Couple of questions...
1) Can I use bird dropping from seed-eating pet birds?
2) As this winter is more rainy than most, do I need to cover my outdoor compost "pile"?
Scarez, I use to use my bird and hammies and mice and piggies droppings in the roses but never touched it or grew foods with it .I did find..lots of those seed DO germinate! Yes they do ..and how! I had "weeds" in my whole front yard one year*LOL I mowed around them and let several grow I had millet spray, queen annes lace and several other herbs growing like mad. I let most of them grow about 2 feet or soand mowed only the inside, left all edges grow.sorta kept the wonderful bike, cans, bottle and junk food bag throwing children off the lawn for a while *LOL
Everyone inquired what in the world I was doing and then the big question...WHY??? then my hum.. hum.. answer...."Because I can"*LOL That is what triggered my mind in what I was growing..herbs lots of herbs and some rag weeds and other pull outs.
It was very interesting. So if anyone tells you that they do not germinate and you do not believe them put some in a pot by itself outside somewhere and see for your self! Keep it watered.
Note: mine was in lawn and we were having lots of rain early that season.
I tried it with the sunflower seeds and did get a few mini,but that was later in the season ...I tried whole sunflower seed even later, then forgot to water..it was in a pot.
I would not put my birdies stuff in my compost. Some of those seed can take 7-50 years to germinate! Don’t know which would germinate anytime before 50 years but..just read that!
I don’t think that little bit would actually make your compost a better gold..
Up to you.
That’s my story..
Sorta goes along with Crabber..cooking...must heat up, then again some seed need a cooking. depends on what you are dealing with.
As far as covering…. as Crabber said,
rain is good, I would like to add that it is wonderful that you are getting wet through and through it will freeze which means less chance of any rodent making a family in there! and you will get a wonderful breakdown come spring.
If mine dries out I try to get water to it all throughout the year I do not turn while frozen or Semi frozen) something tells me I may do harm so I let it melt or wet with warm water and wait to see if it stays defrosted and drying before I turn.
As far as Scraps you are not hoping for a compost to be cooking if you are storing the food scraps in a garbage can closed or a container of any kind closed you are simply storing for the big warm break in Spring*LOL!!! to add to the pile only if and when you have more browns.
Kale