Content
Among organic fertilizers, the most valued is the litter collected from poultry. It is used to prepare compost, humus, or used in its pure form to feed garden crops. Chicken manure should be used as fertilizer with caution. Large portions can burn the root system of plants.
Compound
Chicken manure is rich in nitrogen and potassium. Compared with horse or cow manure there are four times more of these substances. The content of phosphoric acids is almost twenty times higher. If we compare all bird droppings with mullein, then its nutritional superiority is ten times greater.
The most common poultry are chickens, geese and ducks. In this group, chicken droppings also come first. For comparison, there is a table showing the chemical composition of bird droppings as a percentage.
The video talks about the beneficial properties of chicken manure.
The value of organic fertilizer
When considering chicken manure as a fertilizer and how to apply it, it is worth paying attention to its value:
- When fruit trees, garden and vegetable crops are fertilized with chicken manure, fruit ripening is accelerated.
- The content of high concentrations of nitrogen and potassium helps to increase productivity by up to 40%.
- The droppings are rich in iron and copper. These substances increase plant immunity. Crops are less likely to be affected by bacterial and fungal diseases. Chicken manure is especially effective against root rot.
- It is useful to use organic matter in acidic soils to improve pH. The alkaline reaction ennobles infertile soil. Rotted chicken manure is used when planting plants that do not tolerate acidic soils.
- Fertilizing with organic matter helps to accelerate plant growth, the appearance of friendly flowering and ovary. Garden crops tolerate drought more easily in hot summers.
- The annual application of chicken manure as fertilizer increases the amount of humus in the soil.
Chicken manure is a universal fertilizer. Organics are suitable for feeding all vegetable and garden crops.
Positive and negative sides of feeding
A gardener looking for information on how to use chicken manure as fertilizer should be aware of the negative aspects of organics. Nitrogen is found in the form of ammonium. After introducing organic matter into the soil, the decomposition process begins, accompanied by the release of methane. No less ammonia is formed. In high concentrations, the substances will burn the root system and the plant will die.
Another unpleasant thing is the release of a pungent odor.The stench spreads over a large area when chicken manure begins to rot. When preparing fertilizer yourself, it is advisable to move the compost heap further away from neighbors and the roadway.
The positive side of chicken manure is the versatility of the fertilizer. Organic matter is used in fresh or rotted form, and a solution is also prepared. All plants, trees and shrubs can be fertilized.
If you have a home chicken coop, manure along with bedding is laid out on the ground around the tree trunk. Fertilize once a year. For an adult tree, 1 bucket is enough. You cannot water manure from above. It is better to spread the litter on damp soil.
Shrubs need less chicken manure, and those that like acidic soil do not need to be fed at all. First of all, this concerns blueberries.
A solution from fresh droppings is used for root feeding of plants. A strong concentrate cannot be used, and contact with young leaves is also unacceptable. Fresh manure with bedding cannot be spread under garden crops. There is a risk of bacterial contamination.
Rotted chicken manure mixed with other organic matter is better suited for flowers and other ornamental plants. Fertilizing is applied in small doses.
Methods of preparation and storage
Manure is collected from chicken coops along with bedding. When keeping birds outdoors, droppings are raked with a thin layer of earth or grass. Large aggregations usually occur under perches or near feeders.
There are three ways to harvest and store organic matter. At home, chicken manure is simply dumped in a heap or a compost pit is installed where it is rotted. At the plant, manure is processed into dry powder or granules.
Let's take a closer look at all three methods:
- How to get fertilizer and where to put chicken droppings at home, the instructions are simple. The easiest way is to dump the manure and bedding in a heap. It is better to choose a place at the end of the garden or in the depths of the garden, away from neighbors and your yard. The top of the pile is covered with film to prevent the manure from drying out quickly, as well as being washed away by rainwater. The disadvantage of this preparation is the formation of solid lumps, as well as the volatilization of nitrogen.
- The best way to make fertilizer from chicken droppings is to compost. Manure can be stored in a heap or a hole can be dug for its storage. It is important to maintain layers approximately 15 cm thick. First, spread the straw. Chicken manure is placed on top. Next, there is an alternation of any organic matter: mullein, grass, peat, and again chicken droppings. Periodically, several layers are crushed with earth. The pile or pit is tightly covered with film to speed up the decomposition process. You can add bacterial preparations.
- In factory conditions, clean manure from poultry farms is dried at high temperatures. Heating up to +600OC kills pathogenic bacteria. The fertilizer is granulated or made into powder. Packaging occurs in bags and bags.
Summer residents rarely keep chickens. Factory-made fertilizer is acceptable for them. Rural residents use manure, since there is a chicken coop in almost every yard.
Methods for preparing the solution
Beginning gardeners are concerned with the question of how to dilute chicken manure to feed plants, and what standards to adhere to.
Granule solution
To prepare a solution from granules, you will need any container, preferably not aluminum. A barrel or bucket will do. The granules are poured into a container and filled with water.The proportion is indicated on the factory packaging of the fertilizer, but it is usually 1:25. Infusion lasts at least 50 hours. It is better to increase the time to 70 hours.
The prepared solution is watered on the ground around the tree trunk in an amount of 10 liters, and 5 liters under the bushes. Plants are added to the root. Typically the dose is 1 liter. You can simply pour it into the grooves of the beds. After fertilizing, water the plants to wash away any splashes of organic matter from the leaves.
The application rate depends on the crop being fed and the composition of the soil. Usually the solution is watered two or three times per season.
Preparing a solution from manure
To prepare a solution from chicken manure, you will similarly need a container with a volume of at least 20 liters. The percentage is similar. You can make a more concentrated solution and dilute it with water before feeding. Rotted manure from the compost pit is ready for use. Leave it for a couple of hours until completely dissolved. Manure, stored in bulk in a heap, was not rotted. It is infused longer until the solution ferments.
Organic fertilizer without preparing a solution
Fertilization of large areas is carried out by spreading rotted chicken manure after harvesting all crops in the fall. In the spring, as the snow melts, water will dissolve the clods, and beneficial substances will evenly saturate the soil.
Dry manure is a concentrated fertilizer. It is best to scatter the powder or granules over the area in late autumn. You can add dry organic matter in the spring, but it dissolves less easily.
Application of fertilizer for different types of crops
There are two main ways to fertilize with chicken droppings: water the root with a solution or scatter solid fractions over the area followed by digging. The dose and time of application of the dry preparation are shown in the table.
cucumbers
Cucumbers are fertilized three times: when full leaves grow, with the appearance of flower stalks, and during fruiting. The bushes develop well when watered at the root with a solution of light-colored manure. If there is chicken compost, then to increase the yield, the bed with cucumbers is covered with a thin layer.
Strawberry
Strawberry beds are prepared a year before planting. In the fall, add chicken manure or compost and dig it in with soil. Spring feeding strawberries carried out with a solution in proportions of 1 part manure and 20 parts water. Each bush is watered with 1.25 liters of liquid before flowering begins. It is advisable to avoid getting the solution on the foliage.
Roses
They begin to feed roses in the second year after planting. The culture does not like a lot of fertilizer. Optimal feeding in spring. The solution is prepared from droppings diluted with water in a ratio of 1:20. Before feeding, the bushes are watered abundantly with clean water. The nutrient solution is poured between the rows. No fertilizer is applied to the bush.
Reviews
Reviews about the goodness of chicken manure as a fertilizer are quite common. Here are a few of the most interesting ones.
