We have 6 chickens and are a bit clueless about composting their manure. The droppings are mixed with whole leaves and have been sitting in a trash can for about 6 months. There are some holes in the can but I am afraid not enough air/ water gets in for composting to happen. It's really smelly and looks about the same as it did in the beginning.

Could we just dump the mix and form a pile? I am willing to live with the odor for a while as long as I get some good compost from it. Would this work? Do I need to add anything else to the pile?

How long would it take to be usable in the garden? How should we compost chicken droppings from now on?

Thanks for any help!