Ducks are wonderful, but they are also very good at making a mess. Between the water they splash and the manure they produce, coop bedding gets a serious workout. We clean our coops every three days, and none of what comes out goes to waste. Every scoop of used bedding ends up in the compost.
What we put in our coops
Our bedding is a mix of three materials, each doing a different job:
- Hemp shavings: Our main bedding. Hemp is very absorbent, which matters a lot with waterfowl, and it keeps the coop floor drier and more comfortable.
- Straw: A classic that adds cushioning and insulation, especially useful as the weather turns colder.
- A small amount of pine shavings: We use just a little, mixed in when cleaning, to help tone down the ammonia smell that comes with a busy coop.
Why an open compost system
With cleanings every three days, the volume adds up fast. A flock of nineteen ducks produces a lot of used bedding, and an enclosed bin would fill up almost immediately. An open compost method gives us the room to keep up with a steady, high-volume supply, and it makes it easy to simply add each new load to the pile as it comes out of the coops.
Why bedding and duck manure make great compost
Good compost is a balance of "greens" (nitrogen-rich materials) and "browns" (carbon-rich materials). Duck manure is a strong source of nitrogen, and our bedding supplies the carbon. Hemp, straw, and wood shavings are all carbon-heavy, so used bedding arrives already mixed in a useful ratio. The coop essentially pre-blends the pile for us.
A note on pine
Pine is the one material we keep to a small amount. Wood shavings break down more slowly than straw or hemp, and softwoods like pine carry natural resins that can linger, so we mix a little in with a much larger volume of hemp and straw rather than letting it make up a big share of the pile. In moderation it's a helpful odor-fighter for the coops and a perfectly good carbon source for the compost.
Giving it time
Fresh poultry manure is very high in nitrogen and can burn plants if it's applied too soon, so compost needs time to finish breaking down before it goes anywhere near a garden bed. Finished compost is dark, crumbly, and earthy-smelling, and that's the goal. Patience is the real secret here.
Closing the loop
There's something satisfying about a system where the waste from one part of the farm feeds another. Bedding keeps the ducks comfortable, the used bedding becomes compost, and the compost builds healthier soil for foraging areas and garden beds down the line. It's a small loop, but it's the kind of thing that makes a farm feel like a system rather than a collection of chores.