Chook Me!

can i put straw or hay out of a chicken coop in a compost bin?

i have chickens and the bedding is straw some people say i can and some say i cant put it in a compost bin

Public Comments

1. yep, you can. Chiken poop is full of nitrogen which is good for plants.
2. Yes that will be fine...just don't move next door to me.
3. Yes you can, I use ready prepared 'Chicken Pellets' on my allotment. It's good natural fertiliser.
4. i don't agree with the guys i don't think you can i don;t think it is biodegradable.
5. Sure you can, but let it break down for a long time if you're going to use it on young or tender plants because the high nitrogen content can burn some of them. For established plants a nice compost of chicken poo will be great. We drag all of the hay, straw, and sawdust we use in the coops out to our back fields and plow it under every year for fertilizer. Corn loves it, it grows crazy where we've used the chicken bedding :)
6. you sure can , that's one of the best sources for nitrogen ,you can get--depending on how large your bin is--don't put too much in the bin at one time start another bin if you can, if the straw and mature is too fresh it will burn the compost, dried mature is best for almost any kind of plant; but still don't over do it at one time
7. Chicken poop is used all the time and often sold for just this purpose. All poop is organic and biodegradable. But not all should be used for compost. For more natural products check this link below.
8. You can put it all in and it will biodegrade, with the caution that chicken fertilizer IS very strong, so I'd compost it with lots of other greens (grass clippings, fruit/veg kitchen scraps) and browns (leaves). I don't use HAY in my compost because it doesn't get hot enough to kill the seeds. But with the chicken droppings, yours should reach a high enough temperature to kill them.
9. I would definitely compost the straw/hay from my chicken coop...The hay will just act as your "dry or brown" ingredients in the compost. Just dont add to much at one time and layer it with your other ingredients and shortly you will have some wonderful compost for the garden.
10. yes it is good stuff,makes excellent compost
11. Yes but it will attract rats.
12. Yes you can! Allow this mixture to decompose fully, and be careful when you use the mix on young plants as it is possible to "burn" them due to chicken manure being rich in nitrogen (N). Mix well when adding to your compost heap to allow a good even distribution of chicken manure that will vastly improve your compost quality. In addition to your question and my answer if you wish to make some compost suitable for your ericaceous plants then you can add some rhubarb leaves/stalks but make sure you cut them up because they are a little harder to compost that your usual compostable ingredients!!! This simple increases the composts acidity... Good luck