Another chicken poo question

[Texan]

I've been reading the compost section here and I see yall mention that chicken poo is "hot" and it can "burn" your plants. I am thinking yall are making mention of its nitrogen content but I am not sure.

Anyway, about two weeks ago I busted up a good plot of our lawn with a tiller. I then went to the chicken coop and cleaned out the chicken coop of its pineshavings and chicken poo. It was the first time I cleaned it out. The chickens have been in there only 6 weeks (there are 20 of them and they are now 14 weeks old). I took the pine shavings and poo over to the "garden" area (20ft x 30ft) and spread this around. I have tilled it over every few days.

Did I mess up by putting the chicken poo directly in there? Should I be tilling this every few days? I am wanting to plant next week

By the way, I feel really silly saying "chicken poo"

Mike D

 

[patandchickens]

If the stuff is well tilled in and there wasn't too much of it in the first place, you may well be basically ok. If the chickens haven't been in there too long, it is actually possible you may have more of a problem of nitrogen *deficiency* than excess, because the shavings will (temporarily) use up N from the soil as they break down. "Chicken poo is high in N and 'hot'" really pertains to the poo itself, more or less straight, as it would come from a commercial chicken operation; it takes a LOT of poo to balance the C in shavings, so coop cleanings are typically a bit nitrogen-*deficient*. Perversely enough. Unless you let your coop get tres filthy or unless you're talking about what you scrape off the droppings board.

I'd say go ahead and plant. If you have a choice, try to seed into regular dirt more than into heavily-amended spots. But unless you went really berzerk with like 5" of bedding tilled in only 5" deep , betcha your plants will survive. I wouldn't do it precisely that way *next* year though

(e.t.a. - I too felt silly saying 'poo', til I had babies and it became part of my normal working vocabulary So call it manure if you prefer, or droppings, leavings, excreta, avian night soil, poultry patties, hen splats... LOL)

Have fun, good luck,

Pat

 

[me&thegals]

Texan--You have me laughing out loud over the "poo" issue I must be a bonified parent--it doesn't even make me bat an eye anymore, or "potty."

Glad you asked about chicken feces since it's a question I've been wanting more clearly answered for a while, actually since having chickens. As always, Pat has provided a wonderful, intelligent answer!

me&thegals, chuckling

ps--where do you find those fantastic, Spanish, upside-down question marks?

 

[Texan]

ps--where do you find those fantastic, Spanish, upside-down question marks?

If you are not on a laptop, press and hold the "alt" button. While holding the alt buttion reach over to your numeric pad to the right and press 0191 then lift up off of the alt button. You can try different alt codes as well. alt 0189 makes this ""

It works on some laptops but not all.

Happy alting

 

[inchworm]

As always, Pat has provided a wonderful, intelligent answer!

Yes - I want to be Pat when I grow up!

Inchy

 

[Texan]

Thank all of you for your answers.

Mike D

 

[patandchickens]

I want you to be Pat when you grow up, too -- then I can be someone *fun*

LOL

Pat, off to prick out and pot up lettuce seedlings