Mycologist and author Peter McCoy of RadicalMycology.com takes on the question - The question is whether or not mushrooms could be used in a brooder to help break down the wood based bedding, manure and spilled feed and maybe get a mushroom harvest. My brooder, along with others across the country are basically going to sit idle over the winter. Come late winter I go in there with some tools and clear it out. It is my least favorite day of the entire year. I'd be interested in inoculating the bedding with a mushroom and seeing what could be done. Any reduction in the amount of bedding would be a gain. If I could get some mushrooms out of it, all the better.  My thoughts were to cultivate something over the winter while the brooder is inactive and then clean it out before my first batch of broilers begins late February. Not sure if that would be a long enough time frame for mushrooms. To learn more about Peter and see all of the ASK Peter episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/peter.   Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.