Chicken poo storage

[Roasty]

I'm new to storing chicken poo, but I'm finding a lot of the information around how to store chicken poo for later composting overlapping and variable.

My question for those with experience; what would the best way to handle the current arrangement I have.

I have 4 Birds, and I want to use the chicken poo for composting in garden beds/around fruit trees, as well as potentially some liquid fertiliser.
I already have an existing batch of compost that's finished and ready to go, so I don't have room for more compost just yet.

Primarily I'm concerned with how I should start stocking up on chicken poo in preparation for the next batch of compost.

- Can it just go in a bin container and keep getting added too?

- Does it need drainage/ventilation as the liquid component evaporates?

- How long is a reasonable length of time to stop adding new poo to it before adding it to the next batch of compost?

- I've seen a few variations on how to make liquid fertiliser, but essentially to make it you place the poo in a bag to catch solid material, and place it in water aiming for a 3/1 ratio and let it sit and dissolve out over a week. Can you use fresh poo for this or does it have to dry first as well?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

I'm new to storing chicken poo, but I'm finding a lot of the information around how to store chicken poo for later composting overlapping and variable.

My question for those with experience; what would the best way to handle the current arrangement I have.

I have 4 Birds, and I want to use the chicken poo for composting in garden beds/around fruit trees, as well as potentially some liquid fertiliser.
I already have an existing batch of compost that's finished and ready to go, so I don't have room for more compost just yet.

Primarily I'm concerned with how I should start stocking up on chicken poo in preparation for the next batch of compost.

- Can it just go in a bin container and keep getting added too?

- Does it need drainage/ventilation as the liquid component evaporates?

- How long is a reasonable length of time to stop adding new poo to it before adding it to the next batch of compost?

- I've seen a few variations on how to make liquid fertiliser, but essentially to make it you place the poo in a bag to catch solid material, and place it in water aiming for a 3/1 ratio and let it sit and dissolve out over a week. Can you use fresh poo for this or does it have to dry first as well?

Thanks in advance.

How do you manage your run? Is it sand, wood chips? I use wood chips in my run, so all the poo goes into my run and the chickens do the mixing. When I'm ready to use it, Fall/Spring, I rake off the top layer and dig that beautiful black dirt out and add it to my garden. I have no knowledge on your liquid fertilizer question, but I'm sure someone will.

 

[Roasty]

I'll post a photo later but their coop is in an enclosed 10m2 wired fence, just on dirt which has some loose kitchen scraps some loose mulch and as we took up concrete to make their run.

They don't spend much time in there as they have free roam of the garden when they're awake most of the time. There's a lot of paths that makes collecting poo easy as it can just be picked up by itself.

 

[CarlaCo]

Do they poo at night in their coop? I use PDZ on a tray I made directly under their perches. Every morning, I use a scooper (I found a black one with loads of holes at the dollar store that’s perfect for this.) I scoop it into an ice cream bucket and then dump that in a metal pail that has a makeshift lid on it. ( a rubber car mat and a brick on top) when the pail is full I dump that on my compost. But my compost pile cooks all year - so no worries there.
I’m trying a new experiment. The stuff at the bottom half of the pail has already broken down, so I’m soaking it in a covered 5 gallon pail, like 1/4 poo and the rest water.
After a week or two, I plan on using the liquid watered down in my tank sprayer on my lawn. It should be high in Nitrates, which should be good grass fertilizer for the fall. I’m going to have to do some trial spots, to make sure it doesn’t burn my grass.