/ Register

  1. If this is your first time on BYC, we suggest you start with one of these three options:
    Raising Chickens Chicken Coops Join BYC
    If you're already a member of our community, click here to login & click here to learn what's new!

using chicken poop for fertilizer: considerations?

Discussion in 'Managing Your Flock' started by cimarron, Mar 27, 2009.

Most Liked Posts
  1. Mar 27, 2009 #1
    cimarron

    cimarron Chillin' With My Peeps

    194
    0
    119
    Oct 25, 2008
    Central Tejas
    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!
     
  3. Mar 27, 2009 #2
    harv681

    harv681 Out Of The Brooder

    59
    0
    29
    Aug 20, 2007
    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.
     
  5. Mar 27, 2009 #3
    cimarron

    cimarron Chillin' With My Peeps

    194
    0
    119
    Oct 25, 2008
    Central Tejas
    great will do that! we got a compost pile, will add this and wait a couple weeks. just in time for spring planting.
     
  7. Mar 27, 2009 #4
    Cetawin

    Cetawin Chicken Beader

    13,752
    56
    333
    Mar 20, 2008
    NW Kentucky
    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.
     
  9. Mar 27, 2009 #5
    patandchickens

    patandchickens Flock Mistress

    12,521
    78
    341
    Apr 20, 2007
    Ontario, Canada
    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 [​IMG]

    Have fun,

    Pat
     
  11. Mar 27, 2009 #6
    Chickenmaven

    Chickenmaven Chillin' With My Peeps

    2,064
    5
    181
    Feb 6, 2009
    Michigan
    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.
     

BackYard Chickens is proudly sponsored by