Pooping out a garden, er, small farm

[cluckin in memphis]

Ok, in january I acquired 6 buff orpingtons and have been eagerly collecting their poop to use in my really over dreamed garden for the spring. I have already started my tomatoes, broccoli, brussell sprouts, cabbage, peppers, herbs, and a few flowers indoors waiting for the weather to make up it's mind. We had 4 inches of snow yesterday and it was nearly 80 last weekend. Yeah for the south! I have seed for corn, cucumbers, beans, peas, carrots, squashes, and lord knows whatelse. I am wondering how long to let the poop compost before I spread the love around? Also, the poop is composting with leaves, some bedding straw, egg shells, and vegetable kitchen scraps. Is that going to effect the time it takes to decompose in a bad way? Hope everyone's gardens are coming along nicely!

Jimmy in Memphis, TN Proud papa of 6 Golden Girls and a Sweet little Mutt named Tobey.

 

[Carri]

Hi Cluckin!
Are you over on BYC? Check it out if you're not!
Chicken manure needs to compost for a while and it's probably better if you do mix it in with other things. It's pretty strong and I've heard it will burn if you put it down too soon.

 

[Settin'_Pretty]

Keep turning it.
It will heat up, and once it starts cooling back down it is then safe to use.
The faster you get it to go through it's heating cycles and it breaks down, the fast you can use it.
Depending on your method it can be as little as 30 days, or even in excess of 6 months.
Keep it moist but not soggy.

 

[da-cajun-angla]

the big thing u must remember is if u plan to use chicken manure to compost, u must not feed them any meat. any omnivore/carnivore manure can carry parasites and/or disease. also chicken manure, if not composted correctly at the right temp to kill off bacteria, can be passed on to ur fruits and veggies, so u want to add the proper amounts of green(grass clippings), and brown( downed tree leaves) to get the proper temp.
hope this helps,
shaun

 

[marsha.o]

If you want to get some good "poop", get yourself some rabbits. It is not necessary to compost rabbit droppings, you can use them straight from the rabbit. My friends are always fighting over our rabbit poo.