Is pelleted chicken manure worth the cost?
Graham Stonebridge, by email
Stefan says: You’ve been advised to use chicken manure and have seen it sold in pelleted form, which you feel is quite expensive. Is it worth it, you ask? The virtue of pelleted chicken manure is that it contains a balanced range of plant nutrients in a clean and easy to use form.
It’s especially high in nitrogen and so will benefit any green leafy vegetables like brassicas. But the pellets also contain good levels of potash and phosphate along with minor nutrients and trace elements.
I think it’s worthwhile and is a cleaner, much more reliable alternative to fresh chicken manure, which is sometimes available from farms and poultry houses but is too high in nitrogen and may cause damage to plants. I should add that fresh pigeon manure, which is also sometimes sold, is even stronger but as far as I know, no one has thought of pelleting it.