how to compost chicken poop?

[antmummert]

Hello all,

What process do I need to follow to make sure my chicken manure is adequately composted to add to my veggie garden?

Thank you,

Andrea

 

[catdaddy66]

Chicken manure is some of the very best fertilizer around and will do great things in a garden. The best news is that placed in a pile of brown stuff like branches/twigs/leaves/etc., it will age and break down into useable nutrition for plants. Initially it is very concentrated and too strong to place around plants, especially young ones in a garden. Aged manure is more palatable. Compost will just happen, but you can speed up the process by turning the pile weekly and spraying with water regularly. This allows the microorganisms and larger worm/insect life to work their magic. The Deep Litter Method is used by many members here at BYC, and this involves slowly building up a deeper and deeper pile of pine shavings in the coop over several months to a depth of 8-12". The earliest litter is being composted underneath the newer layers. Awesome!!

With a little planning and effort you can use the poop of your birds to grow great plants. Remember: 30% green stuff (manure), 70% brown stuff (as above), air, water and sunshine... a few months later you get garden gold.

 

[midget_farms]

I compost mine.

Its not hard - but - there is a difference in how you manage it depending on what you have.

If its just streight poop from under the roost - it will compost fairly quickly. You do want to add grass clippings but not too much wood.

If you have all the wood chips from the floor of the coop - it takes quite a bit longer for that to break down than the poop itself.

I usually leave my pile for a winter season. - pile it up all summer & by spring its ready. That's w/o any turning.

 

[jasonm11]

Quote:
Just toss it out on the compost pile and water it in. If you need or want to use it faster make poop soup and use a miracle grow sprayer to apply with a garden hose.

 

[Laigaie]

Others here have suggested composting for 120+ days in order to "mellow" the harsh chemicals in the chicken litter.

 

[mystus808]

I think i did mine wrong because i have maggots in the poop. I get chicken skin when i see em.

 

[greenSearcher]

Keep up with the layers, water each layer as you add it. You want the pile moist, not soppy wet.

If you have open an access compost pile, let your chickens at it. The love digging for bugs. All my bins are full of composting bedding. (I have black plastic bins that hold about a cubic yard but have locking covers) I figure in about three more months I will be able to harvest the compost. In the mean time, I have a growing pile of grasses, weeds and more brooder cleanings (pine shavings & poop). Every couple days we rake it back into a pile, then the chickens get on it and spread it out feasting on the bugs, aerating everything nicely. That pile is breaking down twice as fast as the ones in their tidy containers. You won't see any maggots if the chickens get there. Yum. Treat!

It is hard to ruin a compost pile, perhaps putting grease or meat in it would stink it up. Not watering the pile enough really slows down the composting process. It is hot and dry here, so I have a problem with the edges not breaking down, so I have to turn it. If it gets too wet for too long, it will stink like a nasty sponge. Turn it and cut back on the water. If it starts stinking like ammonia, it was too much nitrogen-normally happens when too much lawn trimmings are added at once. Add more brown stuff (carbon) such as dead plants, paper, even dirt and turn. The only thing that will completely ruin a compost pile is adding plants that have been sprayed with a long lasting herbicide. I use 20% vinegar when I have to have an herbicide, otherwise the chickens take care of it. see below.
"As the garden season ramps up, we at Mother Earth News want to let you... know that you may want to screen any hay, grass clippings or compost you bring into your gardens, to assure the materials are not contaminated with persistent herbicide residues (most often clopyralid and aminopyralid). As our reports included below indicate, these chemical residues can kill plants or severely stunt their production, costing gardeners money and time."

 

[Chickenaddict]

The way I do it is put in pine shavings/chicken poop, grass clippings,dirt I rake up from the chicken run, leaves and other raked up yard debris, old veggies and eggshells, toss a little garden lime in the mix makes the pine shavings break down faster, water and turn once a week. If ya let the pile sit a year it will be good to go. I usually keep 2 big piles going, one almost ready pile, and one just starting.

 

[Akkamarie]

Seattletilth.org had some important information About composting that i found useful.

 

[shaky6]

I make a stack out of used tires, and dump my manure, some dirt, yard debris, and kitchen compost in there. Make as many stacks as you have tires. I have a half acre garden so I need much more than one of those expensive compost barrels from the farm and home store can provide. In the spring I knock over the tires, scoop up the compost, spread on the garden. I think the hobby farming hippsters call it 'repurposing' the tires. Whatever.