How to use Chicken droppings as fertilizer?

[festivefeet]

Hi there.

I have chicken droppings mixed with wood shavings from my coop. I am wondering how to incorporate this (or if I can) into my vegetable garden for fertilizer? How long does it have to sit? Can I put it in the soil right away? Will the woodchips decompose in the soil or will they hurt the plants? Etc.

Any thoughts?
J.

 

[Mr chicken dude]

Chicken poo is very rich in nitrogen which is AWESOME for a garden...I don't think that there is a certain amount of time it has to sit before you can put it into your garden...Whenever I'm cleaning out the coop I just put the old litter in a wheelbarrow and haul it straight to the garden or compost bin and put it down....

Collin.

 

[cindy leigh]

Chicken manure is too "hot" to apply directly to your garden. Mine is mixed with shavings, too. I compost the manure/shavings mix with shredded fall leaves and green grass clippings. You don't need a fancy composter, just make a pile about 3 feet high, and turn it every other day or so. I find the chicken manure makes the pile "cook" much faster than usual, which is great. It will heat up in the center- get very hot, even turn whitish. When it's no longer hot, and all crumbly looking, you can till into your garden or side-dress your veggies. I used mine in muck buckets, mixed with soil, and grew the best potatoes ever.

 

[ams3651]

my dad spreads it straight on his fields with no problem. some times it sits for a couple months other times it goes on after only a few days to a few weeks.

 

[cindy leigh]

due to the high nirogen in fresh chicken manure, you make get good growth of part of your crop, but not the part you want to harvest. I would not use it too fresh, nitrogen is only part of the N-P-K ratio of fertilizer. For good info on fertilizers and compost, visit organicgardening.com and read the "over the fence" board under discussions. You could spread it on your garden off-season, and till it in before planting, thus giving it time to age. I would not top-dress or side-dress active crops with hot chicken manure, though.

 

[yodercountrygirl]

We just put ours on the garden about 2 weeks ago, and when the garden drys out it will be tilled under. My inlaws have done that for 30yrs and they have a beautiful garden each year. It wont' hurt the plants that way; but it will if you put it directly by the plants. Like the other people said.

 

[sugar pants]

Resurrecting this thread with a few more questions....

Is there a risk of disease in using chicken litter as fertilizer? Obviously I watch too much House....but the episode with the boy that gets histoplamosis in his backyard because there used to be a chicken farm there years and years ago...well, it has me freaked out.