Fresh chicken poop in my garden?

[SurferchickinSB]

I am new to chicken keeping, but have always done a lot of fruit and veggie gardening. Is it okay to bury fresh chicken poop in the garden without composting? I have been saving poop in a bucket and then just digging a hole and watering the area. I have dug it up again and it seems like it is being broken down well. Is there a reason you are suppose to compost it first? I just dig a hole in a random area where I will not plant on top for a couple months.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I think that technique is fine. However, putting it all in one hole, you are restricting its benefit to the garden as a whole.

 

[song of joy]

Chicken manure is very high in nitrogen and is likely to burn most plants if applied before it breaks down.

 

[Alaskan]

You can use it fresh... just be careful with it.

It is very high in nitrogen so can burn plants, but all of that nitrogen also washes away quickly.

If you decide to use it as a top dressing (a layer of poo and bedding, just tossed on the ground) you want to keep it right at the edge of the root zone of your garden plants... to a couple of inches from the root edges. If it is heavy in bedding and lighter in poo, you can use it as a mulch on the garden paths.

If you get the poo too close to the plant stem, and so over the root zone, you might see some browning of leaves on your plants.

Also remember that the rich fertilizer will greatly encourage leaves, but not flowers and fruit set.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

 

[boz]

I think if you build 2 x 4 box and put the chicken poop in it with your grass cutting as will as food waste but not all food waste you have to look it up on what to put in a compost pill when add food waste. then you can add it to your plants when the compost has cured out I am not sure on the time it takes i still working on that as well

 

[SurferchickinSB]

I think that technique is fine. However, putting it all in one hole, you are restricting its benefit to the garden as a whole.

Thanks for your reply. I hate poop! That's why I bury it in a hole every few days, I have 8 chickens and then just wait awhile for it to break down and then I will turn the soil and disperse it over a larger area that I will be planting in. I thought maybe there might be a reason such as killing bacteria and that is why you are suppose to have it reach a certain temp, but it seems like it is breaking down to a really nice soil.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

You can use it fresh... just be careful with it.

It is very high in nitrogen so can burn plants, but all of that nitrogen also washes away quickly.

If you decide to use it as a top dressing (a layer of poo and bedding, just tossed on the ground) you want to keep it right at the edge of the root zone of your garden plants... to a couple of inches from the root edges. If it is heavy in bedding and lighter in poo, you can use it as a mulch on the garden paths.

If you get the poo too close to the plant stem, and so over the root zone, you might see some browning of leaves on your plants.

Also remember that the rich fertilizer will greatly encourage leaves, but not flowers and fruit set.

OK, thank you. I was a little concerned about burning my trees and plants, so just burying it in different holes away from things and planning on turning the soil in a few weeks and planting in those areas later.

 

[Pater est Pullis]

I compost mine with yard waste and coop bedding.

 

[lazy gardener]

The general rule of thumb for fresh manure in garden applications is 90 days to allow any pathogens to be consumed by the "good bugs". I use a deep litter system in coop and run. When I clean litter out of the coop, it gets shoved into the run, where the chickens mix it with leaves, grass clippings and garden debris. After 3 years of management, my 500 s.f. run is finally covered with a nice soft 6" layer of deep litter. I can access this any time I want to provide compost for gardens and orchard.

Your burial system is fine. But, I suggest that you not put it in your garden unless it is buried quite a distance from any root zones. If deep litter does not appeal to you, I suggest that you do a drum composter, or build a compost bin and keep a bale of hay or straw handy so you can layer your compost as you build it. Beware, some pastures are managed with herbicides that remain potent even after the hay has been harvested, fed to the cow, passed through the cow's gut, and the resulting manure turned into compost. Unsuspecting gardeners have had their gardens ruined by using compost that is tainted with some of these newer herbicides. As for straw: most grain crops are treated with glyphosphate prior to harvest to cause all of the grains to ripen at the same time. Not something I'd want to bring onto my property. Just know where your material is sourced from, and how it's been handled!!!