I know this may seem like a stupid question, but I have lots of friends/neighbors telling me I'm lucky to have chicken poo to use as fertilizer. But I've also been told that I need to compost it or process it first because it can be too strong for the garden "as is". We don't compost, so wondered how to prepare it to use as a fertilizer. Usually when I clean out the coop it is mixed with some pine shavings, and I collect it in a covered plastic bucket. Thanks for any suggestions.
Composting it is the best way. You might go to the sister site The EasyGarden and ask over there. They have a whole section on composting. http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/viewforum.php?id=36
POO IS FERTLIZER! you need to limit the amount you apply to garden so that it wont burn your vegetables. Poo is high in nitrogin and that is what burns your vegetables if you age it for a year it wont be so hot and wont burn your vegetables. Onions can take fresh poo and some other vegetables if you don't put on to much. some people compost the poo by one layer of poo and then a layer of grass, hay or some vegetable matter. so on until you have a fair size pile which you rake and turn once in a while until it stops heating up then it can be put on the garden.since you don't compost just age it for awhile and you should be fine. a little dab will do. My sister got 2 truck loads of turkey poo out of a turkey house a year ago, which is always mixed with saw dust. they apllied 2 truck loads to their garden with me yelling no no. she didn't belive me. they never grew a thing last year after the 2 loads of poo it lay there 1 year and she has the greatest garden this year you ever would hope to see. so use small amounts while fresh and age the rest a year and you will have better fertize than money can buy.
Start some composting bins. I use pallets lined with burlap; three or four of them, and keep one empty. Put some old moldy hay on the bottom, a layer of chicken poop and shavings with the majority of chicken poop, a layer of green stuff, trimmings, grass and the like, then some more brown matter like more moldy hay and make layers. Then wet it down well. It needs to have the constant moisture content of a damp sponge. In dry climates like mine, I have to water it at least once a week for a three foot deep compost pile. Turn it over at least once a week. This is my purpose of the empty bin. I just rotate things in and around. If your pile smells strongly ammonia, you'll need more brown matter and more turning. Turning keeps it aerated for the microbes. Anaerobes in a compost pile smell like ammonia. Compost is about ready to use when the red worms appear and are active and the content is dark and smells like loam; a wet forest floor. A word of warning: If you use petro-chemicals and/or herbicides like Weed and Feed on your lawn don't put grass clippings in the compost bin. Also if you're watering it with treated water, it would be best to put the water in a bucket for 24 hours to let the chlorine and other chemicals settle. They can kill some of the microbes. The best thing that happened to my composting piles was when I got irrigation water. Or you can make poop tea by putting some poop in a bucket of water, letting it sit a day and then pouring it on the piles. You'll love making your own fertilizer and your plants will thank you for it. Good luck, Mary
I just mulched my raised beds with the dirty bedding from my hen house. AS I water the vegetable, the poop slowly fertilizes the veggies. They look great!!
