Composting with Chickens - Part 2

January 4, 2018 was a big day. I had agreed to do a presentation about composting with chickens and food waste to a class of students. However, I'm not a "public speaker", and most of my life, I have been known as shy & quiet. The last few years, though, I've begun to "come out of my shell". It's like the metamorphosis process of a caterpillar to a butterfly. It's been my relationship with Jesus Christ that has enabled me to change, because in and of myself, I would have remained that caterpillar my whole life. So, speaking in front of a group of "strangers" is not something the "old me" would have jumped at the opportunity to do.Yet, I here I was, actually excited about this presentation.

I'm pretty sure I had adrenaline flowing, as I was more excitedly nervous than scared nervous. The teacher, Dawn, introduced me as the "chicken lady" 😍 and said a few things before turning it over to me. After a quick introduction, I started the first video on food waste in the US.

"While this video is mainly about California and focused a lot on the waste on farms, because of ridiculous standards of size and appearance, " I told the students, "this is true for most states in the US, including NY. Maybe not on such a large scale, but still so much of that wasted food is edible." 

 

 

 

The other ways food is wasted, as the video mention, is in transportation, grocery stores and then us, the consumer. I know for a fact that grocery stores waste a lot of food, whether it be because of the "sell-by" date or it's past it's "prime" to be sold. And yet, several years ago, when I approached our local Price Chopper - if I could get the food waste for the CHICKENS, they denied my request. The reason? There'd be an incident where someone consumed donated "day-old" food and got sick, then sued them. I even contacted corporate via email and pretty much got the same response. And I've seen the boxes of food that gets thrown out, all because "it's a liability" to donate it to a food bank or a farm for their livestock. 

While numerous individuals and groups across the US are working hard to reduce the literal tons of food waste, small towns often "slip through the cracks". It also takes change on our part, as individuals. We're a society that has grown accustomed to "just throw it out" and not thinking of what happens to our garbage. That's why I felt like it was important to help share this information, to both the students and here on my blog.

Like I mentioned in my last post, Karl Hammer of  Vermont Composting Co. has turned everyone else's "trash" into "treasure". One of the things mentioned in the video about VCC was mycelium.

 

 

 It  is a fungus which has a symbiotic relationship with plants. Mycelium takes the nutrients from the soil & decaying matter, and makes it available to the plants. As a result, the plants are healthier and thus, more nutritious food. Unfortunately, plowing & tilling kills the mycelium and other biota in the soil. But, that's a whole other topic. 

 

 

The point, though, is that compost encourages the growth of mycelium, which surprisingly, chickens also find to be very appetizing. So, it's a complete "chicken compost cycle", which brings me back to the class where I was enjoying myself, that the 40 minutes flew by fast! It was an experience that left me thinking, "You know, I could do that again."

Bonus - some "highlights" from the question & answer time.

 

Not many asked questions, but one student asked the majority of them. 

Of course, the infamous question came up, "How many chickens do you have?"

And as usual, I replied, "Too many to count. .... Well, I could count them, but the number fluctuates frequently, because I hatch chicks. Plus, t'd take too much time to count everyone in their coops at night." 

He then asked, "How much does one chicken cost?" 

"It depends on breed, age & who you buy from. I breed my own- locally adapted, winter hardy chickens called Catskill Homesteaders. They're all different colors and patterns, plus lay eggs that are are various shades of brown, green, blue and light olive. "

"How much are yours?"

"$3 for a chick under 2 weeks old." Then, there's the cost of the coop, fencing, feed, etc.

To which he asked, "Did you buy your coops or build them?"

I smiled and said, "I did buy 3 of my coops and convert one shed. But the rest I built, with help from my brother and friends. But, they're nothing to "look at", since they're made from recycled materials. Even when we were moving in 2014, some of our friends made comments about the recycled lumber and roofing materials I was bringing with me. But, I've managed to use most of that material for coops and various other projects. Several of the coops are on trailer frames with wheels, even though they are stationary. That way, if ever we have to move again, the coops will be portable."

One of the other students said, "I helped built a coop for a family member out of a pop-up truck camper, leftover siding, and some windows." 

"Why, yes, that's great! I have a coop that I call the 'Truck Cap Coop' because that's what it's made out of. "

Then, the teacher asked, "Do you profit from the compost or the chickens? Or is it just a hobby? What dreams or goals do you have?" 

 

I'll answer that in "Part 3", since this is already a "mini book". 

(Sorry to leave you hanging, but it'll keep you coming back for more! LOL)