using chicken poop for fertilizer: considerations?

[cimarron]

we're cleaning out the coop for the first time and want to use the poop and dirty hay for fertilizer/gardening. i'd like to use poop to make a fertlizer "tea" for watering outdoor plants, and was curious if this is a good idea, and if so how much to dilute it. same goes for putting the dirty straw on new garden plot, i think i heard you could burn veggie plants with too much of certain chickensh@#! compounds and was wondering "how to" do it so that it is most beneficial

any suggestions or techniques , i'd be much obliged!

 

[harv681]

You'd be better off composting the bedding. Hay is notorious for seeding and the poop can burn young plants due to high nitrogen. Composting takes care of both issues. If you don't have a composting set up, don't worry--you don't need anything fancy--pile the used bedding up in a corner of your yard close to the garden, moisten it, and cover it with an old tarp. Turn the pile every other day, and in about two weeks, it is ready to use.

 

[cimarron]

great will do that! we got a compost pile, will add this and wait a couple weeks. just in time for spring planting.

 

[Cetawin]

Yes, I do the same thing. Compost it first so it is not too hot. Good luck, it is a great addidtive for the garden.

 

[patandchickens]

Manure tea is best made using composted, not fresh, manure.

The safest thing, if you worry about your garden, is to compost the coop cleanings for at least a few months first. You can get away with not doing that in some circumstances, but you might find out the hard way which are/*aren't* those particular circumstances

Have fun,

Pat

 

[Chickenmaven]

I am "composting" my coop straw in my run. I shovel it out into the run and my girls continue to tear it up. I did put some on my garden many weeks ago. Here in Michigan, it won't come in contact with a plant for a couple months. Harv681 is right. You can just pile it somewhere.