Thank you, your post was interesting.
However, I don't see where this addresses the back yard compost pile
We do indeed have 2 themes here. Industrial composting, as well as the
average back yard compost pile.
Trenches and burying garbage are not part of suburban composting. And I do
believe it is illegal in many places.
I was told by a vet it is illegal to even bury a dead cat in St. Paul.
I would shudder to think of what would happen if people started burying
whole chickens and other masses of garbage in town. I think most landfills
bury garbage, so its not a new concept. Burning, and incinerating dead
animal carcasses is definitely not legal, here it is illegal to burn garbage
at all, much less stinky carcasses
The original question was about feathers, and most likely they would be
fine, even with a bit of blood on them, however, whole chickens and dead
animals have no place in a suburban compost pile.
Burying dead animals and pissing on them is fine for some but I hope I don't
see my neighbor doing it.
Sounds like you live in the boonies somewhere, and the "composting" methods
are probably fine for you, but in the middle of Minneapolis, this is not
acceptable for the average home owner, and likely illegal.
I moved to a rural area recently, and its illegal to burn garbage, and a
permit is neeed to have a landfill. I could get by with burying a dead
animal or 2 but anything more would not be acceptable.
I believe there is even a law in Mpls and some suburbs that says what size
the pile can be, and that it requires an enclosure of some sort, at least 3
sided.
It is interesting to see how people in other parts of the county live.
But we just cant do that here in suburbia.
The other poster does not agree with the University of Minnesota, and thats
his choice, for him, and his situation, knowlegde level, and location thats
fine. But they (the U of M) have made these recomendations based on years of
research, working with homeowners in Minnesota,as well as the laws in
Minnesota. People in general are not very smart and will heap garbage, meat
scraps etc, and attract mice and other vermin. And here in Minnesota the
temperature gets so low, that often compost heaps dont stay as hot as
needed, and it cant be added to in 20 below weather, and turning it during
this time would slow composting way down, and may even stop it. So the
averge homeowner cannot manage a pile that contains a lot of meat, and other
smellies. It just isnt large enough or hot enough.
Its not even legal to have a pile like that around here.
Our hope is that more and more people will use composting, as a way to
dispose of yard waste whcih makes up a large percentage of the waste in our
landfills, I have heard its as much as 40%, and many municipalities have
banned yard waste from trash collecting, and have city compost sites, and
again no meat goes in there, a few kitchen scaps are fine.
Unless a person is very experienced and knowledgeable about the methods,
and can maintain it, and most people just are not, adding whole chickens and
other household garbage is not recommended.
I know a lot of interesting work is being done in the area of composting, I
have read about composting toilets, and other green methods. I think its
very exciting, but for now, with regard to the average homeowner, I think
they should stick with the university recomendations.
Permacltur wrote in message
news:MOD$000816.18090@rec.gardens.ecosystems... > > We have two themes here with people responding to one another as though
they > were one. The industrial composter from Kentucky may indeed find that a
whole > chicken "dissolves" (except bones) in a few days. The flesh does melt away > quickly, as I can tell you from our experience with chickens in Florida.
While > our natural heat and humidity does not equal a compost pile, if we miss a
dead > chicken, there isn't much left in a day or two. (It will likely be mostly > burried by carrion beetles by then, too.) Compost piles run hotter, of
course, > but lack the arthropod decomposers. > In a RURAL situation, we don't hesitate to trench compost offal from fish
and > chickens, feathers, etc. Even in Zone 4 Massachusetts we would rototill > feathers into the garden in the fall and by spring the only residue was
bits > that were not fully covered. This was highly fertile soil with abundand > organic matter and therefore soil life. In poor soil, decomposition is
much > slower. > In URBAN situations, meat, bone, bread, etc, are often avoided in home
compost > piles. Typically, these piles are developed by gradual accretion--there
is > rarely the volume contributed all at one time for a hot pile. Red
wrigglers > abound, however and the job gets done. I recall one woman who showed me
her > compost situation in Rochester, NY. She bought a bale of hay each year
and > would come out with her little can of household compost, lift a book of
hay > with a pitch fork, and toss on the new stuff. The ground was all but > completely coverd with red wrigglers under the hay and there was very
little > residue. > Bones do take a long while to break down, but they are good slow release > fertilizer. The fats remaining on the bones are what attract pests. We
used > to put our bones from cooked poultry in our wood heat stove (In
Massachusetts) > and the phosphorous, calcium and trace elements become available in the
ash. > Some pieces of bone are recognizable, but with the fat burned away, they
have > no order and also they crumble quickly. Some phosphorous may be lost in
very > hot fires as it can burn to a gaseous compound, I'm told. However this is
a > minor matter. At present, we put ALL bones in the chicken coop. The
chickens > clean off most of the gristle, etc., and the activity in the litter soon > removes any of the original scent. If I have to dispose of a dead bird
or lay > hand on a road kill to use for fertilizer, I use trench composting. I
burry > the materials a bit deeper than normal in trench composting. If I am at
all > concerned about the material being dug up, cover the material lightly with
soil > and pour human urine around it to cover the surface and hit much of the
sides > of the hole. In 35 years of doing this, I have had a hole dug just once. > This was from armadillos--flies had beat me to the carcass, and when the > maggots started to emerg, the armadillo went after the rest. By then the
urine > scent was long gone. This uprooted a strawberry guava I had planted over
the > fertilizer, but I was able to save it. We often fence chickens into one
of our > gardens for part of the year to control weeds and pests after harvest is > complete. Then we bury offal etc right in the garden and the birds
harvest > the maggots as they emerge. This is a great supplement to their diet of
weeds, > bugs, and mash. (Not many worms, alas, in Florida sand.) > Feathers do not attract vermin unless they have some blood from slaughter
on > them. Even then I've never had a problem. > > I hope that I have been helpful. I'm not going to debate composting
methods > with anyone. I know what has worked for me for decades and pass it along
in > case someone else wants to benefit from it. > > Dan Hemenway > Barking Frogs Permaculture Center > >