Manure management on tiny acreage

[SugarCubes]

We live in a residential estate type area with 3 acre homesites and neighbors all around us…I have two horses and currently maintain a manure pile in the treeline on the back of our property but the smell is becoming a concern. I plan to have someone come haul my current pile away, but before I bring my boys back home from my trainer’s in the spring, I want to figure out a new way to manage manure moving forward.

The two options I am deciding between are renting a dumpster or buying a Newer spreader. The biggest deciding factor: which has less smell?

I would think spreading straight from the stalls would make my whole property always smell like “horses”? Or does the odor dissipate as soon as it’s spread? I know the dumpster would be emptied weekly, so I wouldn’t think the odor would be as strong if I go that route…but my pasture could certainly use the nutrients spreading would provide!

My other concern with a spreader is what to do for days/weeks (especially in winter) when the ground is too saturated and the tractor/spreader would tear up the ground. Then, I’m back to dumping on the manure pile and spreading when things dry out…

Thoughts?

[Simkie]

Dumpster. Without a doubt.

Or, perhaps, one of those aerated manure bins. Saw a place with a couple of these when we were house shopping and was really impressed with no smell and how quickly it broke down. Then spread the DONE compost, or sell/give away to gardener friends.

http://www.o2compost.com/micro-composting-bins.aspx

But spreading straight up, straight out of the horse, on three acres? Nope.

[Libby2563]

Agree with Simkie. I have 9 acres but only 3 of pasture and definitely would not spread fresh manure on such a small area. I have a smallish dumpster that lasts me 4-8 weeks depending on the time of year and how much the horses are inside (two horses, one mini-donk). It does get smelly though, especially when wet. I have wondered if covering it would help keep the smell down but I don’t know.

Simkie, thanks for the link on those composting bins. They are really intriguing! Anyone else have experience?

[horsepoor]

I vote dumpster as well. Too small of an acreage for spreading, IMO.

[katyb]

Perhaps lime the manure in the dumpster? If it’s just going to be dumped, not used.

[2miniB]

I’ve been at horse facilities that use a dumpster, and there is still a smell from that. I have a 3 sided shed here for composting manure. Its out of the wet, and there’s no smell from that. The only time it ever smells at all is when we turn it.

[Outyougo]

When my husband retired his first project was to build me a Taj Manure! A three sided Concrete pit 50 feet (down hill!) from the barn. Pit has a roof to help limit how wet compost gets. There is a gravel lane so the tractor can access pit.

I am fairly thrifty with bedding so compost does not have too much shavings.

The pit gets emptied every 4 to 6 months. The product goes to gardens (ours and neighbors) spread on to fields.

Makes cleaning easy … limits smell… Much better than Mount Manure with the attending foot hills of mud.

[Paige777]

For those of you using a dumpster, can you tell me how you manage to pile up/stack manure if you don’t have a tractor handy? I’m trying to envision how this would work. I’m on 3 acres and can’t justify the cost of a tractor, but it seems that you would fill the bottom of a dumpster super quickly unless you had a way to push manure up/somehow dump it in from above. Am I misunderstanding how this works?

[clanter]

by using pelleted bedding we reduced our composting requirements greatly

[Texarkana]

[QUOTE=Paige777;8989529]
For those of you using a dumpster, can you tell me how you manage to pile up/stack manure if you don’t have a tractor handy? I’m trying to envision how this would work. I’m on 3 acres and can’t justify the cost of a tractor, but it seems that you would fill the bottom of a dumpster super quickly unless you had a way to push manure up/somehow dump it in from above. Am I misunderstanding how this works?[/QUOTE]

Build a ramp.

[4THEHORSES]

When I was on 2.5 acres a dumpster worked best. Less smell, helped a bit wih keeping flies away, emptied on a weekly basis. If you don’t fill the whole thing in you can even go in with a neighbor and split the cost,

[wsmoak]

We built a wooden manure bin… it didn’t last very long.

So I bought a roll of 4’ horse fence and cut it into four 25’ lengths. It naturally wants to curl back up, so it makes about a 7 foot diameter ring. (I set a T-post and tied both ends of the wire to it with hay string so it would stay put.) We had some reinforced plastic roof underlayment fabric, and I lined the rings with that. Presto, moveable compost bins. A 10x10 tarp should work for a cover, and next time I’ll probably set a T-post in the middle with a cap on it, to hold the tarp up like a circus tent, so water doesn’t collect. It’s a work in progress.

It’s a pain to get out the tractor, so I end up lifting all the manure twice… once out of the paddock into the wheelbarrow, then I dump it near the bin and lift it again to put it in the bin. Maybe I’ll build a ramp one day, or more likely, cut into the slope and build a retaining wall so I can just dump over the edge.

It seems to be a good size, it sure heats up quickly when I start filling a new one! If I were more energetic I would get out the tractor and move things around more often. But I don’t, I just let it sit for at least a year and then use the compost.

I am interested in aeration to speed things up, thanks for that link Simkie.

The wire rings are easy to dismantle when it’s time to scoop up the compost for the garden, just cut the hay string and ‘unwrap’ the pile.

-Wendy

[Libby2563]

[QUOTE=Paige777;8989529]
For those of you using a dumpster, can you tell me how you manage to pile up/stack manure if you don’t have a tractor handy? I’m trying to envision how this would work. I’m on 3 acres and can’t justify the cost of a tractor, but it seems that you would fill the bottom of a dumpster super quickly unless you had a way to push manure up/somehow dump it in from above. Am I misunderstanding how this works?[/QUOTE]

Mine is built into an embankment. I have a stone path along the side of it so I push the wheelbarrow up the path and dump from above. Before the embankment was cut out, I had to lift it up over the lip of the dumpster to dump so I used a smaller muck cart but that really sucked. If you want to roll it in to dump at ground level you will need to leave one side off and have a hard time filling it to capacity, like you predict.

[SugarCubes]

Thanks for the input - sounds like a dumpster is the way to go! My current manure is composting nicely, I turn it regularly with the tractor but it still does smell when the wind blows just right and I just don’t have the space to really keep up with it.

For those asking about dumpsters, the dumpsters our show venue uses (which is who I would also use) are only 3’ high which makes it easy to dump a muck tub directly into. But, you could also just muck into your FEL and dump into a taller dumpster. Or, like others have mentioned, build a ramp!

[SugarCubes]

Ok, new question!

Just talked to the trash company and am trying to decide what size dumpster to go with…they offer 4, 6, or 8 yd.

I fill one of those 2 wheeled Rubbermaid wheelbarrows heaping full once per day. On occasion, I may have a little more. So math whiz’s…what does that come to? What size do I need?

I was thrilled to hear how affordable this is too! Even the biggest dumpster they offer would be less than $100/month with weekly pickup! Cool!

[Simkie]

This one?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rubbermaid-Commercial-Products-7-5-cu-ft-Plastic-Yard-Cart-FG564200BLA/100344354

That’s 7.5 cu ft. 27 cu ft to a cu yard.

Rounding to 8 cu ft on the cart (to account for “full”) that’s:

13 days @ 4 cu yd

20 days @ 6 cu yd

27 days @ 8 cu yd

[merrygoround]

With treated lumber or railroad ties (if you can get them build a square “bin”, build a second one next to it. Make each about 3 feet high. Assuming you are using pelleted bedding which compost fairly rapidly. From time to time toss some lime on the pile. When one is full, start on the second. When that one fills, dismantland spread the first. Rebuild it and away you go.

Your lawn, paddock will thank you.

[saddleup]

I have a 4 cu yd dumpster, emptied weekly, for two or three horses (one goes to live with the trainer over the winter). I use my tractor to lift the manure into the dumpster from filled muck buckets. I initially didn’t use the tractor, but developed tennis elbow from lifting those muck buckets so switched to letting my tractor do the heavy lifting.

My dumpster has a lid, so there is no smell. I bed with shavings and use pellets on their pee spots. My horses have 24/7 access to their stalls or the adjacent paddocks, and I pick those every day. When three horses are here the dumpster is usually full come pickup day. With two, it’s about 2/3 full, but I also use it for yard waste (weeds, clippings from the lawn, tree branches blown off by storms, etc.).

[SugarCubes]

This one?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rubbermai...0BLA/100344354

That’s 7.5 cu ft. 27 cu ft to a cu yard.

That’s the one! Thanks, Simkie

I have a 4 cu yd dumpster, emptied weekly, for two or three horses (one goes to live with the trainer over the winter). I use my tractor to lift the manure into the dumpster from filled muck buckets. I initially didn’t use the tractor, but developed tennis elbow from lifting those muck buckets so switched to letting my tractor do the heavy lifting.

My dumpster has a lid, so there is no smell. I bed with shavings and use pellets on their pee spots. My horses have 24/7 access to their stalls or the adjacent paddocks, and I pick those every day. When three horses are here the dumpster is usually full come pickup day. With two, it’s about 2/3 full, but I also use it for yard waste (weeds, clippings from the lawn, tree branches blown off by storms, etc.).

This is great info - out setup is very similar. I’d also planned on mucking right into the FEL on my tractor, but I have a little Kubota BX and I’m crossing my fingers it’ll reach that high. I already have tennis elbow and carpal tunnel, my body can’t handle lifting muck tubs that high :no:! That’s great to hear the lid helps so much with the smell, I hope the one I’m getting has a lid!

[Hermein]

Simkie, did you get a look at the airing system at the place you visited? I have all sorts of good ideas for economical bins, but am not clear on how the air would be distributed.

Where we’re moving there is a manure dump provided–but you have to transport the poop yourself. I’m thinking about a small trailer with some sort of removable or adjustable walls.