5 Best Composted Manure Bins For Beginners That Prevent Common Issues

That pile of manure and soiled bedding behind the barn is starting to get out of hand. What started as a small mound is now attracting flies, and you’re pretty sure the neighbors are starting to notice the smell on warm days. This is a classic hobby farm problem: managing waste efficiently without creating a bigger headache. The right compost bin is your first line of defense, turning a smelly problem into a valuable resource for your garden.

Choosing a system isn’t just about storage; it’s about creating an environment for decomposition that is fast, tidy, and neighbor-friendly. For beginners, the wrong choice can lead to a soupy, stinking mess that attracts rodents and pests, making you question why you started this in the first place. We’re going to look at five solid options that help you sidestep these common issues, from simple containment to actively managed systems.

The goal here is simple: find a bin that matches the amount of waste your animals produce, fits your budget, and aligns with how much time you want to spend managing it. There’s no single perfect answer, but there is a perfect answer for your setup. Let’s break down the choices so you can get that pile under control and start making black gold for your soil.

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Choosing a Manure Bin to Avoid Pests & Odor

The two biggest complaints about a manure pile are the flies and the smell. Both are symptoms of a pile that’s out of balance, usually because it’s too wet and not getting enough air. An open, unmanaged pile becomes a breeding ground for flies and an anaerobic swamp that produces foul odors instead of rich, earthy compost.

A good compost bin directly tackles these issues through containment and aeration. A lid is the most obvious feature, keeping excess rain out and smells in. This prevents the pile from becoming a waterlogged, stinking mess. Just as important are aeration holes or a method for turning, which introduce oxygen. Oxygen is critical for the beneficial microbes that break down waste without producing nasty smells.

Think of a bin not as a garbage can, but as a tool for managing moisture and air. A sealed, contained system like a tumbler offers maximum control, virtually eliminating pests and odors. An open-slatted system like a pallet bin offers less control but massive air circulation. Your choice depends on where the bin will be located and how actively you plan to manage the contents.

Geobin Composter: A Simple, Expandable Choice

If you’re looking for a dead-simple, low-cost starting point, the Geobin is it. It’s essentially a large sheet of perforated plastic that you roll into a circle and secure with keys. There’s no base and no lid, just a wall to contain your pile. Its simplicity is its greatest strength.

The key feature of the Geobin is its adjustable capacity. You can set it up to hold 200+ gallons, making it suitable for the waste from a few goats or a small flock of chickens. As your needs change, you can easily expand or shrink it, or even buy a second one to create a multi-bin system for turning compost from one to the other. It’s a flexible solution that grows with your farm.

The tradeoff for this simplicity and low cost is a lack of advanced features. Being open-topped, it won’t keep heavy rain out, and it offers minimal defense against curious pests or rodents. You’ll want to place it away from the house and cover the top with a heavy tarp to manage moisture and deter visitors. It requires more hands-on management than a sealed bin, but it’s a massive step up from an uncontained pile.

Redmon Compost Bin for Easy, Contained Piles

The Redmon compost bin is what many people picture when they think of a backyard composter. It’s a stationary, lidded plastic bin with solid sides and a moderate capacity, typically around 65 gallons. This design offers a significant upgrade in tidiness and control compared to an open-air system.

This bin is excellent for beginners with a very small amount of manure, like from a trio of rabbits or a few backyard chickens. The lid is a game-changer; it keeps the pile from getting soaked in a downpour and traps odors effectively. Small sliding doors at the base allow you to harvest finished compost from the bottom while you continue adding fresh material to the top. It’s a self-contained, neat-looking unit that won’t be an eyesore.

The main limitation is its fixed, small size. A 65-gallon capacity fills up shockingly fast with soiled bedding from even a small chicken coop clean-out. If you have larger animals or more than a handful of birds, you will quickly overwhelm it. Consider this a great choice for managing daily waste from a couple of small animals, but not for handling a full-scale seasonal clean-out.

Envirocycle Tumbler for Quick, Tidy Composting

Compost tumblers like the Envirocycle are the cleanest, most pest-proof option available. These are sealed drums that sit on a base, allowing you to rotate the entire unit with a simple turn. This design keeps rodents, raccoons, and the family dog out of the pile completely.

The primary benefit of a tumbler is speed. By turning the drum every few days, you mix and aerate the contents perfectly, dramatically accelerating the decomposition process. Because it’s a sealed system, it’s also incredibly effective at containing odors and managing moisture. You can create finished compost in a matter of weeks instead of months, making it ideal for those who want fast results with minimal mess.

However, convenience comes at a price and a reduction in volume. Tumblers are the most expensive option per gallon of capacity, and their size is inherently limited—most are under 50 gallons. They are perfect for composting small amounts of manure from a few chickens or for kitchen scraps, but they are not practical for the volume produced by goats, sheep, or a pony. It’s a specialized tool for a small-scale, high-convenience situation.

Hot Frog Dual Chamber for Continuous Batching

The dual-chamber tumbler, like the Hot Frog model, solves a key problem with single-drum tumblers: continuous composting. With a single chamber, you have to stop adding new material to let the existing batch finish "cooking." A dual-chamber model provides two separate compartments, side-by-side.

This system allows for a seamless workflow. You fill one side with fresh manure and bedding until it’s full. Then, you let that side compost undisturbed while you start filling the second chamber. By the time the second side is full, the first side should contain finished, ready-to-use compost. This eliminates the stop-and-start cycle and ensures you always have a place for fresh waste and a supply of finished compost.

Like all tumblers, the main constraint is capacity. Even with two chambers, the total volume is often less than 50 gallons, making it suitable only for very small operations. It’s a fantastic solution for someone with a consistent but small daily output, like from a rabbitry or a small quail colony. It offers all the pest-proof, odor-free benefits of a tumbler with a much more practical workflow.

DIY Pallet System: The Ultimate Low-Cost Option

For the hobby farmer who needs serious capacity without the high cost, the DIY pallet bin is the undisputed champion. Built from free or cheap shipping pallets, this system can be scaled to handle waste from a whole herd of goats or a large flock of chickens. The classic design is a three-bin system: one for adding fresh material, one for an actively composting pile, and one for a finished, curing pile.

The construction is straightforward: stand three pallets up on their edges to form three sides of a square, and screw them together. The front can be left open or fitted with removable slats. The slatted nature of the pallets provides excellent aeration, which is crucial for large piles. This system is all about volume and airflow, the two key ingredients for composting large amounts of manure.

The downsides are aesthetics and exposure. A pallet system is functional, not beautiful, and it’s completely open to the elements. You’ll need a good tarp to cover the active pile to manage moisture. It can also be more attractive to rodents if not managed properly (i.e., turned regularly and balanced with enough carbon). It requires more physical effort to turn the pile with a pitchfork, but for sheer volume and low cost, it cannot be beaten.

Key Features: Aeration, Size, and Durability

When you’re comparing bins, don’t get lost in the marketing. Focus on three practical features that determine whether a bin will work for you or become another chore. First is aeration. A pile without oxygen will turn into a stinking, slimy mess. Look for vents, holes, slatted sides, or a tumbling mechanism—anything that helps get air into the core of the pile.

Second, and most critical, is size. Beginners almost always underestimate how much space manure and bedding take up. Before you buy, think about your largest clean-out. Can the bin handle the entire contents of your chicken coop after a winter of deep litter? A bin that’s too small is constantly overflowing and completely defeats the purpose. It’s better to have a bin that’s slightly too big than one that’s too small.

Finally, consider durability. Compost is heavy, wet, and acidic. A flimsy bin made of thin, untreated plastic will warp and crack under the sun and the weight. Look for thick, UV-stabilized plastic for manufactured bins. For DIY options, use untreated hardwood pallets if you can find them, as they’ll last much longer than pine. Your bin needs to withstand weather, weight, and the occasional whack from a pitchfork.

Manure Composting Bins: Frequently Asked Questions

A common question is, "Do I just add manure to the bin?" The answer is a firm no. Manure is very high in nitrogen (a "green" material). To avoid a smelly mess and create balanced compost, you must add high-carbon "brown" materials. The most convenient source is right in your barn: straw, pine shavings, or sawdust bedding. Aim for a mix that looks roughly balanced between the manure and the bedding.

"How often do I need to turn the pile?" This depends entirely on your goals and your system. In a tumbler designed for speed, you’ll turn it every two to three days. In a large pallet system, turning it with a pitchfork once every couple of weeks is plenty to keep it aerated. If you’re not in a hurry, you can get away with turning it even less. The key is that turning introduces oxygen, which speeds up decomposition and prevents odors.

"Can I compost waste from my dog or cat?" It’s strongly recommended that you do not. Manure from herbivores (cows, goats, rabbits) and poultry is great for garden compost. Waste from carnivores and omnivores like dogs, cats, and even pigs can contain harmful pathogens and parasites that may not be killed by the temperatures reached in a typical home compost pile. Stick to livestock manure to keep your garden soil and produce safe.

Ultimately, the best manure bin is the one that gets used. Don’t chase a perfect, theoretical system. Instead, pick the one that realistically fits your space, your budget, and the number of animals you have right now. Whether it’s a tidy tumbler by the back door or a sprawling pallet system behind the woodshed, the right bin transforms a daily chore into one of the most productive cycles on your farm. It closes the loop, turning waste into the very thing that will make next year’s garden thrive.