"Hot" chicken poo vs. "cold" chicken poo

max13077

Songster
12 Years
Feb 3, 2008
868
4
174
Fingerlakes Upstate, NY
I was under the impression that you needed to let chicken poo "cool" down for a season before you put it on the garden. However I was talking to my neighbor today and the topic of fertilizing the garden came up. He said he'd take some of the hot stuff I was shoveling out of the coop. I asked him if it was ok, that it wouldn't burn the plants or something. He said no, it was fine.

Is he right?
 
I think that if's it diluted with water, it's okay to use right away.

Suzy

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I have been just adding new litter to my coop all winter so I have about 8 or 12 inches of litter/poop ready to be tilled into my garden soil. I'm going to do that today or tomorrow but we can't plant anything for 6 or 8 more weeks. I plan on spreading it, then tilling it in and letting it sit for a few weeks. mmmmm, good soil.
 
I compost mine for at least 4 months before putting in the garden. This gives it time for potentially harmful bacteria to die off, and it also gives helpful microbes time to develop. Salmonella is the main worry I have with using fresh poop, although my flock is about to be tested in the NPIP.
 
I am new to gardening, but it is my understanding that fresh chicken droppings are MUCH hotter than fresh cow droppings and that fresh chicken droppings are better left to compost. There is a sister forum to this forum The Easy Garden that many of us here at BYC belong to and that topic is talked about in detail. Good luck. Whatcha plantin?
 
Fresh chicken poo mixed with bedding (common horse bedding) will be to "hot" to apply directly to the base of live growing plants. THe amount of nitrogen contained in it will leach to quickly to the roots and burn them.

But over winter and before my DH tills ive been add fresh chicken poo/beding directly to the garden because i know it will get tilled in and have a month or so to "rest" before the plants are planted.

Weather you do the above or let it compost (in a pile) first either method is preferred to taking it directly from the coupe and putting it directly under live growing plants.
 
Ok so all winter i have been puting old chicken poo and beding in the run. So we are going to put it in are garden. So if we put it in the garden grownd know will it be ok for the plants in the next month or two? And can you get sick from it?


Chicken Girl
 
Quote:
Great. That's all I need. Another cool forum.
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Heirloom tomatoes, peppers, carrots, broccoli, and because we live in Indiana, a few stalks of corn for fun.
So I think I'll be ok with mine as it's been building up in the coop all winter and I'm putting it on two months before planting. And its mixed with a lot of bedding.
 

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