Bedding and Composting Manure

What makes a good bedding for small livestock?

Good bedding does three jobs: it soaks up moisture, it gives animals a dry and comfortable place to lie down, and it can be composted afterward. Common choices include wood shavings, straw, chopped hay, and sometimes shredded paper or leaves. Each has different habits. Straw is warm and cheap in many areas but can hold moisture and mold if stored wet. Shavings absorb well but break down slowly because they are high in carbon.

Ask local feed stores and your county extension office what is easy to get near you. A bedding you can buy reliably all year beats a perfect bedding you can only find in one season. Check any bedding for dust and mold before it goes in the barn, because poor air quality affects animals and people.

If you keep more than one kind of animal, bedding choices can differ by species. Rabbits and poultry do well on different materials than horses or goats, and some materials are unsuitable for certain animals. Your vet and extension office can tell you what to avoid for the animals you keep.

• Keep bedding stored dry and off the ground.
• Avoid moldy straw or hay, even for the pile.
• Ask about shavings from untreated wood only, and check the source if you are unsure.

How does manure turn into compost?

Composting is controlled decay. Microbes feed on a mix of carbon-rich material, such as bedding, and nitrogen-rich material, such as manure. They need moisture, air and enough bulk of material to hold heat. Extension composting guides for small farms describe the same basic ingredients: a balanced mix, damp but not soggy, and turning or aerating to bring in oxygen.

A pile that is too wet and packed turns sour and smells. A pile that is too dry and carbon-heavy sits and does very little. Most trouble comes from one of those two problems, and both are fixable by adding the opposite material and turning the pile.

Size matters too. A pile that is too small cools off and stalls, while a very large unturned pile can go airless in the middle. Many small farms use a simple three-bin system or a pair of bins so one can rest while the other is filled. Pallet walls and wire are common low-cost ways to build bins, and they can be changed as your herd or flock grows.

Where should you put the manure pile?

Site the pile on level, well-drained ground, away from wells, streams, ditches, ponds and property lines. Runoff from a pile after heavy rain carries nutrients toward water, and that is the usual source of complaints and regulatory attention. Your local conservation district or the NRCS office can help you think through placement for your slope and soils.

A roof or cover, or at least a tarp during wet seasons, reduces runoff and keeps the pile from getting waterlogged. Plan for two sections if you can: one you are filling and one that is aging. Mixing fresh and finished material in one pile makes it hard to know when anything is ready.

How do you know the compost is finished?

Finished compost looks dark and crumbly, smells earthy, and no longer shows recognizable bedding or manure. It should stay cool after turning. If it is still warm or smells sharp, it needs more time. Aging also takes time in cold weather, when decay slows, so a pile may need a full season or more depending on your climate.

Raw manure can carry organisms that make people sick, and fresh material can burn plants. Use finished compost on ornamental beds and fields first. For vegetable gardens, ask your extension office for guidance on how long to wait between applying manure-based material and harvesting crops that touch the soil, because the safe interval depends on the crop and your local recommendations.

Keep a simple log for each batch: the date you started it, what went in, when you turned it and what it looked like. After a year you will know how long your own pile takes in your climate, which is more useful than any general timeline.

What are the common mistakes with barn waste?

The first mistake is piling manure against a barn wall or fence, where moisture rots wood and runoff has nowhere to go. The second is letting the pile grow with no plan for removal, until it is far bigger than the property can use. The third is spreading manure on frozen or saturated ground, where nutrients wash off.

Another quiet problem is flies and odor near neighbors. Regular removal, dry bedding and a pile that is actively managed solve most of it. If you keep several species, ask your vet about whether any manure should not be mixed or spread near certain animals, since parasites and disease can pass through it.

What does it cost and who can help?

Costs fall into categories: bedding purchases, storage materials such as tarps, boards or a simple bin, equipment for moving material, and your own time. Track what you spend on bedding for one month and multiply for the year to see your real number before you decide whether a larger bin or a loader is worth it.

Rules about manure storage and spreading are local and vary by state, county and town. Ask your county extension office and your conservation district what applies to a small farm, whether any setbacks from water are required, and whether free technical help is available.

Last reviewed: November 12, 2026. Written by the Homestead & Small Farm Editorial Team. See our editorial policy.