Chicken manure can be looked at two different ways. You can think of it as a burden or a blessing. I choose to think of it as a blessing because I recycle chicken manure.
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Recycle all of that chicken manure!
If you have chickens, like we do, then you’re well aware that they create a lot of poop. This means that several times a year you have to find something to do with that poop. Don’t think you need to throw it away!
One average sized hen will make around 50 pounds of poop in a year. We currently have 18 hens on our place. So we should have around 900 pounds of manure per year. To say that’s a lot would be an understatement.
Meat chickens produce even more poop than egg laying chickens. If you raise meat chickens, you’ll definitely want to recycle chicken manure.
Cleaning the coop out several times a year can be a chore. Especially when there is that much poop to clean out. If you think that I scoop all of that poop and let it sit around or throw it away, you’re mistaken.
Chicken manure is golden garden fertilizer.
That’s right. Chicken poop, or if you’re looking for a more endearing term, chicken litter, is extremely high in nutrients that plants need.
If you have pigs, you may want to think twice before recycling pig manure. Proper pig manure management is a little different than recycling chicken manure.
Poultry manure contains all of the nutrients that plants need to grow, develop and produce bountiful yields. Chicken manure contains nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, manganese, copper, zinc, chlorine, boron, iron, and molybdenum.
What’s makes this even more awesome? If you already have chickens, you’re basically getting super rich fertilizer… for free!
Science Daily published an article that shows chicken manure has more benefits over conventional fertilizers than most people thought.
One of the main nutrients that plants need it nitrogen.
Nitrogen is a major component of the chemical chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is the chemical in plants that capture sunlight so that the plant can perform photosynthesis.
Nitrogen is also responsible for creating many of the structures in plants. To put it short, plants need nitrogen for proper growth, development and reproduction.
Guess what is high in nitrogen?
Recycled chicken manure!
Chicken poop is extremely high in nitrogen. In fact, compared to other types of manure, chicken poop has one of the highest levels of nitrogen. A word of caution though, chicken poop is so high in fertilizer that when it is fresh, it can create “hot” soil.
Chicken poop needs to compost before being added to garden soil. If not, the nitrogen may burn plants that are in the soil. Hence the term “hot” soil. Depending on the composting method, the nitrogen will be broken down enough to use in your garden in as little as a month.
Chicken manure is also very high in phosphorus.
Noble Research Institute says that poultry litter makes an excellent addition to nitrogen fertilizer as it it is high in phosphorus.
Phosphorus impacts root development, flower formation, seed production, pest resistance and overall crop yields. Phosphorus is extremely important in plants that are being used to yield food. Plants that don’t have enough phosphorus will become sick or stunted. Unfortunately, these plants may not give any outward signs that there is a problem until it is too late.
Luckily, if you have chicken poop, you won’t have to worry about having enough phosphorus in your soil. As I mentioned, chicken poop is quite high in phosphorus so you won’t run into any deficiencies.
Since phosphorus is vital in root development, it is a good idea to incorporate the poop into the soil so that it can have better contact with the root system.
You can do this by tilling the manure into the soil.
Potassium is extremely important in healthy plant production.
It has been proven to help plants to grow faster and stronger. Increased potassium also helps plants fight off disease and pests as well as be more drought resistant.
Potassium is a component in many of the plant processes. This means that to reach its crop producing potential, plants need adequate potassium.
To get the most out of your chicken manure, it is best to compost it.
You can easily do this by piling the manure up in a compost heap. It is important that the manure be covered with a tarp or kept in an enclosed container. This keeps the nitrogen from leaving the manure. It also prevents rain from creating polluted run off from the manure pile.
Recycle Chicken Manure- Collecting It
I currently use a deep litter system in our chicken coop. A deep litter system basically means that instead of stripping your coop each time is gets nasty, you add bedding to it.
Deep litter systems begin the decomposing process. Rather than stripping the coop say, once a month, you strip it maybe once or twice per year.
If you want to read more about the deep litter method, Mother Earth News has a great article about how the deep litter method can save you time, money and work.
Since I use a deep litter system, I bring a cart to the coop and shovel the partially decomposed chicken manure out. The manure has already started to break down, so I put it on my garden in the fall to prepare it for the spring.
I don’t do this necessarily if I am planting a fall garden, just in case I plant something that is tender. The fresh manure can burn some tender plants like lettuce that you might plant in the fall.
Using Recycled Chicken Manure
There are many ways that the manure can be incorporated into the soil.
You can directly apply composted manure to your garden soil.
If you want to know how to recycle chicken manure, look no further. Hobby Farms has an article about recycling chicken manure the right way.
Some people opt to make a ‘tea’ with the manure. Making a tea with the manure dilutes the nutrients in the manure so that it can be applied to the soil sooner without creating hot soil. You can make a tea with the manure by putting the manure into a porous bag and putting the bag into a container with water for about a month.
Hobby Farms also has an article about how to make chicken manure compost tea.
Final Thoughts About Why You Should Recycle Chicken Manure
No matter how you decide to add the manure to your soil, the main thing is to make sure that you use it and don’t throw it out! That chicken manure can make your garden have a crazy good year.
I incorporate recycled chicken manure into my garden soil each year. I’ve been able to see increased garden yields each year because of how rich my soil is. You won’t regret scooping all of that poop and adding it to your garden soil!
How do you apply recycled chicken manure to the soil? I’d love to know!