The time a rogue squirrel taught me a better way to clean the coop

I spent months scooping out wet bedding with a pitchfork every weekend, and it took forever. Then this crazy squirrel kept stealing bits of straw from my compost pile, and I noticed the pile was breaking down way faster. So I tried tossing the dirty bedding straight into a separate bin with some grass clippings and letting it sit for 3 weeks. Now I just swap out the bin once a month and the compost is ready by spring. Has anyone else had random animal behavior accidentally fix a chore for them?

3 comments

3 Comments

spencer_hayes711mo ago

I read something about how squirrels actually help aerate compost piles by digging through them, which is probably why that one was breaking down so fast. My neighbor had a similar thing happen with raccoons getting into her chicken feed storage, and she ended up switching to metal bins that keep them out but also keep the feed drier. I guess sometimes animals know what they're doing even if we don't. That three week bin swap sounds way easier than what you were doing before, maybe I should try that with my own coop this fall.

rose_grant7815d ago

@spencer_hayes71 hit the nail on the head with those metal bins. I switched to galvanized trash cans for my chicken feed after a raccoon figured out how to slide the lid off my plastic one. That little guy was way too smart for his own good. Now I just have to remember to wipe the outside down before putting the lid on so moisture doesn't build up inside. The three week bin swap thing works great if you've got two bins going at the same time, just rotate them and let the first one sit while you fill up the second.

taylor.paige1mo ago

Toss some leaves in that bin too and it'll break down even faster with zero effort.