Compost Bin and Chickens

Do you have a compost bin and chickens? For about two years now, I’ve had a compost bin in my garden area. When we decided to expand the garden, I moved my compost bin out where our chickens are.

Be sure to read How to Compost.

I was concerned about giving the chickens access to the compost bin at first, but a quick search online made it sound like a compost bin and chickens was a match made in Heaven.

Besides, they absolutely loved scratching through the dirt and eating the scraps we threw out there.

But I soon began to realize that I wasn’t getting the dark, rich compost from the bin. My dad, a self-proclaimed “Master Gardener” {and rightly so with nearly 40 years of gardening under his belt}, explained that while I had it set up correctly, my chickens were probably eating nearly all the worms and critters that aid in making compost.

Also, chances are they were leaving fresh droppings in the compost bin, which was also a no-no. While chicken waste is fine in a compost bin, you want it to be aged and dried out, not fresh.

Keeping a Compost Bin and Chickens

One day, I might decide to expand my compost, but I knew that I didn’t need to give my husband yet another project right now. So I set about making at least part of my compost chicken-free with my father’s help.

And if you have limited space, here’s how we did it for zero dollars using scrap wood my husband had in his shop. {Yes, I asked permission to use it first.}

1. I locked up the chickens so they wouldn’t interfere supervise. Otherwise, there would have been way too many cooks in the kitchen.

2. I dug out right down the middle of the current bin, which was about 4 ft x 4 ft.

3. We cut down a leftover piece of plywood to the size we needed and anchored it in the middle to be the divider between the two sides.

Now, just a little about me. I’m usually pretty picky about how things look, but this wasn’t something I needed to have perfect. For zero dollars, I wasn’t going to complain that the board was a bit warped. And the compost bin isn’t something anyone can really see being that it’s behind our garden area.

4. Then we took leftover pieces of wood and built a crude frame for the chicken wire, fitting about half of the compost bin.

5. We cut out some leftover chicken wire and attached to the frame with a staple gun. I was sure to bend in all the sharp pieces on the edges so that it wouldn’t hurt the chickens or us in the future.

6. I covered half of the compost bin with the chicken wire frame and left the other side open for the chickens. The framed chicken wire piece just sets right on top of the compost bin, so I can lift it right off when I need to move scraps or compost in or out.

Now, I officially have a cover for half of the compost bin, and my twelve backyard chickens can’t get into it. Yay! The chickens are happy, and I’m happy too. It’s a total win-win in my book. 🙂

Happy composting!
~Becky