"CHICKEN POOP SOUP'

...or at least, that's what we call it!

Please let me explain our problem. We have been trying to make a compost pile out of chicken manure from our hen house along with shredded dry leaves that our cousin gave us. We mix the dry manure with the dry shredded leaves and then we try to wet them down because the compost pile needs to be moist. Even though we water the pile when we apply a layer of only 4", we can not get the leaves or the manure to absorb the water. The top gets wet, but it is bone dry and dusty if you turn the pile. This stuff just won't get wet....not even damp! We put manure in a container filled with water and stirred it. It did get wet and thus our famous "chicken poop soup", but this is tedious and very impractical when working with such large quantities. Any ideas of how to moisten these ingredients as we are making the pile? I thought of putting dish detergent in a miracle gro applicator (proportioner) as a wetting agent, but as all the dish detergents are now anti-bacterial, I thought that this might hamper the piles decomposition process. ???
Please help! There has just got to be a way to wet this stuff other than in a cauldron. LOL
Thanking You in Advance,
Ron and Gloria

You might want to check with a local agricultural extension service about this topic. Chicken manure can be a source of histoplasmosis in this part of the country. It can cause scarring of the lung tissue and blindness among other things. I don't know enough about it to give you any safety regulations. I do know someone who always raised chickens here in Ohio and she is now blind from histoplasmosis.

NoH2O....Whether or not we use the manure for compost, we still have the manure to clean out of the hen house. Is histoplasmosis such a great problem that we should get rid of our chickens? :o(

I don't think that getting some fresh eggs is worth going blind!! ????

Thanks for any info.
Ron

PS...Why no water? (NoH20) We were deluged this year with flooding. Is your area that much different from ours. I figure you must be close to us. Just wondering.

Question #2 first - I was underwater all year and probably will be again after Isabel so noH2O was not the case this year! Actually the name comes from the fact that I have no planets in water in my astrological birth chart. I don't know why I used it here - out of desparation when all my gardening names were already taken I guess!

As for histoplasmosis, it can be a devastating disease. I am not saying don't raise chickens - just get information before you start composting the stuff. Some of what I read indicates that the longer chicken manure is composted or sits around, the more the fungal spores can develop. My BIL in Seattle raises chickens and composted chicken manure is readily available there - histoplasmosis doesn't seem to be much of a problem out west. But it sure can be here. So don't get rid of your chickens yet - I am no expert. But do get some information from reliable sources to see what if any precautions you need to take when handling the stuff. Good luck! I know from when I lived out west that the plants love that composted chicken manure!

When working with the manure,wear a dust mask.This will prevent most of your exposure to histo.

You inhale most of the spores that will make you sick,so prevent that,and shower well and you should be ok.

Thanks to both of you...I will indeed wear a mask when cleaning out the hen house. I sure don't want to get sick.

As for the wetting of the shredded leaves and manure...anyone?

You might try posting a link to this thread on some of the other forums like Farm Life (chickens), Soil (compost) and Organic Gardening (compost).

Thank you, NoH2O......I shall do that!
SL