The Complete Guide to Using Chicken Poop Fertilizer

Yes, you read that right. Chicken poo can be turned into fertilizer.

Chickens are magical in their own right. Chickens provide both eggs and meat. They can also win blue ribbons or gold medals in poultry competitions. Of course, we can’t forget to mention that chickens could also make for great barnyard buddies.

Well, that’s not all the chickens can do. It appears these birds could also give you fertilizer for your garden!

Here is the complete guide to using chicken poop fertilizer.

How to Use Chicken Poop as Fertilizer?

chicken manure

Using chicken poo fertilizer is easy!

First, decide what you want to grow. After that, check how big is the area you have to fertilize. These things will tell you how much chicken poop fertilizer you have to use.

Different plants need different amounts of fertilizer. And of course, the bigger the area, the more fertilizer you would need.

After that, decide when you’re going to start planting. Fertilizers need some time to work. Chicken poop fertilizer is not different from the rest.

Generally, you should stop using chicken poo fertilizer 3 to 4 months before harvest time. The closer the crop would be to the ground, the sooner you should stop.  

Finally, mix your fertilizer with the soil. The depth should be around 3 to 4 inches.

Don’t forget to spread that stuff evenly! That way, all your plants would get some of that good stuff.

How to Make Chicken Poop Fertilizer?

chicken poop fertilizer

Are you a chicken keeper? If so, then you might want to start making your own chicken poop fertilizer. No reason to let all that chicken poo go to waste!

Making fertilizer from chicken poo requires some effort. But it is easy to do and undoubtedly cost-effective.

Preparation   

First, you need to plan how you’re going to gather your chooks’ poo. So, in the preparation stage, we’ll discuss the different ways for collection.

Potty-training

Did you know that you can potty train chickens? That’s one way to do it. This way, the droppings of your chicken will be in one place. It will then be easier to gather.

Potty-training chickens is not easy. It is not like potty-training other animals. If you want to know more about potty-training your birds, then you can go here

Not up for the challenge? No need to worry! We still have other options.

Check out this next one.

Portable coops

You can opt for a portable coop method.

Here, you need a coop that doesn’t have any flooring.

With this one, you will place the coop where you want to plant some stuff. Again, there should not be any flooring. Add some bedding. Let your chicken do their thing in that area for some time.

After some time, the beddings and chicken poo would have piled up to a certain amount. You’ll have all the materials you need by then. Additionally, you will have the materials in the place you need them.

After that, you can then move the coop to a new location.

If you like this method, then you can learn more about it:

With this method, every part of the process happens in one place. 

As you can see, it does not offer much flexibility. Because of that, this method does not work for some. If that’s the case with you, then you can try our last strategy.

Standard Method

The standard method is probably the easiest one to do.

Do you use bedding? Do you know how to clean a coop? If so, you can most probably follow this one.

All you have to do is add some bedding to your chicken coop. Collect it every time you plan on placing new bedding. Finally, place the gathered materials in a designated compost bin or pile.

The Greens and the Browns

Let’s quickly clarify what is the greens and browns before we move on to the next part. These terms are important because we will be mentioning them later. 

The greens would refer to the chicken poo, but it could also refer to wet stuff like fruit and vegetable scraps.

The browns would refer to the bedding, but they could also refer to dry stuff like paper and cartons.  

Creation

chicken crap fertilizer

Once you have all the materials, you can start creating your chicken poo fertilizer.

Recently, we talked about how you could compost chicken poo to turn it into manure. There, we discussed in detail the whole process of making chicken manure. If you want, you can check that discussion out.

If you don’t have the time, then you don’t have to worry. We’ll be summarizing parts of it here.

Now that you have everything, you would want to mix the materials together. It is important to remember that a balance between the greens and browns is necessary. We don’t mean that there should be equal parts of greens and browns.

It is good to have more brown stuff than green stuff, but there should not be too much brown stuff. Otherwise, the composting process might not happen. Your pile should be around 2-3 parts brown and 1 part green.

Once you have figured out the ratio that works for you, you want to add some water. You want the pile to feel soft and moist. Do not let it get soaked that the water is already dripping or swamping.

Finally, you can start mixing.

It should heat up after some time. Since heat is involved, make sure you use a shovel or something like it when mixing the pile. We don’t want you getting burned!

If the pile is not heating up, then there might be a problem. You can go here to see some possible solutions. 

Remember to mix the pile every once in a while. Unfortunately, it won’t be ready for use for at least another five to six weeks.

Once your pile starts turning into a darker color and giving off an earthy smell, then you can start using it.  

Cautions and Considerations with Using Chicken Poop Fertilizer

Chicken poop fertilizer is a good addition to your garden. Still, there are some things you need to keep in mind when using this manure.

Handling

Raw Chicken Poo

Among all the poo in the animal kingdom, chicken poo is one of the best for your garden. But remember never to use it raw.

Using it like that might cause more harm than good. Chicken poo must be composted and aged before using it in your land.

Safety

Chicken poo undoubtedly has good things in it, but it has bad and possibly harmful things, as well. Make sure you use gloves whether you’re making or using chicken poo fertilizer.

Too Much Chicken Poo Fertilizer

Don’t overuse chicken poop fertilizer, as excessive amounts can be detrimental. Too much chicken poo fertilizer would be bad for your plants and you as well!

Using Fertilizer with Root Crops

Some warn against using it for root crops or any plants you eat that have had direct contact with the soil.

Remember, as we’ve said, chicken poo could have harmful things in it. Even if it has aged and gone through the process, it could still have some of those bad things in it.

You might want to consider those things when using chicken poo fertilizer for root crops.

chicken manure for garden

Washing

You might want to be extra careful with root crops and the likes. But don’t forget to wash everything you used chicken poop fertilizer on.

Cooking

Heat can kill some of the harmful things found in chicken poo and chicken manure. To be extra sure, you might want to cook everything before eating it.

Storing

  • Your compost pile has a high possibility of attracting rodents. It’s best to place it away from your chicken coop.
  • Again, chicken poo could have harmful things in it. Make sure you keep your compost pile out from the reach of your children and pets.
  • As you have seen, leaving out your compost pile in the open could pose many problems. You might want to invest in a compost bin. Still, compost bins are not for everybody. Read more about compost bins here before getting one. 
  • If the compost bin is not to your liking, you may want to invest in a sealed container. You might want to go for one that you can elevate at that.

Summary

That’s the complete guide to using chicken poop fertilizer!

Chickens are valuable animals, providing both meat and eggs for consumption. As you’ve seen, they can now also help in the garden with their poop!

Chicken poop is not the best topic among chicken discussions. Also, making chicken manure is not the easiest task. But it can be likened to black gold. Chicken poop fertilizer is cost-effective and undoubtedly a great addition to your garden.

Have any other chicken concerns and worries? Head on over to our other discussions!

chicken manure fertilizer

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