Manure

[Shannon_87]

What do I do with all the chicken manure from the coop if I don’t need compost? I don’t have a garden. I have 3 acres. Just been putting it in a pile in a corner of my property.

 

[addctd2plnts]

Layer it with layers of grass clippings, shredded leaves, pulled weeds, and make a marvelous compost pile. We have horses and ducks, and after a year, we use the compost in the garden, or as mulch around the plants. It's worth its weight in GOLD!

 

[RoyalChick]

Layer it with layers of grass clippings, shredded leaves, pulled weeds, and make a marvelous compost pile. We have horses and ducks, and after a year, we use the compost in the garden, or as mulch around the plants. It's worth its weight in GOLD!

Yes! A 25lb bag is available on Amazon for $26. Admittedly that is certified organic.
A farm near me sells it by the bucket (bring your own bucket). I don't remember the price of that as I have plenty from my own chickens.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Do you have any neighbors, friends, family nearby that garden? I used to bring some to my mother in law for her compost pile.

 

[Percheron chick]

If you have 3 acres you have way too many uses for chicken manure. Lawn, trees, shrubs, flower beds, pasture... All need their nutrients replenished. Having it sit in a pile and mellow is perfect. Use it!

 

[aart]

Do you have any neighbors, friends, family nearby that garden?

This is what I do, for 9 years now.
I fill kitty litter buckets from my cleaning of the poop boards and deliver them 3 at a time,
they empty, hose out, and return buckets.

 

[NatJ]

What do I do with all the chicken manure from the coop if I don’t need compost? I don’t have a garden. I have 3 acres. Just been putting it in a pile in a corner of my property.

You could do "sheet composting." That basically means to spread it on the ground and leave it to decompose No piling, no turning, no need to add other ingredients.

If you want it to just "go away" so you don't have to think about it, that's probably the easiest way.

A pile or thick layer kills everything underneath. A thin layer lets trees or grass or other plants keep growing, and they will probably grow even better because of the fertility it provides. Earthworms and other natural causes will eventually work it into the soil. Just spread it in another spot each time, so you don't overwhelm one area. (You can spread it next to the previous spot, but don't keep piling it deeper and deeper in one place unless you want a semi-permanent pile.)

 

[Shannon_87]

If you have 3 acres you have way too many uses for chicken manure. Lawn, trees, shrubs, flower beds, pasture... All need their nutrients replenished. Having it sit in a pile and mellow is perfect. Use it!

Okay thank you! How long does it need to sit in a pile before I can use it?

 

[Boise-girls]

Regarding sheet or pile composting - I think you'd want to cover the manure with a carbon of some sort (dried leaves, wood chips) to keep flies away.

 

[Percheron chick]

Holding it for 2+ months would be ideal. I'm in the "don't make my life any more complicated" camp and go directly to the pasture. Horse not chicken manure. Chicken is too valuable for the garden come fall. It gets spread as thin as possible preferably before a rain or snow and it will melt into the ground. If your ground is N deficient, you will have bright green patches where the manure is spread after a rain. Rake it out in the drip line of trees leaving about 3' from the trunk. Has helped my pine trees with drought stress.