Is chicken manure safe ?

SA gardener

Songster
May 23, 2020
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Johannesburg, South Africa
Chicken manure is a good source of nitrogen for plants in the garden. It also has reasonable amounts of potassium and phosphorus.
But it is too strong in its raw form and must be composted first for the nutrients to be in a safe form and concentration for plants to benefit.
Another consideration is the bacteria that reside in it. Amongst the thousands of types only a handful or so can cause serious illness. These bacteria include pathogenic strains of Salmonella and E.coli
Taking this into account simply composting the manure is not enough.
Hot composting is required to reduce the concentration of these bacteria to low levels. Many sources say 9-12 months of composting is required

Does anybody have experience composting chicken manure using the Berkeley method which is a hot composting method that takes 18 days, at least 16 days of which the compost pile will be between 45 and 60 degrees Celsius ? 9- 12 months of composting is a long time to wait , and is not practical for most people considering that you would have to have multiple piles of compost all composting at once.
 
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In theory, hot composting like the Berkeley method should kill all the pathogens. Make sure you get a good compost thermometer and check the temp level in your pile.

For me, I have in the past just collected the chicken manure and litter and dumped it on to the garden in the fall, let it winter over, and then plant my garden in the spring. But I live in northern Minnesota so the chicken manure sits out in the garden for about 6-7 months before I plant in the spring.
 

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