Our girls are 1 month old now and i'm getting ready to change the bedding again. They have produced a tidy amount of manure for us to use in the garden later on. I know I can compost the manure along with the pine shavings, but i'd like to separate the good stuff from the shavings and toss the shavings in the compost pile. I have an idea or two on how to separate them, but I wondered if anyone has any tried-and-true methods to get the job done. Picking the poop out piece by piece isn't an option i'm considering.
I just send it all to the compost pile. Once they go to the coop, I'll put it all into the run until it is composted down and then toss it in the pile again, or into the garden.
I'm just composting mine for a few months, then putting it around my plants (side dressing) under the black plastic I have laid down. Cooks real quick under that plastic sheeting. Of course it is aged a bit before it goes on the rows. I just fold the plastic to one side and scatter the good stuff about 6-8" away from the bases of my plants, then fold the plastic back over it. My girls aren't that old yet, so its just coming in dribs & drops at the moment. My mators are super lush looking, if that counts for anything
The obvious way would be to try to sift it through a screen that allows shavings to pass but not chicken manure. That has it's difficulties though and you will miss plenty. There is a way to clean horse stalls that involves tossing the bedding + manure against a stall wall. The shavings and manure being different weights and density will bounce off and fall differently if thrown at the right angle. The shavings pile up and the manure rolls off. Dunno if you can use gravity to seperate chicken manure and shavings or not.
You COULD put moderate amounts of the poo and pine shavings in 5 gallon buckets, fill with water, and let steep (like poo tea!) for a while in the sun. Most shavings will float. You can scoop them off and you will be left with a very desirable liquid fertilizer you can ladle directly where you want it! BRILLIANT!!
Dissolving the manure in water and using the tea is what my Granddad used to do, and he had the BEST garden in the world!
I was always told to let any fresh manure sit in the compost for at least 6 months so any bad bacteria would die, and it would then be safe to use on plants. I am sure this isn't always done, but I plan to let mine site in the compost for the year then dump it into the garden dirt to winter over. sometimes fresh manure can burn tender plants because of the high amount of nitrogen (I think that's the one) anyways, I am going to play it safe. to each their own...but love the instant compost additive!
I've always just put in straight on the garden even though I've always heard to compost it first. I just wanted to try it and see what happens. I put it down the sides of the rows where you walk. It really helps keep the weeds down, and the parts of the garden that got it last year seemed to go crazy! I think I had some tomato trees somehow! I could be wrong though.
There is no bad bacteria in manure when we are talking about gardens. The reason you let it sit and compost for so long is because it's "hot". The high nitrogen content and low ph will burn plants if it's used directly in too high of concentration. The hotter the composting item the more it needs diluted or composted to be safe. Your method of composting determines how long it takes. Some with very efficient composting setups can completely break down shavings and manure in a month. Some with less efficient methods like just pile it and ignore it will need to leave it closer to a year.