I have finally figured out a system to compost without any work! I’ve kept compost piles for years. I tried those black plastic tumblers, but they required frequent attention and they were too small. I’ve had bins, but I’d throw in corn cobs, which, a year later, still looked like corn cobs. You see, I like the idea of compost, but I don’t like to prep the material going in and I never get around to turning the pile.

Now my chickens do all of the work. I’ve fenced in a 3 x 3 foot corner of their yard with chicken wire. There’s a one foot wide opening so that the girls can get in. I put garden waste, weeds, kitchen scraps, and the dirty litter from the guinea pig cage in there. The chickens peck it to small bits, turn it over, and in short order, create the most perfect, loose, dark, uniformly-sized compost. When that bin fills, I close it off and let it rest for a few months. Meanwhile, I fence off another corner of their yard.

I know that the girls like their new job. When they see me heading for the compost, they come hurrying over, rush between my legs and get to the compost pile before me. It is certainly true that one person’s garbage is another one’s treasure.