<<When doing the compost, do you include other items with the droppings and does it get up to 140 degrees?>>
Yes, there needs to be some "carbon" material (dry lawn clippings, old hay, weeds, leaves, that sort of thing) in addition to the nitrogenous manure (of whatever species). Otherwise it won't compost well, and won't heat up properly, either--and it will probably stink.
I haven't ever bothered to check the barn manure pile for actual temperature, but it certainly does heat up--a couple of years ago, in the fall, we had a BEAR making himself a nice little crater in the top to snuggle down on cold nights!
I *have* been checking on the compost bin behind the house, where the "humanure" gets composted (closer than trotting all the way to the manure pile with the buckets! The chicken poop will probably go there eventually, too...) Up through the mid-fall, it was still getting to between 120 and 150. Haven't checked it with the probe thermometer since winter, but the center is still noticeably warm and steamy when I pull back to hay covering it to add more--although it's frozen in the corners, farthest from the active part.
I'd suggest "The Humanure Handbook" for more into on composting--very sensible and easy to understand. The important points are that the pile needs both nitrogenous manure and carbonaceous matter (the leaves, weeds, hay, shredded paper, etc.); it needs some oxygen (poke a rod down through it every so often, plus the hay/weeds keep some air spaces); and it needs moisture (not sloppy, but like a squeezed sponge). Also, there is a certain amount of mass that must build up before it will start to heat.
Rhonda
Sidesaddle Hall of Famer
Five-time US National Sidesaddle Champion
CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
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