What to do with poop. Is it toxic to the environment/me?

[motorboat]

Animal feces can be a big problem in farming communities with the waste getting into local water supplies. I collect my chicken poop on a poop board under the roost and put it in a bucket. After my garden was done for the year I took a couple of 5 lb buckets that were nearly full and spread it in the garden then tilled over the whole thing with a tractor.

Now I'm wondering if that was a good idea.

If not what can I do with all the poop?

 

[tcstoehr]

I can't possibly see a problem with that. That amount worked into your soil will be processed by the soil fungus and bacteria in no time. I can't think of a better way to get rid of it.

 

[scooter147]

That is exactly what I do with mine this time of year. And once the flower beds get bitten by the first frost some poop will go on that at well.
In the spring and summer I take the poop from the roost boards and simple take it into the woods and spread it around. If this is not possible simple put in garbage bag and throw away or a start a compost

 

[appps]

I'm not sure I follow why it wouldn't be a good idea? Or what it's going to do to be bad.

We have been using manure to fertilise plants for 1000's of years, hasn't killed us yet.

 

[ClockRoach]

Chicken feces aren't nearly as dangerous a disease vector as, say, dog feces. You can use them directly on gardens as fertilizer without worrying about any sort of groundwater contamination. It's still a good idea to avoid using them directly on plants that you intend to eat, though.

Your best bet is to compost them. Mix in things like pine bedding, fallen leaves, kitchen waste that you're not feeding them (just not meat or oily waste), coffee grounds, etc, and let that stew for a while. Keep it aerated and mixed and before long you'll have compost that's perfectly safe to use anywhere in your garden.

 

[motorboat]

I was concerned because I saw a show on PBS about antibiotics, animal waste, the environment and it just got me to thinking if what I was doing was actually ok for me, my home and the environment. I put it in 5 gallon buckets and let it sit under an outside table. I guess I'll throw some leaves and such with a little water and let it stew over the winter months.

 

[scooter147]

I was concerned because I saw a show on PBS about antibiotics, animal waste, the environment and it just got me to thinking if what I was doing was actually ok for me, my home and the environment. I put it in 5 gallon buckets and let it sit under an outside table. I guess I'll throw some leaves and such with a little water and let it stew over the winter months.

My guess is (didn't see the show) they were probably talking more about commercial farms then small backyard set ups.

 

[Just sayin]

The local hay farmers spray about 4 inches of chicken poop slurry from the big chicken farms on the fields every spring. It's a great fertilizer. I'll be putting coop cleanings in our garden over winter... along with other composted poo from our other farm critters.

 

[Mtn Laurel]

Chicken poop is the #2 [no pun intended] reason I wanted chickens, with eggs being reason #1.

Composted chicken manure in your soil makes for a fantastic garden come spring. You don't need to worry about antibiotics if you're not feeding your chicken antibiotics. I put all chicken litter and manure in a compost bin, let it age a bit, then add it to the soil in the spring before planting.

Your garden will love you for it!

 

[islandgirl82]

Chicken poop is the #2 [no pun intended] reason I wanted chickens, with eggs being reason #1.

Composted chicken manure in your soil makes for a fantastic garden come spring. You don't need to worry about antibiotics if you're not feeding your chicken antibiotics. I put all chicken litter and manure in a compost bin, let it age a bit, then add it to the soil in the spring before planting.

Your garden will love you for it!

Exactly!

My flock free ranges and their favorite areas around the yard/lawn are far more lush than the areas they avoid (not enough cover from aerial predators for their liking). My neighbor who has a few decades of gardening experience on me uses chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Every time she comes over and sees my flower beds (my flock has full access) she's in awe at how full everything has grown in since I moved in. I keep telling her it's because the girls help me fertilize, weed, aerate and are also my pest control.

The coop cleanings go into the compost for use in my potted plants and veg beds once it's had time to break down (which takes hardly any time at all if you tend it). I feed non-medicated, organic feed (which I've been fermenting) and I currently only have a flock of 7 birds so there's no worry of contaminating water supplies and I have to agree with scooter147 about it likely being in reference to commercial poultry farms.