Windrow Turner: Equipment for Composting and Maturing Chicken Manure and Straw

The windrow composting turner's core innovations lie in its stratified convective turning structure and adaptive crawler drive system, which are perfectly aligned with the fermentation mechanism of chicken manure-straw mixtures. The equipment straddles windrows 2 to 4 meters wide; its staggered high-manganese steel blade assembly can reach depths of 0.6 to 1.2 meters. During turning, it swaps the anaerobic, wet manure at the bottom with the dry straw on the surface and breaks up clumps to create a porous structure. This maintains internal oxygen levels at a stable 8%–12%, preventing the foul odors (ammonia and hydrogen sulfide) associated with anaerobic fermentation. By blending straw with chicken manure—which has a naturally low carbon-to-nitrogen ratio—to achieve an optimal 25:1–30:1 ratio and controlling moisture content at 55%–65%, the machine enables the pile to heat up to 55–65°C within three days of regular turning. Sustaining this temperature for over five days ensures the thorough destruction of insect eggs and weed seeds, shortening the maturation cycle by approximately one week compared to manual turning. To address the issue of coarse straw fibers tangling around the blade shaft, the blades feature an angled, flow-splitting design. Combined with a hydraulic lifting mechanism, this allows for flexible adjustment of the turning depth and prevents clogging caused by the accumulation of wet and dry materials.
This machine offers significant advantages in site adaptability; unlike trough-style turners, it requires no dedicated concrete fermentation pits, allowing for direct windrowing on open ground and drastically reducing initial civil engineering costs. Its chevron-pattern rubber tracks increase the ground contact area—preventing sinking on soft manure-laden surfaces—while a small turning radius enables agile maneuvering in narrow aisles. Powered by a variable-frequency drive, the machine automatically adjusts travel and turning speeds based on material density, cutting energy consumption by 20% for the same processing volume. An optional synchronized spraying system allows for real-time moisture adjustment during turning, eliminating the need for a separate watering step; a single operator can manage the entire machine, and maintenance is minimal, requiring only periodic checks for blade wear. Chicken manure and straw composted by this machine achieve an organic matter degradation rate of 40%–55%; the resulting material is ideal for subsequent disc granulation, forming stable, durable pellets.

The windrow turner directly addresses industry challenges such as poor oxygenation in manure-straw windrows, site constraints, and high labor costs. Through its convective deep-turning mechanism and highly mobile design, it balances composting efficiency with production costs. It enables the on-site processing of livestock manure and crop straw into compliant organic fertilizer feedstock and is suitable for integrated crop-livestock projects of all scales, making it an essential piece of equipment for ground-based windrow composting.