I have 39 chickens doing this (n.e. Arizona, USA) and they are taking down a heap in one day! I am reading Mollison's Designer Manual and enjoyed "products and behaviours" of a hen as analysis for design by listing components. I had to "start doing, (to) learn how to proceed." Thank you so much for your continuing to reach us.
@@LittlePetieWheat I measure feed need by their behavior. They make sounds. I have started sprouting sunflower seeds and have a feeder of oats, but they are not excited when I put it out. I have a desert soil so the pile and the moisture attracts insects, the green material breaks down and they eat that, kinda like salad. I put some food scraps, maybe a litre every few days. I have added alfalfa hay bales this week, they like the leaves, otherwise I pay attention to their behavior. I raised them in a small tent, I don't have a house for them yet. There is a floor covered with a tarp which I pull out to clean. They sit on the floor or on a long tree branch if they want off the floor....
Amazing, Geoff! You should be a Nobel Peace Prize winner for the great strides you are making towards feeding the world. I just hope you keep on teaching for many years to come 👩🌾👍
Question So the chickens peck on their Decomposing sh*t? I think this is a short-term solution and a long-term source of infection Please correct me if I'm wrong
Did you know that Nobel faked his death and was to be remembered as the "Doctor of Death" because he invented dynamite, so he spent a fortune to rebrand himself to be regarded as some sort of peaceful guy? Kind of like how Bill Gates was found guilty of antitrust because he stole everything that made Microsoft successful, so they had to rebrand him as a "Vaccine" Philanthropist that tells you how to not own a car while he dominates our lives. The more you know... But this video is great and this guy deserves recognition, no doubt!
@@upvotecomment2110 Billy Bond from Perma Pastures Farm has demonstrated how this works at a farm level. Yes, the chickens peck through their waste (just like they do for cow poop in a Joel Salatin style system). The pile needs to be moist and the temperature needs to be monitored. The chickens eat insects from the pile and thus get all the protein they need plus whatever food scraps you threw in the compost pile.
Hi there, I wish you lots of success with your farming in Morocco. I am from Morocco, living currently in Germany. I took Geoff's Course in 2021 online. Now spending my last 2 months in Europe, then I will hit the road to Morocco to start my own regenerative Agriculture there in a small scale of 2Ha.
It feels like everytime I see a video that I think is really good and go to comment, David the good is already there 😂 you and Geoff are absolute legends in our house! I'll send you a video of our grocery rows and compost systems soon!
I noticed you changed the technique a little bit so that there is only 2 piles. Thats better as the space is limited for urban chicken run with dimensions 8 m x 2 m. The cage frame actually move alternately from pile to pile whereas the earlier model, the cage frame does not move. I like this new system better as it has less piles. Further we let the pile be reassembled until 6 to 8 weeks which is doubled the time from your previous system. The pile will truly be ready by then. I tried 4 weeks system and the pile was not completely decomposed and ready. I believe Geoff you got the timing right this time for the urban system.
Thanks for this comment. I’ve watched Billy & William at Permapastures so their moving version, and I was curious about this version, since they speak of learning from Geoff. However, they also say they’ve had to experiment & tweak theirs to work for them. So I wasn’t sure exactly what they changed from Geoff. I agree, the 2-3 piles would be much better for urban and I’ve just found out that my town now allows “farm” or any animals, as long as they are not a nuisance to neighbors! Hoping to convince hubby to get on board with trying this!
I am excited to inculde this method on our permaculture hobby farm in Coastal B.C. Canada. Hopefully we can get it designed and built this fall or next year at some point. I would love the extra fertility for the garden and food forests for sure! Thanks Geoff, brilliant ideas as always!
Sorry about bring in taxation to permacultrue topic. Being from bc or Canada self preservation through self sustaining is great way to save on the aforementioned. Just hate the topic of rising shipping cost about to go up another 40% increase on food or anything shipped .
This reminds me of Billy’s system at Perma Pastures Farm. They probably have used many of each other’s ideas since William learned lots from Geoff Lawton and they have that previous connection.
I live in the bush and tried a similar method but rats became a huge issue in composts and chook coop so I gave it up. What do you do about the rats??Presume they are an issue there too?
Amazing. Thank you for providing these insights and concepts. I am 1 to 2 generations removed from subsistence farming, and this provides so much inspiration to reconnect my children to a sense of purpose that comes from their environment.
Ich habe dieses System schon in ein, zwei Videos gesehen, aber richtig erklärt, zum mal mit dieser Leidenschaft, hast nur du es . Ich liebe deine Videos! Es ist so aufregend und inspirierend❤Herzliche Grüße aus Deutschland
I supplement feed my chickens once a day by spreading their feed across the compost heap, making them dig even more to uncover their feed, and aerate the developing compost. My chicken coop is on a small slope, so the heaps move down naturally, also thanks to the chickens, and once it reaches the bottom of the coop/chicken run, it is ready to be used on the beds. So I have a never ending supply of compost. I also use the bedding from the chicken house that gets deposited at the top of the chicken coop weekly.
Thank you for the in-depth video Geoff! And thank you for adapting permaculture to new technology and ideas while keeping the philosophy of it intact. That's the way forward!
Oh I wish I could, but am severely limited by city by-laws and lack of space. That's the laziest way of making compost yet. I enjoy lazy with 2, 3 ways to get fertility into the soil without the work. 👏👍
I have this kind of system. Chicken coop with pen. But my chickens don't want to scratch much in the compost. They prefer to walk on grass/weeds and eat them. They don't even want to eat red worms. Maybe I should give them less food?
Awesome system Geoff. I may trial this next winter, we live in the arid and dry Riverland SA with a permaculture system including 30-60 chickens at any given time, we use a deep litter method for our chickens and quail with wood chips from powerline trimming so we do this sort of thing but in large hot piles every few months, I am keen to instead try this method as we have a coop that's 12x6m in 8 perfect 3x3m squares with the shed and entry in 2 of those squares, leaving us 6 3x3m compost bays, I don't know why I hadn't thought about this as I'd actually thought about fencing in the compost piles and putting the chickens in there to help turn it 😅 As usual Geoff thankyou for the content you have taught me much over the years!
Need to stop putting this off and formalize our set up. I do allow our chickens access to our open compost "bin" and slowly move it down the line but we have so much excess material in the form of hay waste from our two cows, the manure itself as well as the food scraps we're putting on the compost pile. Bagging instead of mulching grass clipping. Could be so much more productive...you have given me some inspiration! Thank you.
Enjoying this so much! I have a house 12" by 16" feet (192 sq ft) but only 15 chickens. I hope to have chicks hatched this spring to add to the working flock. I began deep litter inside in November of 2022. I add straw and shredded paper and hay often and have not cleaned it out yet as I don't feel I have enough chicky poop to activate it and there are no bad smells or ammonia evident. I also keep a deep duff over a first annual addition of a friend's hog manure in the 12" x 20" run. We add many bags of green grass clippings from our 2.48 acres each week. I would think that would help the carbonaceous stuff from the hen house break down. Should I go ahead and move what's in the house into the run?
I love this concept and I am just starting with chickens I have an urban garden ... Need to do the chicken house or chicken coop / chicken tractor ... Would probably need to modify what you're doing to make it work specifically here in Port Angeles, Washington, usa. How many chickens does it require for the 12 cubic meters per year, in this system where do the chickens nest and lay their eggs ? Can you provide some simple plans that show these things?
He said 30 chickens. But if I’m able to try this, I’ll start with trying a smaller number, realizing that the composting will take longer & I’ll produce less at a time. But it’ll still be better than the 1/2 CU yard I get per year with no chickens!
Below your comment the French person described that he said 30 chickens for a larger space. I’m not sure he ever said how many chickens for the 16 sq meters. But the mention of 8-10 eggs makes me think someone has mentioned about 12 chickens?
I am just rewatching the videos about the CToS, because I was inspired to do a similar system where we are in Greece. I was also inspired by the very similar and much more complex system of Edible Acres. They combine their chickenyard composting system with all kinds of trees, chicken forage, tree nursery beds and vegetables. It is a really amazing example of the same concept. Our system is sitting on top of a giant hugel culture bed. I am working on a combination of the two. Our chicken compost corridor will be similar to what Geoff is doing but once it is done and at the end of the corridor it will be right at the entrance of our veggie patch, ready to be distributed to the plants.
Traduction en français Les jardins potagers, de petite à grande échelle, peuvent être fertilisés grâce au compostage de poulet. Cette conception simple renforce la fertilité en continu en recherchant des poulets pour faire le travail qu'ils aiment et font le mieux : gratter, manger des insectes et manger des graines de mauvaises herbes. À partir de là, nous obtenons des œufs, de la viande et de la fertilité, et les plantes cultivées selon cette méthode produiront à un rythme élevé et fourniront des fruits et légumes riches en nutriments. Tout le monde peut suivre ce système. Les petites versions urbaines sur seulement 16 mètres carrés peuvent fournir en moyenne un mètre cube par mois, assez pour fertiliser 1000 mètres carrés de jardin. Des systèmes plus grands, utilisant 30 poulets, peuvent produire un mètre cube de compost par semaine, assez pour garder ½ acre riche et fertile. Et, les systèmes commerciaux, avec 50 poulets, peuvent représenter deux mètres cubes de compost par semaine, suffisants pour fertiliser un acre de terre. Les tas de compost commencent par la litière sous le perchoir des poules. Chaque semaine, 1/3 de mètre cube de litière est mis sous le poulailler, où ils le fument. À la fin de la semaine, cette litière sert de base à un tas de compost. Au sommet, il y a 1/3 de mètre cube de fumier de gros animaux (vache, cheval, mouton, chèvre, etc.), et en plus de cela devrait être 1/3 de mètre cube de restes de nourriture et/ou de mauvaises herbes de la jardin. Dans la semaine à venir, les poulets démonteront naturellement ce tas, étendant l'extérieur à mesure que le noyau interne se réchauffe. À la fin de la semaine, le tas doit être remonté, en mettant le matériau épandu au cœur et l'ancien noyau aux bords. Un nouveau tas de compost séparé doit être créé avec la litière de cette semaine. Ce processus se répète, en ajoutant une nouvelle pile et en retournant les anciennes, chaque semaine. Après cinq semaines de ce processus, un tas est composté. Pour un « tracteur à poules sous stéroïdes » urbain, un tas de compost est retourné toute la semaine et un autre est contenu dans une cage. À la fin de la semaine, le tas de compost en cage est libéré et le tas de compost étalé est empilé dans la cage. Ce cycle se répète pendant six à huit semaines, fournissant deux mètres cubes de compost tous les deux mois pour un total de 12 mètres cubes de compost par an. Les 16 mètres carrés de tracteur à poulets peuvent fournir une fertilité complète pour 1000 mètres carrés (1/4 acre) de production de jardin, ainsi que fournir 8 à 10 œufs par jour. Pour créer ces tas de compost, des tontes de pelouse et des mauvaises herbes arrachées sont ajoutées sous le perchoir du poulet pendant 6 à 8 semaines, où elles sont fumées et commencent le processus de compostage. Lorsqu'elle est prête, la litière sous le perchoir est retirée, empilée avec du fumier et des restes de nourriture et soumise au cycle de compostage (un mètre cube dans la cage et un en cours d'épandage). Le processus d'ajout de litière sous le perchoir recommence. Dans un système de jardin commercial, le tracteur de 50 poulets fonctionne au centre de grands parterres de jardin. Les lits peuvent avoir des polytunnels dessus dans les climats froids, ou ils peuvent avoir une toile d'ombrage dessus dans les climats désertiques. Ou, ils peuvent être recouverts de vignes productives à feuilles caduques ou à feuilles persistantes sur des treillis. Les jardins doivent être séparés par des allées de deux mètres, permettant la machinerie, et ces allées peuvent également être ombragées avec des treillis productifs. Ces systèmes nourriront l'humanité, et ils ne perdront jamais leur fertilité si le moteur continue de tourner
since we have our three chickens in our 200 square metres garden, the tiny vegetable garden and the fruit trees gives a lot more production, they eat the caterpilars and fertilise the ground around the trees, I have a plastic compost maker, when that's full I scatter the material between the shrubs so the chickens dig it in in the soil and when I need compost, I take it from there, usually the chickens mix it with soil and add some more manure to it. I'd almost say that the eggs are just a little bonus.
Genius. But also looooots of work. Once the system is running full power its 5 pile moves per week which can take a single person up to 2 hours or even more. It basically a heavy workout. Also organizing the manure inputs and the carbonatios materials for the new pile can be difficult if not available on site. For a market garden I would prefer the Charles Dowding method with additional compost bought in which is most of the time very unsophisticatedly made but it does the job.
I love Charles Dowding!!! If I get chickens I plan to do this (Geoff’s) basic method with the small amount I’m able in my urban yard, but instead of feeding all the grass clippings, weeds & damaged produce & scraps to the compost pile, I’ll be feeding them to chickens. I won’t have manure from large animals, but Permapastures Farm has successfully made it work without it
Most urban farmers have no cows and have no access to cow manure and large quantities of vegetable scraps. So we have to get them from outside source which incurs money from labour and transport cost. I got my vegetable scraps from a market nearby and cow manure from a cow farm. This system is suitable for commercial farm or big integrated farms like Geoff's.
High nitrogen crops like legume trees or pea vines can replace bulk manures especially with the chicken as the bacteria manure addition. Food banks and restaurants produce millions of tons of produce waste per year, harvesting those waste streams can feed this compost system easily.
Food banks? Ours for obvious reasons only take / give out packet, tins, jars etc Average person has no access to resturant or other, against health n safety...
I think you can have what you can get. Grass clippings, leaves are fine too I guess. In my pen I put every biomass that I can get. I put unfinished compost/mulch on my bed and man... squashes are huge. I didn't even planted them. They are volunteers.
I started with clippings of vines, dry weeds, dirt swept of sidewalks and waste paper torn to small pieces and layedered it (the greens and browns technique) while I did not have chickens. Now the chicks add their manure. Resources are all around, think carbon and nitrogen. I live in a house share in a subdivision, lol
Depending on how small a city/urban space restriction you have. You are probably better off with worm farming/vermiculture and perhaps garden beds with a quail or rabbit or guinea pig tractor house/cage that can be rotated around the garden beds.
It’s all about using what you have. I am going to experiment with the concept . Cattle are great at concentrating and accelerating the composting process. I have 2.5 acres that eventually must produce vegetables for selling directly to local buyers. I am slowly increasing this - not in a hurry to get to the full size just yet. I have about 3.5 acres of land I keep wild, but I manage it to form high yielding Savannah style grazing: I keep a herd of Dexters on that. The Dexters cannot graze all of this grazing at once, so even though they live 100% off this grass, I cut it to either store or make compost with. I harvest the trees for carbon as well as a few other tricks. The system is still early stages. I have chickens following the cattle al la Joel Salatin. But I think there is scope to incorporate this method ( or a variation) to make more good compost in order to feed the hungry vegetable garden.
If I start with 1m3 of manure, scrap, etc. I end up with less then 1m3 of compost. It would be more between 0.5m3 - 3/4m3 (assessment). Food scraps shrink, material break down, the pile becomes more compact.
Wonderfully thought through and inspiring as always. We are thinking about setting one up for 30 chickens on our 1/2 acre market garden. I'm wondering what are the rough dimensions of the larger system featured in the video? We have a small tractor with loader so we would want to adopt it to load bedding and turn piles and would build a poly tunnel over it all. Thanks again for the great video!!
any concerns since you keep adding new material from under the roost to material that has been going through the system with constantly reintroducing bacteria that might not be composted properly by the end?
Thank you Geoff we were going to do mobile chicken tractor but saw this and now we think we are going to do a combination of your system and move the tractor along instead of using the pitchfork
I have made something like this with different results... I have a layer chicken in cages, they poop on rice husk then black soldier flies laid their eggs on the chicken poop... Then once a month I gather this mixture into a compost pit. Then I add more rice husk under the chicken cage. And the process repeats itself..... Also there is no adverse odor and no flies....
Thanks, Geoff and crew, for the design and discussion to innovate and combine production systems from chickens and compost to trellis to cool footpaths and overall gardens.
I wonder if you put the chicken compost production-line actually on the slope above your planting area if you would save yourself even more effort and just allow gravity to virtually put all your compost on your vegetable growing area?
My chickens are still hungry after i implement the system. So i gave them crushed corn and padi grains mixture in addition. Why are my chickens still hungry without the grains? I also supplement the chickens with fruits from the pen grwing nearby and residue from soya bean production. Is that a good idea? From 12 hens i got about 22 eggs in 19 days. I just started the system 3 weeks ago.
Sharifah, you should investigate how the Soybeans are grown! Are they GMO and is GLYPHOSATE used? Also the NEUROTOXIN HeXane is used to eXtract the Oil, and then the Fibre is Pelletized for animal Feed! UpTake is an issue!
How do I make this work in sw Spain, hot summers 25 to 35+ degC, no rain, a water shortage ( do have ‘agriwater but not vast volumes as farmers take it all) often cloudless sky, solid clay and some stones ‘soil’, scrub on 1 hectare just about grows. It’s flat. I have the space but thats about it. What is the first step?
Awesome! I'm thinking about how effective it might be using quails on a much smaller scale if one does not have the space for chickens? I already have 60 odd quails ready to put to work. Any experience folks?
Quick question: for the small-scale cage/pile rotation, are you adding manure and veggie scraps to that every time you turn it or is it basically one-and-done?
You can add as much food scraps and weeds as you like but don't add any more manure or dry material as it needs time to properly break down and the chickens add a small amount of manure while turning it, hope that helps
This is an interesting concept. But where does the animal manure come from? The limitation is the base material greens and browns. The chickens can only produce a cubic meter of compost per week, if I put 5 cubic meters of base material into the system each week. So where does it come from? Where do I keep the cows, horses, goats, you name it, and how do I feed them?
Why do we allow the chicken to disassemble the pile? Doesn't that affect the heating process at the pile's core? Shouldn't the chicken start their work at least after 2 days? Much appreciate the content 🙏
I'll definitely need a cage to keep it together. I made a pile using the dirty bedding from the pig pen mixed with old straw that hasn't been soiled. The chickens and turkeys level the thing clear in less than an hour. They are shredding the straw clawing at it, but I don't think any actual composting is going on. Something about pig manure soiled straw makes chickens go wild. Sometimes they take a piece of that dirty, wet straw and slurp it up like a noodle.
This looks brilliant! ... How much grain or other food are you still feeding your chickens? Presume they are not getting all their needs from the pile??
I know I missed the Q & A timeline lol. But I still feel the need to ask this, even though it might not be applicable everywhere in the world. How sustainable/applicable/successful would permaculture techniques for compost, but with meat rabbits also adding to the fertilizer as they would also be a part of my operations to supply a large growing family of generations? Any insights to share? Please do...
what if we keep adding food waste and wood chips in the run without piling, like creating 1 foot of bedding will that be composted, would this work?? the idea is not to do any work and after a month i remove all bedding and start again??
@pietrpanak yes. They scratch vigorously. It's only slows down the first step: collecting their night droppings, since 5 chicks poops 6 times less than 30.... I have 5-6 hens, I put fresh hay/carbon under them, until i get that 1/3 c.meter hay mixed poops. Than I start the pile. If you can access some horse manure, use that and your own urine. Your 5 hens will than work on it later as 30 would! They love it!
Hello. I really like this idea. Could You tell me is there any non harming idea what to do with little roosters? I know that normally on industrial level they land in bag and die, on the other hand as far as I know more than one will end with fights. Could You share Your experiences?
Pero eso es en un clima tropical donde todas las semanas puedes desbrozar hierba para colocar en el gallinero, en un clima estacional tienes que acumular ese material para usar semanalmente
Amazing process! Wouldn’t it be great if our agricultural system adopted this technique to feed the masses. No more depleted soils and chemical fertilizer!
I have 39 chickens doing this (n.e. Arizona, USA) and they are taking down a heap in one day! I am reading Mollison's Designer Manual and enjoyed "products and behaviours" of a hen as analysis for design by listing components. I had to "start doing, (to) learn how to proceed." Thank you so much for your continuing to reach us.
How much feed per week are you getting through with this system?
Do you have to rebuild the pile then?
@@barnabyvonrudal1 Yes. It is great fun for all of us.
@@LittlePetieWheat I measure feed need by their behavior. They make sounds. I have started sprouting sunflower seeds and have a feeder of oats, but they are not excited when I put it out. I have a desert soil so the pile and the moisture attracts insects, the green material breaks down and they eat that, kinda like salad. I put some food scraps, maybe a litre every few days. I have added alfalfa hay bales this week, they like the leaves, otherwise I pay attention to their behavior. I raised them in a small tent, I don't have a house for them yet. There is a floor covered with a tarp which I pull out to clean. They sit on the floor or on a long tree branch if they want off the floor....
@@mojavebohemian814sounds fantastic. Well done sir.
Amazing, Geoff! You should be a Nobel Peace Prize winner for the great strides you are making towards feeding the world. I just hope you keep on teaching for many years to come 👩🌾👍
Question
So the chickens peck on their Decomposing sh*t?
I think this is a short-term solution and a long-term source of infection
Please correct me if I'm wrong
Did you know that Nobel faked his death and was to be remembered as the "Doctor of Death" because he invented dynamite, so he spent a fortune to rebrand himself to be regarded as some sort of peaceful guy? Kind of like how Bill Gates was found guilty of antitrust because he stole everything that made Microsoft successful, so they had to rebrand him as a "Vaccine" Philanthropist that tells you how to not own a car while he dominates our lives. The more you know...
But this video is great and this guy deserves recognition, no doubt!
@@upvotecomment2110 Billy Bond from Perma Pastures Farm has demonstrated how this works at a farm level. Yes, the chickens peck through their waste (just like they do for cow poop in a Joel Salatin style system). The pile needs to be moist and the temperature needs to be monitored. The chickens eat insects from the pile and thus get all the protein they need plus whatever food scraps you threw in the compost pile.
For me he has more than this fake ´ »Nobel prise »
I love what you do! I'm going to be integrating a lot of your techniques on our farmstead here. Love from Morocco 🇲🇦
Let us know how you get on. I'm in Tunisia 🇹🇳
@@KimWilliamsystunisia Ayy that's pretty close to Morocco! Good luck to you!
Hi there,
I wish you lots of success with your farming in Morocco. I am from Morocco, living currently in Germany. I took Geoff's Course in 2021 online. Now spending my last 2 months in Europe, then I will hit the road to Morocco to start my own regenerative Agriculture there in a small scale of 2Ha.
@@KielerMatrozen-to5ly WOW! That's amazing! Let me know how it goes I would love to see the progress! Good luck to you!
@@KielerMatrozen-to5ly how did it work out
Inspiring as usual - thank you. Nice graphics, too. Good work, production editor!
You're an inspiration too. Cool to see you commenting.
Hey look it's David the good !
It feels like everytime I see a video that I think is really good and go to comment, David the good is already there 😂 you and Geoff are absolute legends in our house! I'll send you a video of our grocery rows and compost systems soon!
I noticed you changed the technique a little bit so that there is only 2 piles. Thats better as the space is limited for urban chicken run with dimensions 8 m x 2 m. The cage frame actually move alternately from pile to pile whereas the earlier model, the cage frame does not move. I like this new system better as it has less piles. Further we let the pile be reassembled until 6 to 8 weeks which is doubled the time from your previous system. The pile will truly be ready by then. I tried 4 weeks system and the pile was not completely decomposed and ready. I believe Geoff you got the timing right this time for the urban system.
Thanks for this comment. I’ve watched Billy & William at Permapastures so their moving version, and I was curious about this version, since they speak of learning from Geoff. However, they also say they’ve had to experiment & tweak theirs to work for them. So I wasn’t sure exactly what they changed from Geoff. I agree, the 2-3 piles would be much better for urban and I’ve just found out that my town now allows “farm” or any animals, as long as they are not a nuisance to neighbors! Hoping to convince hubby to get on board with trying this!
If this doesn't inspire me to start gardening, I don't know what will. Following from Uganda 🇺🇬
Go ahead! Gardening is good for the soul and for the tummy! Best wishes!
Wonderful! I love that you showed what it looks like to do this.
I am excited to inculde this method on our permaculture hobby farm in Coastal B.C. Canada. Hopefully we can get it designed and built this fall or next year at some point. I would love the extra fertility for the garden and food forests for sure! Thanks Geoff, brilliant ideas as always!
Yeah and save on fresh veggies and can for winter. Too bad the price of fuel is federal tax tool for liberal spending.
@@darcyneuman6741hile I agree federal taxation is generally a waste... Why bring it up here specifically? How is it relevant to this conversation?
Sorry about bring in taxation to permacultrue topic. Being from bc or Canada self preservation through self sustaining is great way to save on the aforementioned. Just hate the topic of rising shipping cost about to go up another 40% increase on food or anything shipped .
I love this design! Work smarter, not harder.
Perfect timing. Wanted to introduce raptors on the land for awhile now
Clever girls?
Thanks again Geoff 🙏🏻
This reminds me of Billy’s system at Perma Pastures Farm. They probably have used many of each other’s ideas since William learned lots from Geoff Lawton and they have that previous connection.
If I'm not mistaken, I believe Billy got his PDC from Geoff Lawton. As did several other great permaculture channels! The beat lineage so to speak 😊
The idea came from Karl Hammer when Geoff Lawton visited Karl. Karl produces compost for 200 farm.
I live in the bush and tried a similar method but rats became a huge issue in composts and chook coop so I gave it up. What do you do about the rats??Presume they are an issue there too?
Amazing. Thank you for providing these insights and concepts. I am 1 to 2 generations removed from subsistence farming, and this provides so much inspiration to reconnect my children to a sense of purpose that comes from their environment.
Loving the system!! How would one get big animal manure in the urban system or if you don’t have big animals in general?
Geoff is the well deserved heir of Bill Mollison's legacy as he continues to spread the knowledge. God bless you Geoff.
Ich habe dieses System schon in ein, zwei Videos gesehen, aber richtig erklärt, zum mal mit dieser Leidenschaft, hast nur du es . Ich liebe deine Videos! Es ist so aufregend und inspirierend❤Herzliche Grüße aus Deutschland
tks for what you do Geoff, you're amazing... that includes the team!
Very inspiring, Geoff. Do you give your chickens supplemental feed in this system?
Would also love to know this
My chickens were still hungry with this system so I supplement.
I supplement feed my chickens once a day by spreading their feed across the compost heap, making them dig even more to uncover their feed, and aerate the developing compost. My chicken coop is on a small slope, so the heaps move down naturally, also thanks to the chickens, and once it reaches the bottom of the coop/chicken run, it is ready to be used on the beds. So I have a never ending supply of compost. I also use the bedding from the chicken house that gets deposited at the top of the chicken coop weekly.
Want to know the answer for this as well Geoff
@@michellesharwood7756do you have a link where we can see photos of your sloped system?
Thank you for the in-depth video Geoff! And thank you for adapting permaculture to new technology and ideas while keeping the philosophy of it intact. That's the way forward!
Oh I wish I could, but am severely limited by city by-laws and lack of space. That's the laziest way of making compost yet. I enjoy lazy with 2, 3 ways to get fertility into the soil without the work. 👏👍
Are there instructions on how to build that first chicken house shown? The kind that produces eggs.
I have this kind of system. Chicken coop with pen. But my chickens don't want to scratch much in the compost. They prefer to walk on grass/weeds and eat them. They don't even want to eat red worms. Maybe I should give them less food?
It takes time for the chicken to start scratching. After 1 month they would have adapted.
Don’t feed them
Sie sollten alte Rassen nehmen, keine Legehühner Rassen, die ansonsten in Käfigen leben und mit Natur nichts anfangen können🐓
Awesome system Geoff. I may trial this next winter, we live in the arid and dry Riverland SA with a permaculture system including 30-60 chickens at any given time, we use a deep litter method for our chickens and quail with wood chips from powerline trimming so we do this sort of thing but in large hot piles every few months, I am keen to instead try this method as we have a coop that's 12x6m in 8 perfect 3x3m squares with the shed and entry in 2 of those squares, leaving us 6 3x3m compost bays, I don't know why I hadn't thought about this as I'd actually thought about fencing in the compost piles and putting the chickens in there to help turn it 😅
As usual Geoff thankyou for the content you have taught me much over the years!
Need to stop putting this off and formalize our set up. I do allow our chickens access to our open compost "bin" and slowly move it down the line but we have so much excess material in the form of hay waste from our two cows, the manure itself as well as the food scraps we're putting on the compost pile. Bagging instead of mulching grass clipping. Could be so much more productive...you have given me some inspiration! Thank you.
Enjoying this so much! I have a house 12" by 16" feet (192 sq ft) but only 15 chickens. I hope to have chicks hatched this spring to add to the working flock. I began deep litter inside in November of 2022. I add straw and shredded paper and hay often and have not cleaned it out yet as I don't feel I have enough chicky poop to activate it and there are no bad smells or ammonia evident. I also keep a deep duff over a first annual addition of a friend's hog manure in the 12" x 20" run. We add many bags of green grass clippings from our 2.48 acres each week. I would think that would help the carbonaceous stuff from the hen house break down. Should I go ahead and move what's in the house into the run?
Thanks for explaining that so well, and quantifying things precisely. It is much more reassuring when the knowledge can be applied with confidence.
I love this concept and I am just starting with chickens I have an urban garden ... Need to do the chicken house or chicken coop / chicken tractor ... Would probably need to modify what you're doing to make it work specifically here in Port Angeles, Washington, usa. How many chickens does it require for the 12 cubic meters per year, in this system where do the chickens nest and lay their eggs ? Can you provide some simple plans that show these things?
He said 30 chickens. But if I’m able to try this, I’ll start with trying a smaller number, realizing that the composting will take longer & I’ll produce less at a time. But it’ll still be better than the 1/2 CU yard I get per year with no chickens!
Below your comment the French person described that he said 30 chickens for a larger space. I’m not sure he ever said how many chickens for the 16 sq meters. But the mention of 8-10 eggs makes me think someone has mentioned about 12 chickens?
I am just rewatching the videos about the CToS, because I was inspired to do a similar system where we are in Greece. I was also inspired by the very similar and much more complex system of Edible Acres. They combine their chickenyard composting system with all kinds of trees, chicken forage, tree nursery beds and vegetables. It is a really amazing example of the same concept. Our system is sitting on top of a giant hugel culture bed. I am working on a combination of the two. Our chicken compost corridor will be similar to what Geoff is doing but once it is done and at the end of the corridor it will be right at the entrance of our veggie patch, ready to be distributed to the plants.
Traduction en français
Les jardins potagers, de petite à grande échelle, peuvent être fertilisés grâce au compostage de poulet. Cette conception simple renforce la fertilité en continu en recherchant des poulets pour faire le travail qu'ils aiment et font le mieux : gratter, manger des insectes et manger des graines de mauvaises herbes. À partir de là, nous obtenons des œufs, de la viande et de la fertilité, et les plantes cultivées selon cette méthode produiront à un rythme élevé et fourniront des fruits et légumes riches en nutriments. Tout le monde peut suivre ce système. Les petites versions urbaines sur seulement 16 mètres carrés peuvent fournir en moyenne un mètre cube par mois, assez pour fertiliser 1000 mètres carrés de jardin. Des systèmes plus grands, utilisant 30 poulets, peuvent produire un mètre cube de compost par semaine, assez pour garder ½ acre riche et fertile. Et, les systèmes commerciaux, avec 50 poulets, peuvent représenter deux mètres cubes de compost par semaine, suffisants pour fertiliser un acre de terre. Les tas de compost commencent par la litière sous le perchoir des poules. Chaque semaine, 1/3 de mètre cube de litière est mis sous le poulailler, où ils le fument. À la fin de la semaine, cette litière sert de base à un tas de compost. Au sommet, il y a 1/3 de mètre cube de fumier de gros animaux (vache, cheval, mouton, chèvre, etc.), et en plus de cela devrait être 1/3 de mètre cube de restes de nourriture et/ou de mauvaises herbes de la jardin. Dans la semaine à venir, les poulets démonteront naturellement ce tas, étendant l'extérieur à mesure que le noyau interne se réchauffe. À la fin de la semaine, le tas doit être remonté, en mettant le matériau épandu au cœur et l'ancien noyau aux bords. Un nouveau tas de compost séparé doit être créé avec la litière de cette semaine. Ce processus se répète, en ajoutant une nouvelle pile et en retournant les anciennes, chaque semaine. Après cinq semaines de ce processus, un tas est composté. Pour un « tracteur à poules sous stéroïdes » urbain, un tas de compost est retourné toute la semaine et un autre est contenu dans une cage. À la fin de la semaine, le tas de compost en cage est libéré et le tas de compost étalé est empilé dans la cage. Ce cycle se répète pendant six à huit semaines, fournissant deux mètres cubes de compost tous les deux mois pour un total de 12 mètres cubes de compost par an. Les 16 mètres carrés de tracteur à poulets peuvent fournir une fertilité complète pour 1000 mètres carrés (1/4 acre) de production de jardin, ainsi que fournir 8 à 10 œufs par jour. Pour créer ces tas de compost, des tontes de pelouse et des mauvaises herbes arrachées sont ajoutées sous le perchoir du poulet pendant 6 à 8 semaines, où elles sont fumées et commencent le processus de compostage. Lorsqu'elle est prête, la litière sous le perchoir est retirée, empilée avec du fumier et des restes de nourriture et soumise au cycle de compostage (un mètre cube dans la cage et un en cours d'épandage). Le processus d'ajout de litière sous le perchoir recommence. Dans un système de jardin commercial, le tracteur de 50 poulets fonctionne au centre de grands parterres de jardin. Les lits peuvent avoir des polytunnels dessus dans les climats froids, ou ils peuvent avoir une toile d'ombrage dessus dans les climats désertiques. Ou, ils peuvent être recouverts de vignes productives à feuilles caduques ou à feuilles persistantes sur des treillis. Les jardins doivent être séparés par des allées de deux mètres, permettant la machinerie, et ces allées peuvent également être ombragées avec des treillis productifs. Ces systèmes nourriront l'humanité, et ils ne perdront jamais leur fertilité si le moteur continue de tourner
Super traduction 😊 merci ❤
since we have our three chickens in our 200 square metres garden, the tiny vegetable garden and the fruit trees gives a lot more production, they eat the caterpilars and fertilise the ground around the trees, I have a plastic compost maker, when that's full I scatter the material between the shrubs so the chickens dig it in in the soil and when I need compost, I take it from there, usually the chickens mix it with soil and add some more manure to it. I'd almost say that the eggs are just a little bonus.
Great video and very well explained with visuals!! Thank you v. Much
Mr. Geoff
Genius. But also looooots of work. Once the system is running full power its 5 pile moves per week which can take a single person up to 2 hours or even more. It basically a heavy workout. Also organizing the manure inputs and the carbonatios materials for the new pile can be difficult if not available on site. For a market garden I would prefer the Charles Dowding method with additional compost bought in which is most of the time very unsophisticatedly made but it does the job.
Nice to have choices many people don’t have choices.
@geofflawton3198 True. Very true! My perspective is a very European perspective.
I love Charles Dowding!!! If I get chickens I plan to do this (Geoff’s) basic method with the small amount I’m able in my urban yard, but instead of feeding all the grass clippings, weeds & damaged produce & scraps to the compost pile, I’ll be feeding them to chickens. I won’t have manure from large animals, but Permapastures Farm has successfully made it work without it
Most urban farmers have no cows and have no access to cow manure and large quantities of vegetable scraps. So we have to get them from outside source which incurs money from labour and transport cost. I got my vegetable scraps from a market nearby and cow manure from a cow farm. This system is suitable for commercial farm or big integrated farms like Geoff's.
You will be surprised by what you can compost.
Worms then??, lots of food waste in urban areas to raise plenty of worms, use the worm tea
High nitrogen crops like legume trees or pea vines can replace bulk manures especially with the chicken as the bacteria manure addition. Food banks and restaurants produce millions of tons of produce waste per year, harvesting those waste streams can feed this compost system easily.
Food banks? Ours for obvious reasons only take / give out packet, tins, jars etc
Average person has no access to resturant or other, against health n safety...
Can't u put access doors on the sides too so u can move those piles by tractor as well?
I would think it's the 1/3 large animal manure that's complicated to get for a city/suburban garden. Anybody have any experience with this?
I think you can have what you can get. Grass clippings, leaves are fine too I guess. In my pen I put every biomass that I can get.
I put unfinished compost/mulch on my bed and man... squashes are huge. I didn't even planted them. They are volunteers.
I started with clippings of vines, dry weeds, dirt swept of sidewalks and waste paper torn to small pieces and layedered it (the greens and browns technique) while I did not have chickens. Now the chicks add their manure. Resources are all around, think carbon and nitrogen. I live in a house share in a subdivision, lol
Depending on how small a city/urban space restriction you have. You are probably better off with worm farming/vermiculture and perhaps garden beds with a quail or rabbit or guinea pig tractor house/cage that can be rotated around the garden beds.
There are bound to be horse riding centers at the edge of suburban areas - they are normally happy for you to collect used stable material.
They use human manure, I was told :)
So simple yet effective - more pearls of wisdom from Geoff - this man is a legend :0)
It’s all about using what you have. I am going to experiment with the concept . Cattle are great at concentrating and accelerating the composting process. I have 2.5 acres that eventually must produce vegetables for selling directly to local buyers. I am slowly increasing this - not in a hurry to get to the full size just yet. I have about 3.5 acres of land I keep wild, but I manage it to form high yielding Savannah style grazing: I keep a herd of Dexters on that. The Dexters cannot graze all of this grazing at once, so even though they live 100% off this grass, I cut it to either store or make compost with. I harvest the trees for carbon as well as a few other tricks. The system is still early stages. I have chickens following the cattle al la Joel Salatin. But I think there is scope to incorporate this method ( or a variation) to make more good compost in order to feed the hungry vegetable garden.
This is brillant ! I have chickens, I have compost pile, I have food scraps,... What am I waiting ???
Me encanta lo que se aprende en este canal🥰
If I start with 1m3 of manure, scrap, etc. I end up with less then 1m3 of compost. It would be more between 0.5m3 - 3/4m3 (assessment). Food scraps shrink, material break down, the pile becomes more compact.
Thats correct. Chickens eat the vege scraps so definitely it will shrink
You do not have enough carbon in your piles, you have TOO much nitrogen.
you taught me an incredible way to produce fertility. Thank you. You are a pioneer!!
Love it.
These explanatory content that takes you through the whole process, is gold for me. 🙏
Where do you source your additional animal manure from? It is essential to make the system work as I don't have any viable source close to me.
I want to apply this model. However, I have a question: should we only put food in the second pile? As for the following piles, just turn them over
Wonderfully thought through and inspiring as always. We are thinking about setting one up for 30 chickens on our 1/2 acre market garden. I'm wondering what are the rough dimensions of the larger system featured in the video? We have a small tractor with loader so we would want to adopt it to load bedding and turn piles and would build a poly tunnel over it all. Thanks again for the great video!!
any concerns since you keep adding new material from under the roost to material that has been going through the system with constantly reintroducing bacteria that might not be composted properly by the end?
This is gonna work anywhere in the United States and I’ve been telling people the same thing about that is amazing that you have this process
Thank you Geoff we were going to do mobile chicken tractor but saw this and now we think we are going to do a combination of your system and move the tractor along instead of using the pitchfork
Hi Geoff, do you use Electroculture in your gardens? If yes , would you make a video about this topic? Thanks Geoff!
Would you still feed the chickens bought rations or just the veg scraps that you put on the compost pile?
Do you need to feed the chickens grains and pellets as well as the composting bugs? I enjoy your channel
What would happen if you put the initial pile on top of a hill and took away the completed compost at he bottom.
love this guy
I have made something like this with different results...
I have a layer chicken in cages, they poop on rice husk then black soldier flies laid their eggs on the chicken poop... Then once a month I gather this mixture into a compost pit.
Then I add more rice husk under the chicken cage. And the process repeats itself.....
Also there is no adverse odor and no flies....
Thanks, Geoff and crew, for the design and discussion to innovate and combine production systems from chickens and compost to trellis to cool footpaths and overall gardens.
This is revolutionary. Geoff you are our Aussie Perma -Scientist-Mathematician-Accountant-Lover. What can I say! 🎉🎉🎉
I wonder if you put the chicken compost production-line actually on the slope above your planting area if you would save yourself even more effort and just allow gravity to virtually put all your compost on your vegetable growing area?
My chickens are still hungry after i implement the system. So i gave them crushed corn and padi grains mixture in addition. Why are my chickens still hungry without the grains? I also supplement the chickens with fruits from the pen grwing nearby and residue from soya bean production. Is that a good idea? From 12 hens i got about 22 eggs in 19 days. I just started the system 3 weeks ago.
Sharifah, you should investigate how the Soybeans are grown! Are they GMO and is GLYPHOSATE used? Also the NEUROTOXIN HeXane is used to eXtract the Oil, and then the Fibre is Pelletized for animal Feed! UpTake is an issue!
How do I make this work in sw Spain, hot summers 25 to 35+ degC, no rain, a water shortage ( do have ‘agriwater but not vast volumes as farmers take it all) often cloudless sky, solid clay and some stones ‘soil’, scrub on 1 hectare just about grows. It’s flat. I have the space but thats about it. What is the first step?
Can I use grass clippings that have sand burrs in it or would I be left with a bunch of compost with saved sand burr seeds in it? Ty!
Question…. Those wonderful chickens, do they need get enough food from the compost piles or do they need additional feeding?
Love the information ❤
Am using your knowledge on my farm. Greetings from Nigeria.
Thanks Geoff you are amazing in educating us on self independence in terms of food production
Geoff Lawton, legendary!
What can I do if I dont have big animal manure?
You gained a subscriber. Well explained, and I appreciate all the work that you put in to share this video/knowledge with us.
From Bangladesh with ❤ for Geoff Lawton.
Great system, does the chicken's need additional feeding ?
Awesome! I'm thinking about how effective it might be using quails on a much smaller scale if one does not have the space for chickens? I already have 60 odd quails ready to put to work.
Any experience folks?
The 16m2 chicken coop system should be placed in which direction. Thanks
Would wood chips break down fast enough for this system (rather than straw) ?
Quick question: for the small-scale cage/pile rotation, are you adding manure and veggie scraps to that every time you turn it or is it basically one-and-done?
One and done but you could add some in to heat up the pile and speed up decomposition, just not to much to throw your ratios way off
I add vege scraps when i see the chickens finish them. So i monitpr the scraps
No just at the start
You can add as much food scraps and weeds as you like but don't add any more manure or dry material as it needs time to properly break down and the chickens add a small amount of manure while turning it, hope that helps
Hi Jeff. I use sawdust and wood shavings in my chicken coop as bedding. Can this be used as the base in this system? Thanks.
I like to know that too as I have access to shavings and padi stalks or wheat or hay is difficult to get at times
Yes no problem
@@geofflawton3198 thanks a bunch. Will go ahead and use it.
This is an interesting concept. But where does the animal manure come from?
The limitation is the base material greens and browns. The chickens can only produce a cubic meter of compost per week, if I put 5 cubic meters of base material into the system each week. So where does it come from? Where do I keep the cows, horses, goats, you name it, and how do I feed them?
Refer to my comments.
1/3 m of a cynic meter a week, easy to find.
Just do the same system minus the manure from lg animals. Make it how you’re able. It’s still better than plain compost without chickens
What is the purpose of the 1 week rest in the cage (in the urban system)? To allow the biota to reproduce again? Or allow the heap to heating up?
Why do we allow the chicken to disassemble the pile? Doesn't that affect the heating process at the pile's core? Shouldn't the chicken start their work at least after 2 days?
Much appreciate the content 🙏
In the urban system, did I miss how many chickens are recommended? Or is it 30 also?
How do those chickens stay in metre high fences, have you clipped one wing?
@chriscritchell5115 either that, or cover the place with mesh or zig-zagged fishing threads. Covering is needed b/c of aerial predators, anyway.
Love this video so much Geoff, explained and demonstrated so well Thank you 🤎
I'll definitely need a cage to keep it together. I made a pile using the dirty bedding from the pig pen mixed with old straw that hasn't been soiled. The chickens and turkeys level the thing clear in less than an hour. They are shredding the straw clawing at it, but I don't think any actual composting is going on. Something about pig manure soiled straw makes chickens go wild. Sometimes they take a piece of that dirty, wet straw and slurp it up like a noodle.
Good insight and thanks for sharing the knowledge I will defenetly implement some of your teachings Kudos to you
Are you feeding any grains to the birds?
This looks brilliant! ... How much grain or other food are you still feeding your chickens? Presume they are not getting all their needs from the pile??
We tried not feeding any additional food for a year and the chickens looked more healthy, but the egg production dropped 30%.
Saving this video
I know I missed the Q & A timeline lol. But I still feel the need to ask this, even though it might not be applicable everywhere in the world.
How sustainable/applicable/successful would permaculture techniques for compost, but with meat rabbits also adding to the fertilizer as they would also be a part of my operations to supply a large growing family of generations?
Any insights to share? Please do...
I have vegetarian fed pigs, how would you use their manure?
bio gas production with a liquid fertilizer byproduct.
what if we keep adding food waste and wood chips in the run without piling, like creating 1 foot of bedding will that be composted, would this work?? the idea is not to do any work and after a month i remove all bedding and start again??
Brilliant Vid Geoff. I live not far away from you ( 20ks) Where do you sell yr Organic Vegies mate. Kind regards Pete
Hi Geoff, love your channel, do you also feed your chickens laying pellets or do you just rely on the compost for feed
You can do either
Can this be done without large animal manure impute?
If I have only 5 chickens, is it still viable, please?
@pietrpanak yes. They scratch vigorously. It's only slows down the first step: collecting their night droppings, since 5 chicks poops 6 times less than 30.... I have 5-6 hens, I put fresh hay/carbon under them, until i get that 1/3 c.meter hay mixed poops. Than I start the pile. If you can access some horse manure, use that and your own urine. Your 5 hens will than work on it later as 30 would! They love it!
How many labours will required in this process on daily basis?
How is the chicken floor constructed in the hutch please
What to feed thw chickens in the first place?
No need to feed the chickens if you don’t want to.
Hello. I really like this idea. Could You tell me is there any non harming idea what to do with little roosters? I know that normally on industrial level they land in bag and die, on the other hand as far as I know more than one will end with fights. Could You share Your experiences?
Pero eso es en un clima tropical donde todas las semanas puedes desbrozar hierba para colocar en el gallinero, en un clima estacional tienes que acumular ese material para usar semanalmente
Amazing process! Wouldn’t it be great if our agricultural system adopted this technique to feed the masses. No more depleted soils and chemical fertilizer!
How do you ensure that the materials in the compost pile are not harmful to the chickens? Thanks a lot for your input.
There are no problems
Chickens are pretty clever at avoiding what's not good for them.
Brother what feed you use can you show feeding on another video corn soy grain oats ?
What should the dimensions of the compost rings be?