Hi! We've got those chickens coming, and we're possibly doing a few steer this year, and I wanted to know, what do we need to do with the manure to make it safe for putting on the garden? Basically, I'm concerned about bacteria (e coli, etc) getting in the soil. Does it need to sit out and dry before you use it? Where you you guys put it until you use it for the garden? Because we'll be using straw on the floor of the chicken coop, I'm thinking the manure/straw mixture will be fantastic for the garden, I'm just wondering if it's something you can only put fresh on the garden in the fall for wintering over, or if you can use it all Spring and Summer.
Also, I'd like to do cover crops on the garden rows as the rows get picked and they're done for the year, and then have the chickens go in and do their work on the cover crop. I'm thinking that I could build an ark or a tractor for a few hens at a time, so I can move it over the rows.
Anyway, I need direction - any help or advice would be great. Thanks!
Eileen
Safe Use of Manure
Ooh, also, will the chickens be weirded out if I put them in an ark or a tractor when they've been in the stationary coop their whole lives?
The ark will work perfectly and chickens adjust very quickly to them.
If you want he litter to break down quickly, do not keep it dry. Keep it moist and treat it like compost...mix it in soil. There are a lot of organisms in the soil that help break it down and make it safe for using with food crops. Also straight litter would probably "burn" your crops. It is best to let it break down over the winter.
So if I pile it with soil in a corner of the barn and turn it every so often, it should be usable after the winter? And will the chicken droppings burn the cover crops too, or is that okay, since we're using the crops as "green manure"? Should I rotate out the chickens, or just pick five or six to stay in the ark? Sorry so many questions, I just don't want to mess up and either make my chickens go cuckoo! Our soil SUCKS here - I just tried to dig post holes to see what we were working with, and I hit shale about eight inches down. And in the hayfield, I made a hole and it filled with water! So I'm thinking if we till about six to eight inches down and mound the dirt from the walking paths onto the rows, we should be okay depth-wise. I just HAVE to get this garden in - we've spent a pretty penny on seeds and materials. We should have tested the soil first, but live and learn. Thanks for the quick response!
-Ei
The usual advice is to spread the litter on the beds in the fall and let the weather work on it over the winter. Then turn it in and plant.
If you google "chicken manure garden" a lot of articles and discussions will come up. For example:
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/farmlife/msg1106404621821.html
There is also the Chicken Manure Tea--which is quicker (a month?). So you could start composting your manure now and make up some tea for this summer:
http://www.vegetable-gardening-gnomes.com/liquid_organic_fertilizer.html
I know that it is best to compost and age manure before using it, but I routinely spread a mix of barnyard manures (chicken, cow, horse, pig) straight on my roses. I don't mix it in which might burn them; I let it act as mulch and compost in place. The roses seem pleased. For food crops, if you compost it, the heat generated in the process of decomposition is supposed to kill bacteria etc..
We usually do raised rows. And put manure between them. That way the manure never goes directly on the crops and the nutrients are still accessible.
The rule of thumb is you have to have 120 days between last application and harvest in your garden. We start setting transplants in Feb, so we always pull our pigs by the previous Oct, as it's better safe than sorry.
Mevenmart I would put your compost pile outside for sure.. I have a raised bed that I put all the chicken manure in.. along with straw, grass clippings, shavings, kitchen waste, etc... and it's beautiful rich brown crumbly compost in no time! The chickens LOVE to scratch around in it for bugs, etc ..
I just keep adding to it and turning it.. use what I need when I can.
mevnmart, have you checked out lasagne gardening? I just tried setting up a couple of beds this past fall--one for veg and one for roses and friends. I started the experiment not because I have bad soil, but because I have this *$%^# bahia to get rid of (I'm in the middle of a hay field). I burned, then put down the wet cardboard, etc. (In my other beds the bahia just came right back. So far the lasagne beds seems to be smothering it out and I can still grow things on top). One of my layers is the used bedding from the coop. The rose beds will just compost as is, but I will turn in the veg beds as the seasons go on. I'm starting on a new veg bed using the lasagne method as it seems to be working pretty well for me and I'm also using up quite a bit of chicken bedding! I'm finding the lasagne bed a little less back breaking than digging out all of the bahia.
Terri_emory don't you just love trying to dig through a dense mat of bahia roots? Even after it's dead it still resists vigorously. How much material do you put on top to create a workable garden?
I try to get at least 24 inches. Both of the beds I started last fall have settled down to about 18 inches. Even though I have very minimal worm action (found my first two after three years of diggin and looking) the beds appear to be composting on their own. It is nice to have a little elevation on the beds at this time of year since it is so wet the water is just standing. The raised beds do seem to be drying out better, so that is an added plus for me. The key seems to be burning first. Then smothering. I can't remember who suggested lasagne gardening to me, but it was last year, and I thank them profusely! It looks like it is going to work for me and will save my back quite a bit =~)! And the fowl can poop away to their heart's delight. I have productive use for it! The cows are doing their part as well. Just need for the grass to start growing so I can have more clippings to use. The hay is going fast and I used up all the oak leaves.....