Can I use this past winters poo & shavings on veg garden?

[rancher hicks]

There are plenty of articles and books written on composting.

One thing one can do to help a compost pile "cook" heat up to temp. is to cover it with black plastic. It would be best to "cook" it as long as possible.

Raw manure is manure/poop that has not been composted but right after the animal has dropped it.

Also it helps to mix the manure/poop with top soil and other ingredients so it decomposes quickly.

While there are many composters a cheap way to compost is to fill double layer black plastic garbage bags and let it sit a year in the sun. It will get pretty hot and break down.

Since most of my coops and runs have wood shavings and straw or hay it can't be considered 100% poop so it works out real well.

One the other hand keep in mind Horse or Cow manure is a bigger percentage manure. Composting is very important as these can pass pathogens more often.

Some other options for chickens cleanings are working into flower garden beds (these can be direct and uncomposted) and mulch around trees and flowering shrubs. I've also suggested burning it in the fire pit or other burning pit if you don't have a use for it.

 

[gladahmae]

I used my mid-winter coop cleanout last year to mulch my garden with. I *only* mulched plants where the food wouldn't be in direct contact with the shavings/manure.....so I used it around my tomatoes. They did RIDICULOUSLY well, and I didn't have to weed them like crazy all summer. Would I use it (the litter from the coop) over my carrots or under my squash? Probably not.