Anyone sell duck manure as fertilizer??

[jellybean]

I live in a very uppity, rich area, full of environmentalists and just people trying to be more sustainable and such. Nothing wrong with that... I'm just giving you an idea of the area I live in. I try to be more self sustainable as well. I had one of these people ask a friend how much I charged for my duck manure for fertilizer. Not even a question of WHETHER I sold it or not.... Made me think, a lot of the garden centers here sell organic steer manure and it's quite popular. I was wondering if anyone sells their duck manure? I've found it to be great on my garden, and even with a lot of if mixed in it doesn't seem to burn sprouts or full grown plants. Does anyone think it would be worth trying? How much would I charge?

I was thinking maybe of covering my pen in sand, and raking up the manure. They free range in the day, but it still leaves a lot of poo in the pen. I think that would be the only way to gather it, other than laying concrete. And sand is great for compost...... Any thoughts here? Might also be an excuse to get more ducks.....

 

[katharinad]

I think it is a great idea. I personally use pine wood shavings in the duck house and I sweep it up daily. I use it under my shrubs and anywhere I can think off. Won't run out of space with 22 acres. LOL

I would say charge 1/2 of what the stores charge. That will get the business started really quick. You will need some very heavy duty plastic bags, and I can recommend www.uline.com for that. I would suggest to build a compost heap and let it ferment/break down a little bit before bagging it. The breakdown will make it somewhat easier to usage in the garden etc.

 

[jellybean]

I haven't seen or heard of anyone selling duck or chicken manure for fertilizer so.... I would think I could charge more than for steer manure as steer manure is easy to get, it's also a lot stronger and needs to break down more. I use duck manure straight in the garden- layer it on with used bedding, etc, and till it in. Last year I put several inches of straw/ manure down in the spring and tilled it into about 12 inches of soil. Everything grew very well, I didn't do it this year due to some issues, and stuff is growing slowly.

I wonder how long it takes to completely break down, I wouldn't want to lose all the nitrogen from it before I bagged it. I'll look into it more. Might make enough money to pay for the ducks at least....

 

[katharinad]

I think it does break down rather fast, which does not mean it is gone. It's still in the soil. I see it's fast break down in the garden where I scatter it out and I don't till it under. The inground sprinklers simply wash it into the soil. The pine shavings stray behind and leave a nice little layer of mulching. The shavings do break down quickly too, because they are so thin.
Steer manure does stink a lot, while the duck poo does not. I have seen chicken manure in Germany so I know it is being sold for gardeners. Haven't seen it here. I wonder if the companies that sell garden soil get it directly from the large chicken egg farms, and that's why you don't really see it in stores. I've seen a show on "Dirty Jobs" where they were collecting the poo, and they do sell it. I guess there is a lesser supply on chicken poo compared to steer manure. I'm not sure if I would charge more for duck manure. But it all depends on the market and what buyers are willing to pay. I'm sure eco friendly people prefer to buy locally where they can see the animals producing it. Plus they like the idea of supporting the little man. You may even gain the edge, if you offer local delivery, at which point you should charge more. Perhaps you can find a small local landscaping business that would love to buy from you. You never know.

 

[Wifezilla]

I would have just made up a price on the spot! LOL

I do give poopy duck water to friends to use on their plants.

 

[ma66ie]

If I were you and if I lived in an "uppity" neighborhood.... I would put the poop in a pretty bag with a nifty catchy name on it a sell it as DESIGNER DUCKY POOH for ONLY ORGANIC GARDENS!!! and charge a butt load for it- double what you get at the store. You'll get RICH. seriously, I would do it in a heartbeat...

 

[tnchickenut]

I sell my chicken poo! We got "uppity" types retirering down here all the time. They will happily pay.

Test out your area by starting high... whatever you would think would be reasonable... double it, triple it. If it is too high, no one will buy... drop it until you get bites and keep it there.

 

[jellybean]

I know I can't call it organic or anything, they run around eating weeds and all kinds of stuff on our 20 acres. Well they don't explore the whole 20 acres. I said at the time I wasn't selling any as I had no way to gather it from the grass, dirt, rocks (our place is very rocky), etc. If I put down sand though in their pen and the place they lay right outside the pen, I could rake it up easily I think. Right now there's just no way to gather it. And maybe let it sit in piles for a bit to break down so it's easy to spread (not in chunks), but not for too long. I found this site that says the nutrient content after it's been breaking down, and before.
http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/programs/extension/publicat/wqwm/ag439_5.html

I would need more ducks, don't think I have enough to make it worthwhile. The only garden centers here are outrageously expensive on everything they sell. I mean like 200- 300% markup over home depot or such. Same with clothes, food, etc. It's just the way the area is (Sun Valley, ID). I'm positive I could sell bags of it if I had enough ducks (yayyy! excuse for more ducks!) and an easy way to rake it up. Now to get mass quantities of sand......

Would it be best bagged in plastic? Or something else? I found this site that sells it, their bags don't look plastic.
http://sonoma-county-hauling.com/products/duck-manure

 

[katharinad]

That site is using sand bags, which lets the product breath and reduce bad smell. You can sew those bags shut with a machine. I would suggest to have a pile and fill on demand rather then having bags full of it sit around. You can also offer the 5 gallon bucket load. People buy the bucket with lid and can come back buying refills. www.uline.com sell them in all kind of colors. You can get a label made up for your duck poo and stick it to the pail. I've purchased them for some work I needed and love them. Just remember to break off the tabs on the lids or you will need a tool to open them up again. The lids will still snap on without the tabs. The tabs are there for shipping liquids in the mail without the risk of opening up. They also have screw top pails. I think buyers consider that more eco friendly then bags that go into the trash.

 

[Buckguy20]

DUCK BUTTER: The Smooth Spread for Your Garden!