More than likely something ate the chicken bones. A couple of seasons isn't long in terms of breaking down bone.

Duly noted. I guess they just blend in too well with the tree trimmings. The chicken party was a foot under and I had pile of logs on over the winter to keep any varmits at bay.

i need to get get some Starbucks coffee grounds to help cook the wood stuff

It 's been two years since neighbor's cat decided RIP under our deck. Her skull and vertebras and other bones still lay there. I just wonder why neither dogs nor other night creatures did not take them anywhere while they had flesh.

Corollary to your ORANGES comment: It's never a good idea to pierce rotten eggs with a pitchfork.

I like things to compost within 6-12 months, so things like bones, coconut shells, etc I won't throw in. Even egg shells, I try to avoid that, even though many people suggest adding egg shells to the soil.

When you go to use the compost... you still end up with unfinished material that you screen out though right? Do you have a three bin system?

Eggshells go better if you crush them in your hand before tossing in the kitchen bucket. Once the membrane decays you are left with small pieces of shell which are less noticeable. I've stopped putting any eggshells in as my pH is neutral already and soluble Ca very high, so the soil doesn't need them.

My soil is alkaline, so don't ask me how that whole chicken egg ended up in the composter. Maybe I was overzealous when cleaning out the back of the fridge? In any event, I wasn't expecting an egg to be lying in wait while I turned the pile. Over the months it had acquired a substantial level of internal pressure, so when the tine pierced it at the perfect angle, it gave a whole new meaning to "egg on my face".

Oh, the humanity!

Reminds me of the time I boiled some eggs and they were underdone. I decided to try microwaving one for 30 seconds to finish cooking it. What's the harm, right? Took it out of the microwave - boy was it hot! I used an oven mitt. Held it in one hand and tapped it with the edge of a spoon to crack it. It exploded right in my face, hurling superheated egg innards and shell shrapnel everywhere as it scalded my face briefly in a Big Bang-type expanding cloud of superheated egg steam.

You only do that once.

Irving.... That sounces horrible. I can't imagine rotten egg smell..

Tox.... You are Wrong.... You should do that again.... Just record it.

What if that egg was laid by some kind of a wild creature, a snake, or a turtle, or a lizard.... They like compost piles for this purpose.

avgusta: I suppose it's possible. Skinks have access to the pile via air holes, but don't reptilian eggs have a squeezable/spongy consistency? This time bomb was brittle and its contents sizable (as least subjectively). Once in a while a neighbor's layers will escape their backyard, but how does a chicken egg get laid in a lidded composter? I'm more inclined to attribute the egg's presence to my better half. Since that's not cool, I'll take the blame myself.

Few (if any) wild critters would lay an egg the size of a chicken egg. Ducks and geese, but a snake/lizard/etc. would have much smaller eggs.

I had a snake nest at my country place last year. Little hole in the ground about 4" deep with white bits scattered around it. They had hatched and slithered away, leaving the thin flexible leathery shells behind. Kinda looked like Ping-Pong ball material only not as brittle. Snakes are cool. We have a bunch of different ones out there in our oak and hickory woods, none of them venomous. I always say hello and watch them do their thing.