Kitchen Garden Forum

My son has brought me some chicken manure from the chicken farm by his allotment, its got some sawdust in it, when is the best time to spread it out on the allotment now or in the spring? its not fresh fresh its at least a couple of months old.

Bren

Compost it and use it in spring.

And don't spread it in warm weather because the smell could linger and you will not be popular with any near neighbours!

Hi,
Depending on how concentrated it is as it is high in nitrogen i would mix it with some fibrous material. I always used to add what came out of the chicken house to the compost heap. It certainly acts as a good activator.

Hilary

I would say that a couple of months old is still quite fresh. It is very potent, and best composted with other materials before use. The sawdust will take some time to break down. Me, I'd give it a full year to break down, but opinions differ.

I get chicken poo from a friend, and I always put it in the compost heap. Personally I wouldn't every spread it on my beds - as others have said, it's very potent and needs to be broken down completely before it's used.

I also spread it in the compost heap and make sure it is mixed well with everything else when I turn the heap. It is too strong to use on its own.

In my novice gardening days I once made the mistake of spreading it fairly raw over my borders. The effect was disastrous on the plants. Everything was scorched and damaged. Definitely mix it in your compost heap or let it lie and mature for 12 months.

Thank you all for your replies I'll compost it as you suggested and leave it awhile, so its back to chicken pellets for now.
Bren

Please also take care if you have asthma, or similar chest complaints. We used some year old chicken manure on our plot and within half an hour, my chest was tight, I was short of breath and wheezing, needing to use my inhaler.

I have been allergic to feathers since being a small child and contact with them always triggered an asthma attack. Even though my asthma is mild these days, I still cannot use/handle feather pillows or duvets. I never even considered that chicken manure would have the same effect but it most certainly did!
My husband removed as much of the chicken manure as he could, then dug the soil over. I was fine the next time I went to the allotment, a week later.

Bearing this in mind, I was wary of using commercially produced pelleted chicken manure but thankfully, it doesn't affect me at all.