Is it okay to apply chicken droppings directly to plants?

[bawkbawkbawk]

I keep reading how great chicken poo is as fertilizer. But yesterday I read that it's too potent to put directly onto plants.

DH doesn't want to start a compost pile because of the smell. He says that a little bit of chicken poo won't hurt the plants - which makes sense, since if they were free-ranging they'd be depositing it all over the place, right?

I've been sorting through the pine shavings each am (another definition of a crazy chicken lady) and collecting the droppings and then tossing them on different parts of our property each day. Seems a shame just to put them in the trash.

This won't kill my plants, will it?

 

[Ang]

Manure should always be composted before you use it for fertilizer. It can kill your plants because the pH is all wrong. A pile here and a pile there like happens when they free range is different than putting a lot in one area. Composting doesn't smell in my opinion.

 

[Raz'sRoost]

In small quantites chicken poo is a great fertilizer...but be very careful because you can burn your plants with too much.

Is there anyway to build a solid box or maybe get a large garbage can to make compost in? With a lid the smell wouldn't be so bad.

Good luck and be careful!

 

[hikerchick]

I have three compost bins going at once. There is no smell.

 

[ColoradoMike]

If properly managed, compost will not smell offensive, merely 'earthy'. If improperly managed, it can reek of rotting vegetation.

 

[saddina]

Chicken poo is a hot poo which means as it breaks down it can burn plants. grab a few pallets hammer together a compost bin, keep it turned, and there won't be a smell. Now neglected bins reek, so it's up to you to manage it well.

 

[patandchickens]

Of course it's fine to apply chicken droppings directly to plants -- if you don't mind some dead plant surprises. Sometimes you can get away with it, sometimes less so, sometimes not at all -- depends SO much on the particular plant, the particular soil, the time of year, the weather, and how *much* poo, that the only way to even vaguely predict what'll be ok is to have done it a whole lotta times and got the experience the hard way. It's one thing to kill a coupla impatiens plants, it's another thing to kill a five year old fruit tree that's just started bearing well, you know? Or half your veg garden.

Proper composting doesn't smell, so frankly the best think IMO would be to just compost *properly* before adding to the garden.

But, yeah, if you are very careful, in some cases you can add some fresh chicken manure directly near plants and 'get away with it'.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[AmyRey]

I bought myself one of these (being too lazy to build a compost bin myself) at Sam's for $35.

I am shocked at both how little smell there is (smells like dirt) and by how quickly my compost is breaking down. You can't find the cantaloupe and watermelon rinds we put in just two weeks ago.

Shhhhh.... don't tell my mother-in-law but she's getting one of these compost bins for Christmas.

 

[hikerchick]

Quote:
I asked my daughter for one for christmas and she refused.

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like I need to research composting.

But I remain puzzled - if free-ranging chickens is such a great thing, then aren't their droppings going to kill the plants they're coming in contact with?

I'm not putting any more of their poo on plants than they would deposit themselves were they free-ranging, which is why I thought it wouldn't be a problem.

So much to learn...