Chicken poop on garden?

[ashlkfnl]

Hello!
I have picked out a plot for my garden to be erected in the spring, and I have been putting my chicken’s soiled bedding and roost poop on it.
Will plants be safe to plant there come spring if I till it up? Or will they get burned?
Anyone who has done this please help!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

That's about the wait time my friends use making sure to till the poop well into the soil. (I raise chickens...so don't garden...but my friends merrily scoop up my run litter for their gardens...I know they wait several months at least. Some compost longer.)

 

[WallyG74]

I usually have a huge pile that’s sits over winter, then spread nice and even over your garden area and till it in.

 

[bill3607]

When I scoop out the trays I put it in 5 gallons buckets. Then I put it on my garden spots in the spring and again in the fall before I plant. I till it in. I try to do it as early as possible before planting, but never more than a couple weeks to a month before.

I have not had any problems. I have noticed a much better producing garden.

 

[jher77]

I have taken fresh chicken manure and tilled it in the earth. Then about the next week plant cabbage and turnips. I had an awesome crop of cabbage and turnips and didn't get sick from any pathogens. I've also used it for peppers. You have to till it in good though because that white spec on chicken poop is high nitrogen. If the roots go straight to that, then it may burn or stunt them. It is kinda hard to get it to spread out so evenly so composted is easier to spread after it turns dirt like.

I don't use chicken manure as much because I use a drip line and a water soluable fertilizer. Continouse additions of manure will keep raising the phosphorus and pH levels which I have to avoid because mine is high mainly because of the high limestone and carbonate levels in my soil and irrigation water.

The problem with figuring up how much manure to use is, there isn't any exact percentage number of nitrogen to calculate with as with synthetic fertilizers. Fresh manure will have more nitrogen than composted nitrogen and different peoples chickens will produce different nitrogen numbers depending on what the chickens are being fed.

If I put the N-P-K numbers of 2-2-1 in a calculator and it comes up to 57 lbs of chicken manure per 1,000 square feet of garden to get 50 lbs of N per acre, which is about what you want to start with generally. That is around 15 gallons of chicken manure per 1,000 square feet.

I can help you figure up how much N you put in there. What is the square footage of the area and how much chicken manure did you dump in it?

 

[Acre4Me]

Two issues with hot/fresh droppings:

1. Can burn plants. If using only a small amount, may not burn the plants. So concentration matters. Also, if the poop is mixed with wood shavings, those are not decomposed yet, and can use up nutrients while decomposing.

2. Pathogens. Chickens can carrry a few things that can make humans sick. If not properly broken down then these can be splashed back up on the plants during watering and rain. If item gets washed and cooked, should be fine, but if item is a fresh thing, like strawberries that you pick and eat while in your garden, that could cause problems.

 

[Silexian]

I use fresh chicken manure in my corn patch. I give the soil a light till. Then spread the manure about 2 inches deep. Afterwards I run my tiller as deep as it will go. To get it dispersed down deep and mixed throughly. I have had good results with this method. Corn is a heavy nitrogen feeder also.