chicken muck

Hi Does anyone know if I can use the chicken muck from my hens on the garden straight from the coup or if it needs to be treated in someway ie. driedout or mixed with compost etc.

 

Too strong Jen straight from the coup I would compost it,the muck would make a great accelerant for your compost heap

 

Thanks I thought it might be too strong. I'll have to start a bigger compost heap now though. I've only got 7 hens but they don't half produce some muck...

 

Jen K hi, I remember as a youngster my mum used to put all the chicken muck on the compost heap and layer it with straw and veg. waste. she never allowed us near the compost bin for 6-7 months, now I can understand why.

 

Is this manure mixed in with anything, what bedding do you use?
According to my Organic Gardening book by Laurence Hills the C:N ratio of fresh poultry manure is 2:1 which is too low, the ideal is 25:1, so nitrogen will be wasted by evaporation of ammonia and other gases. He suggests stacking and I think it means mixing with bulky Carbon rich stuff. Sounds ideal for accelerating a compost heap and rotting down straw, you could even mix in shredded newspaper and stuff.
I am very envious. I made the best compost when we had a rabbit, I think chickens would be even better....and the eggs are a bonus.
If you had a problem getting enough compost to mix with it perhaps you can get straw - it would break down into lovely black crumbly stuff that you cannot get enough of.

 

hi I do have a layer of peat that I put on the floor and under the perch but only change this once every two months. I just remove the top layer of muck. but I also change the straw and paper in the nesting boxs every 1-2 weeks. I suppose I could removed more of the peat and shred the paper and mix this all togther as a compost mix. Could I add egg shells into this and would that be enough of a mix by itself or should I be adding more of the Kitchen/garden waste to it.

Your right about the eggs being a bonus but I am finding myself giving loads away as seven hens can produce up to 1400 eggs a year with just two of us eating them it can get a bit out of hand... But it is fun having them. I bought my house last year and the run was already set up along with a number of other cages and projects. I also have a pet hedgehog who will hopefully be eating up the slugs before they get to my veg bed.

 

Yes all the straw and paper should go into the heap...that should really get cooking - eggs shells can go in as well.
With the eggs aren't you selling them? As long as you are not selling to shops you can sell them yourself. They will be better and fresher than shop bought ones. If you have country markets round your way (used to be WI) you can sell through that.

 

My best compost heap is the one behind the shed where I put all my guinea pig bedding - and poops! Lovely stuff!

 

Years ago Grandfather spread the deep litter over the ground in the Autumn and dug it in during the Spring but left the area fallow. That was bad enough.. but even worse was when he emptied the Cesspit and slopped that around by the bucket full!!!!!!!! :D Thank the Lord I was much to young to help..

 

just as well pal you were young. whooooooh what a pong it must have been.

 

Hi Jen.K
Although I do not have any animal waste to put on my compost I still use all sorts of other things. You could mix your chicken muck with all sorts of things too, do you have a shredder that you shred things like bank statements e.t.c. if so all the shredded paper can go in. Also Starbuck's are now giving away used coffee grounds and as the worms love them they will be great mixed in your compost bin. Use as much kitchen waste as possible - tea bags, veggie peelings e.t.c and grass cuttings and you will have a great mix.

 

There used to be some Toggenburger goats in the field out back of our house for quite some years (unfortunately a house there now). The owner always let us have the muck out of the shed and did our garden ever grow! I'll never forget the size of the African marigolds - a good meter tall! Another neighbour gave us the rabbit hutch muck another time. Both sorts of manure were excellent, think the goat stuff was better though. Hubby always mixed it well into the soil. Unfortunately, the goats moved elsewhere and the rabbit went to Rabbits Heaven. So now we have no excellent additions to our compost heap or garden in general. Lucky you that do.