Brooder waste for garden beds?

[gizzyntaz]

Hi, I'm new to chicken keeping, and only have a few years of gardening experience. I've been tossing my brooder waste (pine shavings based) in the coop (planning to use DLM) but now that the chicks are out there most of the day, I'm thinking about amending my garden beds with the rest of the waste this fall. I won't be planting them until next spring. I know that chicken manure is considered hot, but if a small amount is added to the beds now, should it be okay by spring? Thanks!

 

[Free Spirit]

Absolutely. It will break down over the winter and be safe to plant in the spring.

 

[gizzyntaz]

Thank you!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yep, clean it out in the fall and put it on the garden, plant in the spring. That’s the traditional way to do it.

 

[lazy gardener]

If it's light on the poop and heavy on the shavings, you may actually have issues with it having low pH, and robbing nitrogen. But if it's real poopy, that's good.