Muck Heap Ideas

Flipo's Mum

Flipo's Mum

Heavy owner of a Heavy
Aug 17, 2009
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Perthshire, Scotland
Hiya all, I share a 3.5acre field split in half down the middle. We have a central muck heap which until now has served both of us quite well, however it got removed the other day and needs to be permanently relocated because there are electricity wires overhead and the digger was dangerously close removing the heap.
I like a neat field and have decided where I’m putting my new pile, just looking for ideas on what you all do? I’ve googled and hearing talk of squaring off edges and compacting it so it reduces quicker. Our old pile had somewhat spread and taken over a large area and now that we need two piles, im keen for them to remain tidy and not expand too much!
Just wondering what you all do with your poo piles? Any photos?
 
Mine was all tidy and sort of square until the rabbits got to it. I tried squaring it up but it was hopeless. They spread it out again the next day. It was too easy for them as it was only the poo pickings. There was not stable bedding. Once it got big. The easiest things was to just get it removed and start again.
 
When we managed the yard for a while I was meticulous about keeping the muck heap neat and tidy. As Jessey's pic illustrates it is actually quite easy to build" some kind of construction. As long as it gets compacted down (aka walked on) you can make paths and banks easily.

Also, keeping it compacted helps it to rot down quicker so it won't get as large in the long run.
 
If you want to border it so it doesn't creep, big square wooden beams work well - we use 3 x 3 sleepers that someone had lying about. For the tidy heap, that is
 
Ooh yes, or pallets on their sides, tied onto fence posts knocked into the ground....
 
I would make two or preferably three , much like you would with a compost heap.
Use some old timber to make some loose sides, fill one up, then the other, while your filling the second half the first half should be composting down quite nicely. When the second one is almost full depending how big it is the first should be rotted enough to bag up and use in gardens, allotments etc, if you have any allotments nearby I’m sure they would be happy to relieve you of it :D
Just found this for you which explains it much better than I can.
https://thehorse.com/17205/9-steps-for-composting-horse-manure/
 
We usually have ours taken away in a muck trailer for spreading on agricultural land but they have just upped there price x 3. We don't use bedding so it is mainly pure poo. I am amazed that we live in a horsey area, loads of muck and there is no digestion plant for recycling horse muck, the green stuff at the recycling centre is used to make bagged (plastic of course) compost, and they could do the same with horse muck. I am at a loss as to what to do with it at the moment
 
diplomaticandtactful said:
We usually have ours taken away in a muck trailer for spreading on agricultural land but they have just upped there price x 3. We don't use bedding so it is mainly pure poo. I am amazed that we live in a horsey area, loads of muck and there is no digestion plant for recycling horse muck, the green stuff at the recycling centre is used to make bagged (plastic of course) compost, and they could do the same with horse muck. I am at a loss as to what to do with it at the moment
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I have compost bays like Kite Rider above describes and I am also setting up 'turd towers' so that I can hot compost in situ to then spread it back on the land to give back to it.
 
I poo picked mine daily when I was on a yard. Huge pile in field then started respreading it once rotted. 2 wheel barrows every day, tip out. Then rack over ground. I didn't spread very often only a perge when pile got too big, but it was back breaking. I'm lucky now I can rotate grazing so no poo picking. We will just harrow in instead.
Is the trailer yours, if so could you ask around other farmers to see if they will take it. One problem is us farmers have to account for all the sh!t we put on our fields. We have to calculate what comes out the rear end X however many animals we have. Different for babies to adult and species. Theyn also work out muck coming out our sheds. We get penalised if we don't do our calculations. We didnt understand the nitrate vunerable stuff so we left it and we got told off when then did there inspection. We are also not recommended to put muck on from other farms due to the risk of bringing in disease in the muck especially if going into grass pastures. It's not so bad for muck going into arable fields.
So maybe that's got something to do with the price going up. Have they given a reason for the price hike.
 
chunky monkey said:
I poo picked mine daily when I was on a yard. Huge pile in field then started respreading it once rotted. 2 wheel barrows every day, tip out. Then rack over ground. I didn't spread very often only a perge when pile got too big, but it was back breaking. I'm lucky now I can rotate grazing so no poo picking. We will just harrow in instead.
Is the trailer yours, if so could you ask around other farmers to see if they will take it. One problem is us farmers have to account for all the sh!t we put on our fields. We have to calculate what comes out the rear end X however many animals we have. Different for babies to adult and species. Theyn also work out muck coming out our sheds. We get penalised if we don't do our calculations. We didnt understand the nitrate vunerable stuff so we left it and we got told off when then did there inspection. We are also not recommended to put muck on from other farms due to the risk of bringing in disease in the muck especially if going into grass pastures. It's not so bad for muck going into arable fields.
So maybe that's got something to do with the price going up. Have they given a reason for the price hike.
Click to expand...
We had someone empty if for years then he just stopped and let us down, the new one has done it 4 time so far. We are now having to pay £50 a trailer for a 3 mile trip each way. It's going to a big livery yard and adding to their muck heap
 
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