Re-using deep litter?

[steve hartzler]

I've just dug out decades old deep litter from one room of our two room coop. The old concrete floor had cracked enough to let a mink tunnel in, so I had to check for other cracks. Now I have a bare concrete floor in half the coop. I'll be digging out the other room on my next day off. I'm considering just shoveling the old litter into the first room, then repairing any cracks I find in the 2nd room and shoveling half of the litter back. It's basically just plain chicken poop that's old enough to vote. It'd be enough to cover both floors a few inches deep. I could also mix wood chips in from our woodshed floor, or add some old hay mulch or just plain dirt. What would you advise? Thanks!

 

[aart]

Not sure I'd vote to put 21 year old chicken poop back in the coop.

May depend on how you manage your manure and bedding.

 

[3KillerBs]

I wouldn't put old poop back into the coop.

I'd compost it and use fresh bedding to start a new batch of compost.

 

[Sequel]

It’s great fertilizer! If you don’t garden or have a lawn, bag it up in feed sacks and sell it! Good luck!

 

[blackdog043]

Put fresh bedding down and use the old stuff for plants/shrubs or in a garden, if you have one. If you don't have a use for it, sell it or give it away to people who can use it.

 

[steve hartzler]

I now have a large pile of it outside of the coop, and enough still inside the coop for maybe a 1" layer once it's spread out. I'll mix some wood chips in today. We had chickens when I was growing up, and I know the bedding in the 2nd room hadn't been changed since I was a kid. (40+ years ago.) My dad hadn't had chickens in that part of the coop for his last 20+ years, but we recently had some in there for 3 years. So it's a mix of very old and relatively fresh manure, which has now been turned. Our 2 month old chicks are going through it enthusiastically. I never expected to replace the bedding, and not planning to again. The ceiling is about 12' at the peak, so the floor won't rise too high in my lifetime.
I don't need the manure for fertilizer. I guess I'll post it in the "free" section on craigslist.