What do you do with chicken manure if you don't want a compost heap?

[MollieO]

Am getting chickens in the next couple of weeks. What do I do with their waste? Don't want a compost bin as I'm absolutely paranoid about rats and have heard horror stories of rats in compost bins.

I put mine in the brown bag - compost recycling that the council collects.

Green waste collection here but not sure it includes chicken stuff. I'll check with the council. We have to pay an annual charge to have a green bin. I haven't bothered as I thought two bins were enough without adding a third. However I need to do something and it would be a shame for it not to be composted.

Chicken s**t is a great fertiliser. Put in on your garden.

It can't go straight on the garden as it will burn the plants and I don't want a compost bin, hence my question!

I just put mine into the black wheelie bin. I don't want ours going straight onto plants either and we don't have room for a compost area.

we have a green waste bin here too and they have just introduced a charge
it does say on ours that you cannot put animal bedding or poo in them
ask neighbours if they want some as fertiliser?

From what I've read our council makes a £25 charge for stuff that shouldnt go in the green bin. I think mine will be going in the black bin unless I can find someone who wants it for their compost bin.

Freecycle it! When our compost bins are full I advertise it on Freecycle and get several takers. Pure gold for the gardener (providing the bedding you use is easily compostable e.g. easibed).

Put into a lidded bucket with water and use for watering.

don't worry about rats in compost bins!

I do worry about rats in compost bins which is why I refuse to have one. I'd have to move house if I saw a rat (yes I know they are all over the place but thankfully I don't actually see them!).

oh dear :(

If it helps, I used to live on a farm, and I never saw a rat in my compost bin.
there were rats on the farm, but they concentrated on the grain siloes.

I'm sure rats wouldn't appear if they had the choice of a grain silo. Not sure my garden is big enough for one of those!

i am considering getting rid of my compost bin for this very reason. i am still trying to forget the dark shape running from it

It really is my worst nightmare even though I know it would be good to make my own compost. I just don't know what I'd do if I saw something. I have a couple of friends with large gardens/allotments so I hope I can persuade them to take a regular supply!

You could try freecycle or asking around at local allotments? We have fab compost because the chicken poo helps it break down quicker.

If you put a piece of chicken wire under a compost bin, rats can't get in to it.