Since I don’t have chickens, I just put everything in a pile in the corner of my yard with a wooden box around it to keep out the big critters and dogs. Nature will break it down, and much faster if the pile has ground contact
When I moved in I made a compost pen big enough to fit two cubic yards of material. I hardly touch it. Everything is either always green or always brown so getting a proper mix is difficult, especially with chickens getting all the kitchen scraps and the geese eating all the grass.
I made a tumbling compost bin when I first bought my property and after the initial load it got zero usage because of the chickens.
I don’t worry about rodents. But that’s because I have an army of cats. And an army of chickens. And an army of geese. And one of my dogs even has a confirmed kill.
One day we found a mouse in the house. I congratulated them on making it past the gauntlet. And then a cat promptly murdered them.
Please tell the cat I thank them for doing their jobs! All cats I’ve had are little lazy butts. If the cat has since passed, I’ll make a memorial for a good mouser.
We tried worms. It was a hot mess. We tried mealworms. It agitated my wife’s asthma and we have the setup away to another homesteader.
Since I don’t have chickens, I just put everything in a pile in the corner of my yard with a wooden box around it to keep out the big critters and dogs. Nature will break it down, and much faster if the pile has ground contact
When I moved in I made a compost pen big enough to fit two cubic yards of material. I hardly touch it. Everything is either always green or always brown so getting a proper mix is difficult, especially with chickens getting all the kitchen scraps and the geese eating all the grass.
I grew up on a small farm doing this, but have since given up the practice in favor of tumbling composter bins for two distinct reasons:
Rodents eventually live in 100% of them where rodents exist and it’s immensely unhealthy to humans.
Insects in general are attracted to them and I personally dislike giving certain invasive species any additional food sources.
Tumbling compost bins may not be as easy to maintain, but they definitely get rid of both undesirable insects and animals.
I made a tumbling compost bin when I first bought my property and after the initial load it got zero usage because of the chickens.
I don’t worry about rodents. But that’s because I have an army of cats. And an army of chickens. And an army of geese. And one of my dogs even has a confirmed kill.
One day we found a mouse in the house. I congratulated them on making it past the gauntlet. And then a cat promptly murdered them.
Please tell the cat I thank them for doing their jobs! All cats I’ve had are little lazy butts. If the cat has since passed, I’ll make a memorial for a good mouser.