Duckweed fertilized with manure

I have been feeding chickens duckweed fertilized with nightsoil (mine).

What kind of symptoms or diseases could a chicken get from eating doodie?

Has anyone tried fertilizing this stuff with chicken manure? I don't plan to do that because it seems riskier, but they might get their poop in it... and I'm curious.

The chickens have available grass, chick starter, slightly spoiled kitchen scraps (potato salad, lasagna, hummus, etc), various weeds, and juniper soil. All of these foods they like but they will rather eat handfuls of duckweed most of the time. The only things they seem to like more are meat or maybe cut corn and brown/wild rice.

They were eating so much of it I figured I had better not let them eat out of the little tub ponds so now I leave it in fresh water for a day before feeding it to them.

I don't know what duckweed is. But I will say, I would not feed my chickens any rotten food. Any kind of toxins from mold can be deadly. Here is a thread on botulism that may interest you ...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=219553

Duckweed is a tiny floating pond plant. It's very invasive and we have it here on our property. When we got our duck we scooped out a little and now it's growing near the chicken coop so they can eat it.

I would caution using human feces or any other feces for that matter to grow anything that will be fed to animals/poultry. This is the reason so many people are dying from E.Coli infections after eating contaminated lettuce/spinach. My small experimental duckweed is actually growing in a very old satellite dish that we put in the ground as a pond for the baby ducklings we were hoping to have. I put in some water iris I had from my other water gardens and I have 4 pots in there. The nutrients from the soil in the pots and the tadpoles is what's feeding the duckweed along with anything the drake mallard is leaving behind after his rare baths in there. Nature will break down what little is being left in there and feeding the duckweed in return so there's no need to add anything else.

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Glad your hen recovered. It is kind of a long thread though. Is there something about spoiled food in there?

The food is barely spoiled, and was frozen when I realized this. The somewhat more spoiled food is composted and/or fed to redworms. I suppose I could feed them less until I research this some more. They won't be happy about this however.

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Duckweed is perhaps the most efficient way to convert nitrogen (poop is full of nitrogen) into protein. It can double its weight in 48 hours. It is used on large-scale industrial sewage treatment because the things it uses to grow, would otherwise be pollutants. It is (at least in some ways) a higher quality protein then soybean.

http://www.mobot.org/jwcross/duckweed/practical_duckweed.htm

"Duckweed grown on sewage or animal wastes normally does not contain toxic pollutants and can be fed to fish or to livestock, or spread on farmland as a fertilizer. If the duckweed is to be fed to animals, a retention period in clean water will be necessary to ensure that the biomass is free of water-borne pathogens. "

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You are using duck and fish manure... although not very much.

If I had the E.Coli that kills people (O157) wouldn't I have some symptoms like blood in the stool? I guess it can come from flies also. https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/E._coli_O157
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http://www.mobot.org/jwcross/duckweed/practical_duckweed.htm
"Fueling the rapid growth of duckweeds requires substantial amounts of nutrients."

The protein content and the speed that duckweed grows, varies quite a bit. Of course you wouldn't want to create an unhealthy pond just to grow duckweed faster. But I may have over-fertilized or something although I have only done it a few times in the past year or so. Today I noticed that it seemed to be growing faster in the fresh-water tubs. The fertilized tubs are full of swampy black mud. After the very first fertilization, it took off like mad, but with the last one, it is difficult to say because I have harvested quite a bit of it. I don't think it is growing as fast, however. I should probably get on the rubber gloves and clean out these tubs. Ugg.

The video was very touching. You are the typical American family that makes America such a great and good nation. I am so sorry you lost your son but he seemed like a man with a very happy life and being a Ranger was probably a lot of what made him happy. I'm sure he joined the military knowing that he might have to give up his life and he was willing. I am so proud that we have young men willing to die to keep America free. Our country is off track right now and I am sure it is making him grieve for it even in heaven. We need to pray for God's guidance in these days that it looks as if our country is becoming Sodom and Gomorrah.
I am wondering how his children are doing since they lost their father. He seems to be such a loving, funny, kind man that has left a huge lonely place in all your lives. I know what that feels like.
God bless your family and keep you safe until you can see him again.

Jane
the proud owner of two Dominique hens since yesterday and they have thanked me with two eggs today