The weather has been miserable, lately. Because it was raining steadily for several days, I repeatedly had to rake up piles of weeds from the field to cover the ground in the outdoor chicken pen. The birds need to have dry feet when they sleep or their health suffers. Raking in the rain was bad enough, but the weather became warm, which made it even more uncomfortable to work outdoors.
Sunday afternoon was the first break in the rain so I leapt into action and began the process of refueling the biomeiler. When I pulled back the tarp and Reflectix sheets it was clear that the pile had subsided considerably since last fall. The main image shows that view. When I wrapped up the pile in October, 2025, it has filled all the way to the top of the wire cylinder that defines the outer circumference. In the center, the pile had a peak 8-10 inches higher in the center.
To improve the accuracy of the measurements, I laid the handle of my snow rake across the pile and used a tape measure to determine how far the pile had shrunk below level. The mantle of the pile shrank about 4”. Since there is no significant composting in that layer, I would attribute the change to mere settling of the shavings.
The outer core shrank up to 10” in places. The inner core shrank by about 7”. Because, in those areas, what was once a peak became a significant depth, the change can reasonably be attributed to the composting that took place.
The first step in refueling for the coming winter was to spread used litter from the coop across the top of the pile until it was level with the outer perimeter fence. It took about one-third of the litter to accomplish that. The second step was to rake material from the field and spread a layer over most of the pile. I left a margin of 9-10” around the edge.
Next, I piled on more litter. Again, leaving a margin. The goal of leaving margins is to develop a conical profile on the pile. The pile has always settled more in the center. That being the trend, it is advisable to begin with extra material in that area to avoid the formation of a depression collecting water that might make its way into the pile.
It has begun raining, again. That is fine, because the newly-added material needs moisture to begin composting. My plan is to add more material to the pile whenever the weather cooperates. Proceeding in such fashion, I should have the biomeiler refueled by the end of the month, when the heat will be welcomed by the chickens in the coop.
