MiAsa and her chicks are moving and scratching so fast, they are just a blur. It’s time to turn the compost and add more litter to it. In midwinter, a great feeding place for chickens is a compost pile when I turn it. It is full of worms and bugs. A compost pile is teeming with life. Manure and decaying plant matter provide a feast for bacteria and tiny organism, which provide a feast for earthworms and bugs, which provide a feast for the chickens.

When you closely examine a compost pile in midwinter, it’s amazing to see tiny winged insects teeming over the pile. Once the pile heats up, it provides a warm sanctuary for millions of creatures to flourish.