As I write this, the back of my truck is being loaded full of goat, chicken, and pig poo by the teenage son of a good farmer friend down the road. The boy is cleaning out his parent's barn. The animals are all part of my friend's pastured poultry/grass-fed beef operation, so there wont be any "undesirable" elements in there, thankfully.
I don't have a compost pile, (yet), but I have a feeling I have the makings of a good one on it's way. Can anyone tell me the best way to use this stuff to get a primo compost pile going?
Helloooooooooo out there.... Anybody home? 
Okay... maybe I should have been more specific about the information I'm looking for.
When I scoop all this out of my truck bed, should I layer it with some other organic material, and if so - what? Is this barn-floor mixture considered "brown" or "green" in the compost world? What would be the best kind of bin to build, or should I just dump it in a big pile at the edge of one of my garden spots? (I'm planning on making as large of a pile as I can.)
I have no experience with compost, and as I explained in my [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10761]introductory post[/url], I really want to learn. Any information yall could share would be very appreciated.
Okay... maybe I should have been more specific about the information I'm looking for.
When I scoop all this out of my truck bed, should I layer it with some other organic material, and if so - what? Is this barn-floor mixture considered "brown" or "green" in the compost world? What would be the best kind of bin to build, or should I just dump it in a big pile at the edge of one of my garden spots? (I'm planning on making as large of a pile as I can.)
I have no experience with compost, and as I explained in my [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10761]introductory post[/url], I really want to learn. Any information yall could share would be very appreciated.
I think we're all sitting here stunned and envious!!! 
Seriously, though: manure is a "green." It is nitrogen rich. Mixing it with "browns" (carbon-rich ingredients) will help it mature more quickly and yield great compost!
Some browns: straw, fallen leaves, shredded newspaper, shredded cardboard.
If you want to contain your compost, perhaps a "standing fence" type of enclosure would be useful. This is just wire/chain fence with supports as needed to hold it upright. The dimensions are whatever you need.
Minimum useful size for a compost pile is usually 1 cubic yard; maximum is 5 or so feet high, 5 or so feet wide, and as long as you can manage. (Think of commercial compost "windrows." But windrows are self-supporting; no enclosure needed.)
Given the scale you'll be working with, hand-turning the pile may not be feasible, so if you have a front-loader, that might be the way to go.
Or make some smaller compost piles which can be turned with a fork/shovel combination.
There are many posts here in the Compost Forum with links to university-level, agronomic programs with compost expertise.
Please let me know if you can't find any links.
Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17
Seriously, though: manure is a "green." It is nitrogen rich. Mixing it with "browns" (carbon-rich ingredients) will help it mature more quickly and yield great compost!
Some browns: straw, fallen leaves, shredded newspaper, shredded cardboard.
If you want to contain your compost, perhaps a "standing fence" type of enclosure would be useful. This is just wire/chain fence with supports as needed to hold it upright. The dimensions are whatever you need.
Minimum useful size for a compost pile is usually 1 cubic yard; maximum is 5 or so feet high, 5 or so feet wide, and as long as you can manage. (Think of commercial compost "windrows." But windrows are self-supporting; no enclosure needed.)
Given the scale you'll be working with, hand-turning the pile may not be feasible, so if you have a front-loader, that might be the way to go.
Or make some smaller compost piles which can be turned with a fork/shovel combination.
There are many posts here in the Compost Forum with links to university-level, agronomic programs with compost expertise.
Please let me know if you can't find any links.
Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17
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Easy to read site good on the basics.
https://www.compostinfo.com/
Mare than I want to know
https://compost.css.cornell.edu/Composting_homepage.html
Good list of materials:
https://compost.css.cornell.edu/Composting_homepage.html
If your pick up is full mostly of manurer then you have a very green bunch of stuff meaning it's full of nitrogen. If you have a lot of bedding materials like wood chips, straw, hay then you've got some carbon materials already mixed in which is good.
Mostly manurer will want a lot of dry woody carbons. Leaves are most ideal. Intact leaves take longer to break down so stuff that's been run through the mower helps. Some leaves with waxy outer surfaces like some oaks in the dry climates take a lot longer. Pine needles will work but again you want to break them. Paper and cardboard works too. I haven't worked with cardboard but newspaper tends to wad up in balls taking forever to break down so shred and mix well.
With a lot of bedding, I'd just add leaves that have been shredded through a mower or something.
If it gets smelly, add the dry woody stuff and mix well and watch the moisture. If it's dry and not reducing, add water and mix it or turn it frequently. Really dry and not doing anything add grass clippings again mixing well.
Smells can be covered with dry woody carbon material. The more material you add after the fact the longer it will take. The dry woody material, or carbons, will take longer to breakdown. I often just cap things with grass clippings and put up with a few days stink because the grass clippings will break down fast while keeping the browns inside and undercover where they will break down better and quicker. On my slow bins on a 18 month to two year cycle, I cap with a heap of coffee grounds.
With a pickup full a large bin would probably serve you better than a simple pile or windrow. Push four pallets together with wire holding them together for a down and dirty fast and cheap bin.
It has been estimated optimal turning for fastest compost with a good mix is once every 4 - 5 days. Once a week is plenty fast. I've gotten lazy and go weeks without turning. It just takes longer is all. Turning lets you look inside and see what's happening.
Watch the moisture. Not too much and not too little.
Don't stress it if it takes a while. It will compost. I don't believe cooking compost in three weeks is realistic. If you're really working it and the mix is good count on two months. Plan on three to be a good goal.
Plan B: load it all up in a bin mixed up with additives as necessary and water it occasionally and you'll probably have something in 8 months or so doing nothing else. 6 months if built on the ground where the worms can move in and do their stuff will probably the best you can do with a no labor approach.
In the early stages, heat is a good indicator things are going your way. Read up on hot composting for more on all the ifs, ands, and buts about temperature and so on.
Don't fret, it will compost if it takes a year. Just add water and it'll make its own sauce. You can make it as labor intensive and scientific as you like or as lazy and eyeball measurement as all get out. Experiment, play around, research a little and make it work with whatever else you got going on. Composting can easily fit into your lifestyle. Oh, if you stop and go on vacation or something and the whole process just stops, it starts right up again when you get back to it.
No big deal if you don't make it one.
https://www.compostinfo.com/
Mare than I want to know
https://compost.css.cornell.edu/Composting_homepage.html
Good list of materials:
https://compost.css.cornell.edu/Composting_homepage.html
If your pick up is full mostly of manurer then you have a very green bunch of stuff meaning it's full of nitrogen. If you have a lot of bedding materials like wood chips, straw, hay then you've got some carbon materials already mixed in which is good.
Mostly manurer will want a lot of dry woody carbons. Leaves are most ideal. Intact leaves take longer to break down so stuff that's been run through the mower helps. Some leaves with waxy outer surfaces like some oaks in the dry climates take a lot longer. Pine needles will work but again you want to break them. Paper and cardboard works too. I haven't worked with cardboard but newspaper tends to wad up in balls taking forever to break down so shred and mix well.
With a lot of bedding, I'd just add leaves that have been shredded through a mower or something.
If it gets smelly, add the dry woody stuff and mix well and watch the moisture. If it's dry and not reducing, add water and mix it or turn it frequently. Really dry and not doing anything add grass clippings again mixing well.
Smells can be covered with dry woody carbon material. The more material you add after the fact the longer it will take. The dry woody material, or carbons, will take longer to breakdown. I often just cap things with grass clippings and put up with a few days stink because the grass clippings will break down fast while keeping the browns inside and undercover where they will break down better and quicker. On my slow bins on a 18 month to two year cycle, I cap with a heap of coffee grounds.
With a pickup full a large bin would probably serve you better than a simple pile or windrow. Push four pallets together with wire holding them together for a down and dirty fast and cheap bin.
It has been estimated optimal turning for fastest compost with a good mix is once every 4 - 5 days. Once a week is plenty fast. I've gotten lazy and go weeks without turning. It just takes longer is all. Turning lets you look inside and see what's happening.
Watch the moisture. Not too much and not too little.
Don't stress it if it takes a while. It will compost. I don't believe cooking compost in three weeks is realistic. If you're really working it and the mix is good count on two months. Plan on three to be a good goal.
Plan B: load it all up in a bin mixed up with additives as necessary and water it occasionally and you'll probably have something in 8 months or so doing nothing else. 6 months if built on the ground where the worms can move in and do their stuff will probably the best you can do with a no labor approach.
In the early stages, heat is a good indicator things are going your way. Read up on hot composting for more on all the ifs, ands, and buts about temperature and so on.
Don't fret, it will compost if it takes a year. Just add water and it'll make its own sauce. You can make it as labor intensive and scientific as you like or as lazy and eyeball measurement as all get out. Experiment, play around, research a little and make it work with whatever else you got going on. Composting can easily fit into your lifestyle. Oh, if you stop and go on vacation or something and the whole process just stops, it starts right up again when you get back to it.
No big deal if you don't make it one.