are stationed there.
For now i'm just thinking of combining multiple methods in to something that will work for us.
Complex questions like this are tough for me to keep up with... That said...
I believe chickens will find value in any system like this you set up. If you have a chance to pile things even a little every few days, they'll get even more value. Doesn't need to be a huge turn, just piling up so they can kick apart. The more you pile the more value... Don't worry about adding Nitrogren, with your feed elements I suspect you'll have WAY more than enough...
Good luck!
@@edibleacres thank you verry much !
I can work with that 😁
That will be some great compost, I am jealous of all those leaves! One thing that comes to mind is that during your final heating stages it might be a good idea to prevent your chickens from continuing to add gifts to your piles. I know it seems like just more goodness but the compost process is about breaking down the soil and killing off harmful pathogens. If the chickens add pathogens after your cooking process you risk them adding pathogens back into the soil through their feces. Mainly a concern if you grow anything you eat fresh and that touch the soil (carrots, lettuce, melons). A personal garden it may not matter much, but a commercial garden would want to be careful. Thanks for the video!
Good note. We're not too concerned with a little bit of their waste on the last phase of the soil since it will mainly be for nursery crops, but a good note to remember.
@@edibleacres I am sorry I missed that part, that definitely won’t be much of an issue then! 😊
I was thinking adding air underneath your compost layer with commonly used plastic piping but understand your reasoning I’m not a fan of plastic myself .
Possibly Combine huegel culture and adding air by using hollowed logs with holes drilled or bundles of limb wood formed into “ pipes “ tying limbs around several small rounds of wood in a couple of spots along the length
or layers stacked cross wise on the bottom to help facilitate aerobic conditioning .
Check with local tree services have them set aside hollowed out logs or branches . King town rd one might have something .
Cool ideas here. I was thinking maybe to look into building a base layer of pallets first for aeration...
@@edibleacres It looks like your complaints and added steps are due to wet leaves clumping, as they are prone to do. For a static pile, having a tangled layer of small branches below might help aerate, but that would definitely interfere with your shoveling. Mongo's comments seem reasonable but might not give as much air flow as you'd like for this intensive system.
I've seen other farmers having success with winter bedding that is much more course and/or higher C (ie wood chips, sawdust, straw), which is added a few times a week all winter (and can get several feet thick), then removed in spring and either put directly on perennials or composted for another year.
Simple leaf mould might be an easier and higher value product for your leaf collection efforts.
How much food waste would you say you are putting into the system? And how often? Do you still like the soaked grain system you had in place? I love seeing how this evolves as you learn an experience things; thank you so much for being willing to share all of this! Your system here is actually the cornerstone of my farm!
We add some soaked grain most days, 5 gallon buckets worth every other day or so...
The food scraps vary but may range from 30 gallons to 60+ gallons of food scraps per week.
Do you chop up those butternut squash before adding them to the compost?
Those we may keep to cook for us :)
@@edibleacres I'd love to hear more about how much usable food you salvage from compost. salvage has turned into a major part of our diet, I have bags and bags of frozen berries from the food pantry compost overflow. I also got several hundred slimy scallions that I trimmed and planted, they are growing nicely.
man I've broken 2 hay forks (one handle snapped, one fork fell off handle) already, and the Lowe's replacement is too junky to buy. even their replacement handles are junk. I will look into ordering one from AML
Half formed thought-I remember you mentioning that the locust staves that grow on your place are extremely rot resistant. Could locust be used for compost bins,or other needed/useful structures?
For sure... The only challenge is they don't provide any insulation and in the winter that has a lot of value for this system.
You should get some hard black plastic sheets and put them on the bottom of the northside of the greenhouses. Then you can put the compost right up to the green house with a barrier and heat sink. The heat should transfer through the sheeting if you mound it right up to the hard plastic. Added insulation also.
Interesting idea, and something to keep in mind for sure.
perhaps there is a place in your system to use your bales of "mulch hay"as your material to contain your compost. This provides you a non-plastic container and degrades your hay enough that when you go to mulch with after a season it's nicely inoculated with fungi and microorganisms. It also integrates more readily with your garden bed soil. Bonus: you don't have to give up space at the head of your chicken run to store hay. ...And if you don't get around to mulching with it, the hay just gets folded into your compost. Lastly, in my experience a board between the bale and the ground and another on top of the bale wall can greatly extend the life of your bales - not so important in my dry climate but possibly essential in your very wet context. Thanks for the videos!
Good note! We bought these bales at $2.50 and my cheap butt wants to keep them fancy for future use in the summer! But other than that silly reason you are absolutely right!
What if you were to add some hay to the compacted/anaerobic compost? It's a carbon source that won't stack as tightly as the leaves to start with, and it won't pack together as much under the chickens' scratching. I realise that the leaves are free and you have to buy the hay, but you could still use the leaves as the bulk of the carbon, and just use the hay a a 'conditioner' if an when there's a problem.
Great suggestion... We use hay quite a bit in this system and it does a great job, but since we have so many leaves it's been what I've been trying to work with. I think I need to look into some sort of grinder/shredder to get a better texture for the leaves at some point...
What do they do with the oranges or any of the citrus?
They avoid them. We try to put them in their own compost system when the time allows
Great ideas! Thanks a lot for sharing your progress with everyone, please keep it up!
Would placing your bulk leaves and other compost closer to that low tunnel/hoop help to insulate it? Just an idea.
Also, ive seen where some folks dig a nice hole close to green houses to use as a compost area, covered, and the heat is directed up to the green house to help bring in a significant amount of heat using pipes and cheap solar fans. Not sure if I explained that well but I think you get the idea.
Cheers!
Thanks for sharing the notes and ideas here, much appreciated! Yes, leaves closer would have been a good design move I bet.
Thank you for another good video, always feel inspired by you and the way you think. I'm trying to involve my 3 (!) chickens in our compost making but cannot come up with a good system. How their run is built there is only room for 1 or maybe two sections for compost and then another two or three sections outside of the run. I can't really decide which part of the composting process the chickens would enjoy/benefit the most. The very beginning, with leaves and other garden waste, no food scraps tho, can't push my neighbours much more ;) Or more towards the end when it's more of finished compost and maybe some more bugs in it... Any input on that to share? Happy new years and keep up the good work!
Probably right at the beginning would be most useful to them.
@@edibleacres Thank you, you're such gems!
wow!
You two are like badass homestead pirates out there creating the richest soil and plants and happiest healthiest hens in ways that blow my mind. You do realize you are raising chickens and composting in suburbia in a really unique style right? Good... Keep doing it!!! There you and Sasha are out in the cold and muck feeding the hens human grade leftovers, turning anerobic-y compost. Move over petty "pretty" gardens.... Imo there's no prettier garden then a full circle system that works with love and hard work.
But living a little deeper in suburbia on an exposed lot on a well-traveled street, keeping my project petty pretty is what draws the uninitiated into permaculture. Roadside, it shouts "Permaculture!" in a more intentionally attractive way. People remember it. We once had a runner pause out front for a selfie in front of the "Long Run Farm" sign; I hope he went home and planted something!"
Thanks for the positive shout out here!
Really appreciate your invaluable sharing in so many topics. Just want to know if rodents, rats and squirrels become a problem in your compost projects ?
My husband said that he has seen a rodent in the compost area. I hope A farm cat will solve the problem.
Glad you enjoy the broad topics!
We see rodents sometimes... Chickens eat every mouse or vole they see... non-issue.
We have seen rats a few times, but they really only helped with aerating the compost and got picked off by hawks and minks after a while.
None of those elements in the system have proven to be a challenge at all..
What breeds of chickens do you have and where do you buy them? Do you have a favorite breed?
We have a super wide range of chicken types, mostly from folks 'getting rid of' older hens from craigslist, etc.
Is this a lot of physical work?
Sure is!
Things always have room to change....or evolve....eventually becoming fine tuned☺
How much eggs do you get in your system in winter per hen?
We get around 12 eggs a day right now from our 60ish hens
@@edibleacres Oh. Thats way less than I expected. Read summer laying is at 0.7 but what you've said is 0.2. What you think is the reason? Or do you just care for tillage and eggs are just an addition? ;)
How do you control for food that chickens should not be eating? Or do they instinctively avoid what they should not eat?
We aim to not add too much questionable stuff to the stream, but if there is coffee here or there or citrus, etc., they tend to know to avoid it
@@edibleacres Thank you for your quick reply! Your chickens look really healthy and I just love hearing their soft clucking sounds. It's therapy in the grandest sense. Happy New Year!
Ummm I don't know if you still have this problem. But if you get grains that chickens don't like eating like that big thing of soy you had. Maybe you can raise mealworms. They are super easy to grow and multiply you just throw them in the dry grain and forget about them and throw in occasionally veggie scrap. You only have to separate the caccoons that will turn into adults and lay hundreds of eggs. They are high in fat and protein anf is great for the chickens. The frass they generate can be used as fertilizer or can be further composted. It is rich is chitin which plants use to build itself.
Great idea here, I definitely need to research this!
Your rescue hens are looking healthier.
We are so proud of those little friends. So many of them have deformed beaks but they seem to be able to get involved in all the parts of life here without problem... One day there was a worm on my boot and a new friend couldn't get it with her beak, but someone else got it :)
Have you ever considered starting with a much higher carbon to nitrogen ratio? Your chickens are continuously introducing nitrogen, and you will be adding nitrogen everytime you feed them scraps. Perhaps wood chips might help some with the compaction issue, although there is only so much you can do for that, outside of turning it with the hay fork.
Interesting you mention this, because as much as I've documented the need to always add more and more carbon, we somehow just ALWAYS run out of enough carbon! I'm at a point right now that with the density and heat of one area of compost we could probably use 20-30 yards of wood chips just to get things back on track. It's nuts.
@@edibleacres, I was thinking maybe start at a 50 to 1 or even 60 to 1 ratio with lots of wood chips might help.
Hey,
I think I may have a solution.
Leaves are good but their shape and texture causes them to stick together when wet, allowing more anaerobic bacteria and fungi to populate.
Try shredding the leaves? Maybe it'll be easier to break down into compost and probably even be faster process. Maybe even tiny amounts of fine sand mixed in too to help breakdown the leaves.
If you don't want to use power machines, maybe something like a potato sack filled with leaves and kicked around lol.
Could be worth a try? add lots of fine leaves and sprinkle sand into the compost
I hear you... the leaves have a challenging physical structure. I'm exploring some other options, although turning really helps quite a bit.
(I want to see a best of chicken tv 2020 video!)
If you add scratch grains on top of your compost the chicken will dig and help aerate your compost
I don’t think you need to actually turn the compacted compost, instead it maybe would be sufficient to make many holes ca 5 cm through the material. Off course it would be better with less leaves and more wood chips and sawdust. I don’t turn anymore I just stick holes into it compost much faster.
Interesting idea.
You look gorgeous and stunning
The empty garden beds seems like the perfect spot to me TBH. They are only frozen because there *isn't* a big mound of compost on top of them generating heat and acting as insulation. If there was compost, the soil layer would certainly be (more) thawed and more biologically active. I'm only half a zone warmer than you where I am outside Albany, and I've kept my soils thawed all winter in the past with just a few inches of mulch, let alone an entire cooking compost pile.
Furthermore, nutrients would have a direct route into garden soil if there is any potential for leeching, and it looks like currently totally unused space. Seems a little more elegant and directly useful than jamming some bays into the non-garden spaces.
I hear you... But there are still large sections of unfinished food scrap, uneaten seeds, etc., that would benefit from exposure to chicken browse first... Ultimately I'm sure a good portion of this material will end up prematurely on the gardens and the leaching can happen in-situ like you mention.
Wood chips as a under layer will do wonders hit up your arborist
That road tho...
I know, right!
Every time I think you've discovered the best way, you come up with MORE ways!My only concern is that your methods are very labor intensive in an expanding system.Have you ever considered a project of long sections of conduit buried in elongated compost piles of that seemingly 'surplus' material the chickens are packing too tightly?This would be a section the chickens do not access, but is material already well on it's way, but needs more time?The conduits would start in drawing cold air out of the outside air on the periphery of your yard area, heating it as it goes under/through this 'almost ready stuff', and bringing it to possibly green houses that the chickens are also not allowed into, and yet this system would keep a few greenhouses lush and productive 365 days a year?The conduits would be galvanized metal, thus eliminating the dreaded leaching of highly toxic plastics altogether.The entire length of conduit would slope gently uphill so as to utilize heats thermal uplift to make the whole system passive and energy input neutral.Cold/freezing air from outside becomes hot air for the house and garden!
Anyways, LOVE your stuff Man!
Interesting concept for sure. Not sure how practical in our pretty wet and complex layout here, but good food for thought for sure!
Says uploaded 2 minutes ago as I'm 8 minutes into the video lol
You're fast!
Those girls are looking kinda plump. (not Sasha) I reckon that's a good thing. 😊
I think overall the chickens are pretty healthy (I hope!)
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All those fat chicken looks wummy!!!