Poultry litter

[tlbuser]

Anyone have experience with it? My pastures aren't the best and I have been told that chicken stuff is very high in N. Can get 24 tons delivered for $500.00 but I have to spread. Will a 3 pt. spreader work? I'm thinking a top dresser unit would be best, but I haven't a clue where I could rent/borrow one from.

 

[bucktaker]

chicken Sh$t is very hot as a fertilizer make sure its aged or it will do more harm than good. I use pile it and spread it on the neighbors garden in the winter. Man it stinks too....

 

[forgeblast]

If they were using scratch grains it will reseed the area too

 

[MarkV]

It is used a lot on hay fields around here. I don't think that a 3pt spreader will do but have never tried.

MarkV

 

[TRR]

They use a regular manure spreader around here. It's used on the hay fields and smells for about 2 weeks. There's a guy that does both the hauling and spreading around here. Everything I've read says it needs to be aged, but don't know if what is used is aged.

 

[Fossil Farm]

If you are only surface spreading, and not going to incorporate the manure, you won't have as much problem with the high N content. Is it from an egg production facility or a pullet facility? Depends if they mix it with sawdust, sand, straw, etc. as to how good it is for your pasture. As said before, weed seeds and grains may or may not be a problem. Might want to ask a few more questions before getting it. Sounds like they will just dump it in a pile, and not spread it for you ?? You will most likely need a FEL and a manure spreader then.

 

[bp fick]

Chicken litter is best spread in fall/winter and it will "age" right on the field. If this was coming from a commercial grower or hen operation, there will be no worry about seeds. The feed is ground fine, into a mash. Plus, the anatomy of a chicken crushes the feed/seed in the gizzard and is fed grit to assist the process. No worries about weeds as you have with ruminant animal. The commercial houses don't clean their barns everyday. That product will be somewhat aged by the time they clean out their facilities anyhow.

Depending on the litter used, typically wood shaving and sawdust, the compost ratio is just about perfect.

We drive our market gardening farm with chicken litter from our own chickens. 24 tons is probably best spread with manure spreader. Ask around. You could also dump it the best you can and then rake it around?

 

[nazbom2]

On the Eastern Shore of MD VA there are a lot of chicken farms, I used to hunt quail over there and the farmers would be spreading the chicken manure over their field, it stunk bad. years later I started to raise chickens although on a poersonal/family use scale and we spread their waste on our gardens but let it age first. I can tell you this the run off from the coop had the greenest grass in the field, very high Nitrogen.