Using Chicken Manure for fertilizer

[tjw0099]

Hi folks,

We have 3 Red Sexlinks and 1 White Rainbow.

Things are going fine. We are averaging 2 eggs a day, sometimes 3. We hope by the end of August we will be getting 4 eggs a day.

I have been reading about composting the manure for fertilizer.

We don't have a large garden, maybe 6 plants - tomatoes, green peppers and squash or melons.

I would like to know how the folks on here, if you compost, how you do it.

I am thinking of getting a rubbermaid large container filling it up with the manure and shavings and putting water in it reducing the nitrogen.

The water, it's been stated, can be used as liquid fertilizer as well as the remaining compost.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Tom

 

[nchls school]

Hi folks,

    We have 3 Red Sexlinks and 1 White Rainbow.

    Things are going fine.  We are averaging 2 eggs a day, sometimes 3.  We hope by the end of August we will be getting 4 eggs a day.

     I have been reading about composting the manure for fertilizer.

     We don't have a large garden, maybe 6 plants - tomatoes, green peppers and squash or melons.

     I would like to know how the folks on here, if you compost, how you do it.

     I am thinking of getting a rubbermaid large container filling it up with the manure and shavings and putting water in it reducing the nitrogen.

     The water, it's been stated, can be used as liquid fertilizer as well as the remaining compost.

     Thoughts?

     Thanks,

     Tom

I am an avid gardener and bonsai grower. I do not compost the chicken manure; simply let it dry and use sparingly. It works great as a fertilizer. I also mix the manure with water for my bonsai. It beats the commercial fertilizers. In both cases use sparingly until you learn what works. I don't measure; after awhile you just know what works.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are a lot of different ways to compost. You can make it as simple or complicated as you wish. There are some pretty good people at this on this forum on composting but this section of the sister gardening site has a lot of good information on it. Even if you don’t join and ask questions you can browse and get a lot of information.

http://www.theeasygarden.com/forums/composting-soil-building.15/

Some basics. You do not want to put fresh chicken manure on your plants. Chicken manure is pretty “hot” and can burn the plants. It’s best to compost it first. Composting is just letting it rot. Microbes eat it and turn it into a very nutrient rich dirt.

It works best if you have browns (carbon) and greens (nitrogen). Pure chicken manure is considered green. The bugs basically eat the carbon but use nitrogen for energy. For proper composting it takes both. Fresh green grass trimmings are considered greens but brown dried grass trimmings or dead leaves or bedding are considered browns. There are ideal ratios for browns and greens but just put more browns than greens and you will do OK.

You do not want the compost to be too wet. That worries me about you using a Rubbermaid container. If it is too wet anaerobic (non-oxygen breathing) microbes take over. That turns slimy, stinks, and gives you a lower quality compost. Man can that stink! You want it slightly damp so aerobic bugs do the composting for you. It needs to be able to drain.

What you are describing is compost tea. You make that with compost, not fresh manure. Fresh manure would be dangerous.

I think composting is great. Good luck!

 

[Chicken girl 15]

We have 2 separate compost boxes going. One for the chicken mess that accumulate over time and one for the typical kitchen crap. I let both sit for a year collecting mass and getting black and very non stinky. It takes time to figure out exact ratio to it all and always make sure your pile has moisture air and as Ridgerunner stared both green and brown are a must. I tried following directions for a perfect pile but that failed. Trial and error with lots of input from non professional gardener's is what I found to work best .

 

[tjw0099]

I haven't started composting yet. Apparently it needs to 'breathe' so I won't use a sealed rubber maid container. I was just going to use it 'open' so that I have a contained place for the compost to develop.

I plan to start composting within the next month.

Thanks for the input.

Tom

 

[chiques chicks]

I just throw everything in a pile, coop cleanings, garden waste, grass, leaves, etc in a pile and let it rot.

Must garden waste and kitchen scraps go to the chickens.

 

[nchls school]

I use dried chicken droppings often. It works well without the smelly compost pile; a must when you have close neighbors. However, it does need to be dried and used sparingly.

 

[lazy gardener]

Hey Tom. I'm guessing you have a fairly small yard? The folks who've replied have some excellent suggestions. I've not used dried chicken manure, or made manure tea out of it, so am intrigued with that idea. With compost, for it to work well, it needs to be at least a cubic yard. You can then just let it age. Build it this year, it should be ready to use a year later. Or if you have time and energy, you can flip your pile. A lot of people build one pile, flip it into an other bin, and start a new pile. You can make a contained pile with pallets, wire, cinder block, or any other materials that would contain about a cubic yard or more. Or you can just pile it up and let it cook. How big is your chicken run? Have they stripped all of the vegetation off it yet? If so, you could let them make compost for you. Simply put the shavings and poo that come out of the coop into the run, toss some scratch on top of it, toss in your weeds, grass clippings (only use clippings from lawns that are herbicide and pesticide free) and they will happily turn and fluff that compost, while turning the bare hard packed soil of the run into a fertile soft soil laden with healthy nutrients and life. My girls have created some awesome compost in their run since spring. Chickens need a job to do. In addition to laying eggs, they were designed to make compost!!!

 

[tjw0099]

I have 4 chickens. I spread some feed for them in the morning and a bit more in the evening. They free range in my backyard, which is 60' x 25' (appx).

I made a run for them when we go camping on the weekends.

There is a feeder and a waterer hanging in the coop. Those are monitored when we clean the coop, weekly basis.

There is water outside the coop allowing them to drink without going into the pen.

I plan on using the 'coop poop' (lol) for the compost. We have pine shavings that I will use with the compost, if that doesn't harm the process. I plan on putting some dead leaves in the compost (I have plenty on the back property) and will water it each time I add to it. Slightly wet not drenched.

I plan on turning the compost once every 3 weeks to once a month.

I don't suppose with 4 chickens that I will generate a lot of compost, but we have a very small garden - 10 plants.

We are focused on being more self sufficient and organic in our food intake and that of our animals.

I suppose I could make a compost bin with some old lumber and pallets I have. I will floor it with a tarp.

Tom

 

[chiques chicks]

For small quantities, the commercial compost tumblers make turning easy. They aren't super cheap however. I have never used one, although I have considered building one it off a 55 gallon plastic drum.