chicken droppings

[rriveramri]

I need to ask if the way I am handling my chicken droppings is appropriate. I have 3 hens and I clean out their coop about once every two weeks. I take the droppings and wood shavings (About 50 / 50 ) and place them at the bottom of my fruit trees. I have been doing this for about 4 months. I can see no damage to my trees (Avocado, Apple and Nectarine) Does anyone know if I am damaging my trees?

 

[clairabean]

Probably not. Why do you do it so often?

 

[oldchickenlady]

If you put a poop board under the roost you can get by without cleaning out all the shavings so often. I have a piece of thin paneling cut about 28 inches wide installed about 12-14 inches below the roost. I sprinkle shavings on it to keep the poo from sticking and every few days I use a hoe and a 5 gallon bucket...I scrape the poo into the bucket and when the bucket gets full, I empty it onto the compost pile. Chicken manure is a little 'hot' and shavings take a long time to decompose, but if you don't over due it, I think you trees will be fine. I would not keep on putting more shavings under them, though.

 

[rriveramri]

I have a small coop and want to keep the smell down. How often would you suggest

 

[rriveramri]

I do have the shavings under the roost. I will add a board like you have suggested.

 

[DianeS]

I have three chickens, too. I got them in August, and haven't cleaned the coop out yet at all. I use pine shavings, and when stirring them up in the coop doesn't yield clean shavings from the bottom to cover enough of the poop to make me happy, then I add some DE and more shavings on top. There's no smell at all.

Smell has just as much to do with fresh air exchange than it does with bedding. And clean air is free!

 

[PepsNick]

If anything, you're fertilizing them. Only making them healthier- I use mulch for bedding, and that plus the poop makes a great fertilizer. I use it in my organic produce garden.

edited for typos

 

[Yay Chicks!]

I have 4 birds and a very small coop as well. The last time I cleaned out the entire coop was the first of September. However, daily I scoop the poop from the poop board and any big wet clumps that fell to the floor. Then I just turn over the shavings, add DE every few days to dry things out. No smell at all. Not a lot of shavings waste...unless you count what the girls kick out of the pop up door themselves!

And as long as your trees look fine, they are probably fine. I think there might be damage if you put them around softer stemmed plants.

 

[rriveramri]

Thank you for your feedback