compostinq ueod Pou/try

ntroduction
W An accepLable sysLem of dlsposal for dead blrds ls
essenLlal Lo any well run poulLry farm operaLlon
Moreover law requlres LhaL poulLry producers
have an approved means for dlsposlng of dead
blrds 1here are generally Lwo caLegorles of
dlsposal problems
W (1) Norma| morta||ty whlch ls Lyplcally abouL 01
percenL per day buL flucLuaLlons up Lo 023
percenL per day are noL uncommon and
W (2) Who|e f|ock d|sposa|
W omposLlng ls a naLural process ln whlch
beneflclal organlsmsbacLerla and fungl
reduce and Lransform organlc wasLes lnLo a
useful end producLcomposLwhlch can be
used as a ferLlllzer and soll amendmenL
W omposLlng ls noL recommended for whole
flock dlsposal cases Such cases requlre speclal
permlsslon and supervlslon
ltloclples of compostloq
W omposLlng ls a coottolleJ bloloqlcol
Jecomposltloo ptocess LhaL converLs organlc
maLLer Lo a sLable humusllke producL 1he
process depends upon mlcroorganlsms whlch
uLlllze decomposable organlc wasLe boLh as an
energy and food source
ltloclples of compostloq
W 1he composLlng process converLs a maLerlal wlLh
poLenLlal oJot ooJ otbet oolsooce ptoblems lnLo a
sLablllzed producL LhaL ls reasonably oJot ooJ
potboqeo ftee and whlch ls a poor breedlng subsLraLe
for flles and oLher lnsecLs
W n addlLlon tbe volome ooJ welqbt of tbe composteJ
ptoJoct ls less tboo tbot of tbe otlqlool tow woste (25
50 less) because composLlng converLs much of Lhe
carbonaceous maLerlal Lo gaseous carbon dloxlde
ltloclples of compostloq
W neot qeoetoteJ durlng Lhe process desLroys
paLhogenlc organlsms and weed seeds LhaL mlghL
be presenL ln Lhe raw wasLe and helps Lo drlve
off molsLure
W n Lurn because of Lhe teJoceJ volome ooJ
welqbt haullng and spreadlng cosLs are less Lhan
LhaL requlred for Lhe raw wasLes
W 1he coottolleJ naLure of composLlng
dlsLlngulshes lL from oLher naLural processes such
as roLLlng and puLrefacLlon
ltloclples of compostloq
W Molstote cooteot wlll largely deLermlne wheLher
Lhe process wlll be anaeroblc (wlLhouL oxygen)
or aeroblc (wlLh oxygen)
W lor dead blrd dlsposal aeroblc sysLems are
preferred because Lhey are fasLer and produce
fewer odors and oLher ob[ecLlonable feaLures
W deal 60
W AL 70 Anaeroblc
W 30 or below slow down
ltloclples of compostloq
W lgh molsLure level can be conLrolled when
worklng wlLh a weL wasLe by uslng a llLLle
exLra sLraw llLLer or oLher bulklng agenL
W Low molsLure conLenLs are lncreased by
sprlnkllng Lhe plle wlLh a measured amounL of
waLer
ltloclples of compostloq
1be cotbooolttoqeo totlo (cN)
W arbonnlLrogen raLlos of 131 Lo 331 are
accepLable
W f Lhe n raLlo ls less Lhan 231 organlsms
cannoL uLlllze all of Lhe nlLrogen avallable and
nlLrogen ls Lhen losL as ammonla
W When Lhe n raLlo exceeds 301 Lhe raLe of
composLlng decreases
ltloclples of compostloq
1empetotote
W 1emperaLure ls a good lndlcaLor of blologlcal
acLlvlLy ln Lhe composL plle
W MolsLure conLenL oxygen and mlcroblal acLlvlLy
all lnfluence LemperaLure 1wo or Lhree days afLer
wasLes are mlxed and placed ln plles
Lhermophlllc mlcrobes should begln Lo domlnaLe
1hese organlsms prefer a LemperaLure of 100
degrees l Lo 130 degrees l
W As Lhe LemperaLure peaks and Lhen beglns Lo
decrease Lhe plle should be Lurned Lo
lncorporaLe oxygen lnLo Lhe composL
ltloclples of compostloq
5ommoty
W 1he essenLlal elemenLs for Lhe mlcroorganlsms
lnvolved ln composLlng are carbon () nlLrogen (n)
oxygen (C2) and molsLure (2C)
W f any of Lhese elemenLs are lacklng or lf Lhey are noL
provlded ln Lhe proper proporLlon Lo one anoLher Lhe
mlcroorganlsms wlll noL flourlsh and generaLe
adequaLe heaL for decomposlLlon
W 1hese nuLrlenLs are besL supplled from an lngredlenL
proflle LhaL has a carbon Lo nlLrogen raLlo of
approxlmaLely 301 8lrds have a n raLlo of 31 llLLer
ranges from 71 Lo 231 sLraw 801 peanuL hulls 301
and wood shavlngs are 3007001
omposLer onsLrucLlon and LayouL
W A Lyplcal poulLry morLallLy composLer conslsLs of
varlous slzed blns consLrucLed of LreaLed lumber
seL on a concreLe slab wlLh a roof overhead
W 1he roof helps malnLaln approprlaLe molsLure
levels wlLhln Lhe composL
W 1he concreLe slab helps prevenL leachlng of
nuLrlenLs lnLo Lhe soll prevenLs vermln and pesLs
from burrowlng under Lhe composL and makes
cleanup of Lhe faclllLy easler
W 1he slze of a composLer ls Lyplcally based on
Lhe slze of Lhe poulLry operaLlon lor every 1
pound of dead blrd 1 cublc fooL of prlmary
composL space ls needed An equal amounL of
space ls requlred for Lhe secondary sLage
W normally Lhese small bln composLers wlll be 6
8 feeL wlde by 3 feeL hlgh and 3 feeL deep
W Movlng Lhe maLerlal from Lhe prlmary bln Lo
Lhe secondary bln afLer 10 Lo 21 days ls
common for small bln Lype composLers Lo mlx
ln oxygen ln Lhe mass Lo promoLe addlLlonal
heaLlng