The overpowering aroma of chicken poop cannot be denied. With the pong flooding your nasal passages as soon as they apply it to their yard, you are sure to know when your neighbor is fertilizing their gardens.
We still use chicken dung as fertilizer despite the overpowering odor. Why? Simply said, it is among the best organic manure-based fertilizers available.
Potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen are among the natural nutrients found in balance in chicken dung fertilizer.
A fantastic source of nutrients for fruit trees, vegetable gardens, and even your lawn is manure compost. Even better, having chickens will not cost you anything. There is a catch, though.
Fresh chicken manure is quite powerful. When used as garden fertilizer in its unprocessed form, it may quickly destroy your plants.
You must give chicken manure time to cure in order to prevent damaging your plants. Here’s how to safely and effectively utilize chicken manure as a plant and soil stimulant in your garden.
How to make plant fertilizer out of chicken manure
Two containers are required
Build two containers from hardwood. They should be around 1 m x 1 m square and 60–80 cm tall.
Gather the manure
When gathering chicken dung, keep in mind that gloves and a mask are recommended. A number of fungus and bacteria found in chicken manure can be toxic to humans.
Wear a mask at all times and handle it just like any other organic soil. If the chicken coop has dropping trays, gathering the chicken excrement will be much simpler.
If you don’t have dropping trays, sift through the bedding and shavings with a fine-tipped pitch fork to gather the manure. Additionally, it is preferable to have a well-balanced blend of both manure and old bedding.
When the two are combined, composting, the manure and bedding are safely broken down as well.
The bedding is referred to as brown stuff and the manure as green substance.
Correct the ratio
Manure has a lot of nitrogen, therefore you should combine it with bedding at a 1:1 ratio (brown material).
Create warm compost
It generates heat in the center by stacking the pile with dung, straw, and other materials. This heat is crucial because it destroys any germs present.
Every day, measure the temperature in the pile’s center using a thermometer. After four or five days at roughly 40 degrees, the temperature will rise to 55 degrees.
When it gets to this stage, turn the compost (again while wearing a mask) and move the inner materials to the outside and the outside materials inside.
To get the compost nice and dry, keep doing this procedure for a few weeks. It is now prepared for curing.
A compost cure
Transfer the compost to the bin for curing. Before it can be utilized in the garden, it will require 50 to 60 days.
In essence, curing is the process of letting compost deteriorate to the point where it is crumbly and black in color.
When it no longer smells like new manure and instead smells more like earth, it has totally healed.
Currently, is prepared for use safely as a nitrogen and calcium-rich plant fertilizer.
How to use fresh chicken manure in the garden
Your compost is now prepared for usage. Follow these easy instructions to achieve the best results.
Spread evenly across the garden
To incorporate the chicken manure into the garden soil, use a garden pitch fork.
Avoid placing too close to the plant’s stem (base).
Thoroughly moisten the labored soil and manure. Mulch the garden well, covering the entire area.
Conclusion
This method of composting chicken manure is far superior to throwing it out with the trash. It’s a typical 101 Sustainable lifestyle decision that is excellent for the environment and your yard.
Keeping your chicken coop clean is another excellent coop management technique to aid with rodent problems.
