Duck poop!

[rubberduckies]

Ok, so... Is it just me or is composting complicated? Lol. I know duck poop is good for compost but I'm not sure I'll ever understand how it's done.

But I was thinking... If I have it why not use it. So here's my questions... When my ducks poop in their pool can I poor that directly onto my vegetables as water/fertilizer? I know some poop is to acidic for that. But is duck poop ok? And is it safe for root vegetables also?

Right now I'm using pine shavings for bedding. I don't think I'll ever do the deep litter method. When I clean out the shavings can I put those around my bushes and trees as mulch/fertilizer? Or will that cause the plants to have a nitrogen deficiency while the shavings are breaking down?

I wouldn't mind composting it but... Unless someone can explain it to me SIMPLY I don't get it. There are so many different types of compost and so many different ratios of nitrogen and carbon and whatever. It's all so confusing.

 

[Kevin565]

I've always directly poured dirty kiddie pool water onto my flowers but I'm not sure how safe it would be for vegetables.

 

[billw]

Usually, there is not a lot of poop in pond water. I use duck pond water to on all my seedlings in the greenhouse.

For more concentrated fertilizer, I use duck manure tea. Put ~1 lb of duck poop in 2.5 gallons of water. I put 20lb of duck manure in an old pillow case and then sink that into a garbage can containing 50 gallons of water. Leave uncovered outside for two weeks when temps are above 55*F and you have manure tea ready to use in the garden.

As for composting, if you have a contained duck yard, you can let them do the work for you. I did a post on that recently:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...erent-way-to-look-at-duck-living-arrangements

 

[rubberduckies]

Hmm. That sounds easy. So when I clean out their house I scoop out the poop and put it in the pillow case and when it's full enough put it in the water? I don't do anything to the poop first?

I'm building a movable duck yard. Kind of like a chicken tractor but bigger. They can do their thing in one spot and then I'll move them to another. It will be a while before they're big enough (and its warm enough) for them to go outside. I'll have a container garden this year. I'd love to use their poop as fertilizer. So is this poop tea ok to use on vegetables that I'll be eating? What about root vegetables (I plan to grow carrots and maybe potatoes).

 

[rubberduckies]

Just checked out the thread you linked here. That's a great idea. I don't think that will work for me though. Their enclosure will be moved around a lot. I've heard of the deep litter method but I don't think I'll be doing that. If I put the old poopy bedding in a compost pile what else would I need to add? And will sweet PDZ or DE stop it from breaking down? Like if I added a little when I put new bedding in the house. I've been thinking of using PDZ. I'm still don't know much about DE.

 

[Mi Ranchito]

Greetings from San Antonio. I have a small pond for my Muscovies. About once a week, I use the pond water to water all of my plants, trees and even the grass in my backyard. It is certainly rich in nutrients. I refill the pond with fresh water weekly, while I clean the filters and do basic pond maintenance. I tend to move the litter in their coop around more than take it out daily. About every two weeks, most of it up and throw it into my compost. I turn the dirt and mix everything well, wet it down and that's it. In the spring, I use it to plant new plants, fertilize my trees and shrubs. Everything seems to be working out just fine. Good luck to you.

 

[Amiga]

Ok, so... Is it just me or is composting complicated? Lol. I know duck poop is good for compost but I'm not sure I'll ever understand how it's done.

But I was thinking... If I have it why not use it. So here's my questions... When my ducks poop in their pool can I poor that directly onto my vegetables as water/fertilizer? I know some poop is to acidic for that. But is duck poop ok? And is it safe for root vegetables also?

Right now I'm using pine shavings for bedding. I don't think I'll ever do the deep litter method. When I clean out the shavings can I put those around my bushes and trees as mulch/fertilizer? Or will that cause the plants to have a nitrogen deficiency while the shavings are breaking down?

I wouldn't mind composting it but... Unless someone can explain it to me SIMPLY I don't get it. There are so many different types of compost and so many different ratios of nitrogen and carbon and whatever. It's all so confusing.

Duck pool water is fine in the garden with this reminder: you don't want to eat uncooked, unwashed vegetables if there's poo splash on them. There are some recommended wait times between the last dose of manure and harvest.

The shavings will be fine around bushes and trees as long as you don't turn them into the soil where the roots are. That's what causes trouble. Shavings are high carbon, and the microbes that break carbon down need all the nitrogen they can grab from the immediate area.

You can get really particular with your compost recipe, or you can just put shavings, poop, egg shells, non-meat kitchen scraps, leaves, etc. in a pile and let nature take its course. You can optimize compost and it will happen faster, or you can just use what you have and let it take its own time.

 

[billw]

Duck manure should make your composting easier. You need a roughly equal mix of things that are high in carbon and things that are high in nitrogen. For most people, it is pretty easy to get the high carbon materials - most of your waste vegetable matter. Layer the high nitrogen duck manure in with that and keep it moist and you should have pretty good compost. You can make it a lot more complicated than that, but if you aren't in a hurry, it should work just fine.

 

[Amiga]

Duck poop really improves the speed of composting for my piles, and the tea I make with it has some great results with my plants.

 

[rubberduckies]

billw, that seems simple enough. Pine shavings are carbon, right? So I should try to add equal parts pine shavings and duck poop? What if I have more shavings than poop? I know, I know. You think I'm crazy for even suggesting that. But their house will be cleaned often. I'm not doing the deep litter method and I don't want them having to sleep in too much of their own poop. IF I do t have enough poop, what else could I add?