COMPOSTING WITH MANURE
The average hen produces 1 cubic foot of manure every six months; multiply that by the number of hens in a flock and that’s a lot of manure! Composting chicken manure is a wonderful way for chickens to provide even more than eggs: They can increase garden yields, as well.
Applying organic matter to soil increases its ability to hold water, as well as improves drainage and reduces erosion. Compost also acts as a food source for soil microbes, which accelerates the breakdown of nutrients into more-available forms.
Though chicken manure can be spread directly on fields, it’s more useful when its composted, says Jacquie Jacob, poultry extension project manager for the University of Kentucky. Raw manure should not be used on vegetable crops because of food safety issues.
Chicken litter is high in nitrogen (as well as phosphorous and potassium), so it has the potential to burn plants. Chicken manure should be composted for a minimum of five to six weeks to allow time for it to “cool.” This time also allows disease-causing pathogens to be destroyed.
Everything that is removed from a chicken coop can be composted; this includes manure, undigested food, bedding materials and feathers. The ratio of chicken manure and bedding to other stuff should be:
• 30% to 50% chicken manure/bedding (called “green” materials because the manure is moist)
• 50% to 70% other stuff: weeds, grass clippings, twigs and branches (so-called “brown” materials because they are dry or dead)
Gather the materials in a compost bin and wet them thoroughly; this will begin the process of raising the internal temperature of the pile. The pile should reach a temperature of between 140 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit for several weeks to reduce the risk of soilborne pathogens. The pile should be turned every few weeks to ensure all the manure is composted and to allow oxygen to penetrate the pile and reduce its smell.
Aging chicken manure is also an option; it takes between six and nine months for chicken manure to break down properly using this method, which follows the same ratio mentioned above. Once the manure pile is made, it’s left alone to break down. Without the use of heat, the longer compost is aged, the more the population of disease-causing bacteria will decline.
Whether composted or aged, chicken manure should be applied to gardens no later than 90 days prior to harvesting of trellised crops and no later than 120 days prior to harvest of ground-contact crops.