Ideally, you want to let 'hot' chicken manure age for a minimum of 3 months, but preferably 6 months up to 1 year. If you use the hot composting method in a warmed climate or sunny area, you may only need to let the chicken manure compost age for 3 months since the manure breaks down more quickly into compost.
Benefits of Chicken Manure
Don't despair! Manure can be one of the greatest assets for a home gardener! Although chicken manure is too strong to be used raw on your flowers or vegetables, it can be composted and converted to “black gold.” If used without composting, it could damage roots and possibly kill your plants.
The answer is to use it as a soil amendment or fertilizer. However, raw chicken manure can burn and damage plants. It should be composted or aged prior to use. In addition, raw manure can contain pathogens that can harm people and animals.
The decomposition process typically takes six months if materials are a half-inch or smaller. At this time, you are ready to use the compost as natural fertilizer for your lawn and garden! Mix thoroughly composted material into garden soil 2-3 weeks prior to planting.
Proper use of manure in the garden can supply your plants with nutrients and help improve soil structure. Adding too much manure can lead to nitrate leaching, nutrient runoff, excessive vegetative growth and, for some manures, salt damage.
Chicken manure should be mixed into the soil before planting, or it can be used as a top dressing for existing plants.
In a hot composting system, you heat chicken manure to at least 130 F for at least 15 days. The higher temperatures in such systems mean that the material breaks down more quickly and pathogens usually die at these higher temperatures too.
Decomposition will be complete anywhere from two weeks to two years depending on the materials used, the size of the pile, and how often it is turned. Compost is ready when it has cooled, turned a rich brown color, and has decomposed into small soil-like particles.
In an effort to reduce health risks when using manure in home gardens, the USDA National Organic Program suggests waiting 120 days from application to harvest for edibles that grow in or touch the soil. For other crops, the recommended wait time is 90 days from application to harvest for these edibles.
Bagged chicken manure can be applied any time. Trees and shrubs are usually fertilized in spring. Flower beds and vegetables are fertilized in the spring and repeatedly throughout the growing season. For specific amounts, follow the instructions on the label.
Both are some of the best resources of nutrients for organic crop farmers, making it easier to earn and maintain your organic certification. They both also increase your soil's water retention. However, cow manure is typically more expensive and contains fewer nutrients than chicken manure.
Chicken manure is a non-synthetic organic fertilizer that has several advantages. It's a comprehensive fertilizer, which means it contains high levels of primary nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. It also contains important micronutrients for plant and grass growth, like calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc.
If your garden plot will be left dormant in cooler months, fresh manure can be spread over the soil at a ratio of approximately 50 pounds per 100 square feet once the fall harvest is complete. Till the plot to turn the manure into the soil.
Fill the bucket with water – ideally this should be around 24 litres to every 2.5 kilograms of manure, but this isn't an exact science, so don't be afraid to fill the bucket right up if you have the extra space. Leave the mixture to steep for 2 to 3 days. Stir the mixture approximately twice a day.
Quicklime, which is calcium oxide, and hydrated lime, which is calcium hydroxide, are the two common forms of lime you will find in garden or home improvement retail stores. Adding a dry alkali such as lime accelerates the volatilization of the nitrogen in chicken manure, which releases the ammonia faster.
Spring is the preferred time to apply manure. Forage or hay crops generally provide the greatest flexibility in planning land application operations.
However, poultry manure is low in nutrients compared to synthetic fertilisers such as Growmore, as illustrated below, and it is slower to release its nutrient content, some of which will not be available until the soil warms up in late spring and summer, even if the product is applied in late winter or early spring.
But, when properly composted, chicken manure is an excellent soil amendment. Compost does not have the unpleasant odor. Chicken manure compost adds organic matter back into the soil and contributes nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium to the soil.
Chicken manure compost is especially beneficial for nitrogen-loving plants. Plants like tomatoes, peppers, leafy greens, cucumbers, squash, sweet corn, pole beans, and rhubarb all benefit from soil that has had chicken manure added to it.
You can apply organic Chicken Manure Pellets in early spring as a base fertiliser to prepare beds for planting. Then reapply every 3-4 weeks during the growing season for stronger plants and better yields. Use again in autumn when preparing winter beds.
Broadcasting is the most common and practical way to apply poultry manure. Spreading may be followed by incorporation where possible; however, in a pasture situation, the litter requires rain or irrigation to wash it into the soil. Calibrate equipment to apply litter evenly across a paddock.