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I wonder whether some kindly soul would offer some advice to a newbie on this subject and answer some (probably daft and pretty basic ) questions....?

I am a newcomer to poultry keeping - have had a couple of bantams for the past 15 months - and whilst weeding the vegetable patch last weekend I started wondering about using their manure on our clods of clay soil.

Do I need to rot the manure first? If so, how do I go about it? (sorry if this is a really daft question!). When I clean out their coop there is always far more litter (shavings) and straw than poo!

My bantams are in an ark - although I let them free range around the garden most days. Could I put the ark directly onto the veg patch over the winter? It's not a huge patch, but big enough to take the ark. I'm not sure how the hens would be if they were penned in & walking around on mud all day. Seems pretty horrid to me - soggy and uncomfortable, especially as the soil is heavy clay.

Is poultry manure OK for veg growing - I've heard it's pretty acidic and some vegetables just don't like it. We usually grow squashes, courgettes, carrots, beetroots, beans, peas, spinach. Any advice here?

Alternatively, maybe I'm best continuing what I've been doing so far...chucking it all onto the compost heap to rot down with everything else, and using our homemade compost on the veg patch...???

Thanks in advance everyone.

Helen

If your vege patch is clay, then first off you are doing the right thing by introducing organic matter in the form of compost. I would suggest that when it is next dug, adding some crushed gypsum and/or corse riversand would aid the breakdown of the clay.

As far as chook poo gos im inclined to say your doing the best possible thing by composting it before putting it on the vegegarden - also helps kill any nasties that might be in it aswell as sweetening it before aplication.

If the garden was waaaaay defficient in nutrients then mixing the poo with lime rock (garden lime) to nutrilise its acidity should help make it more tollerable to the average plant, though blueberries should thrive on it - they love acid soil

Keep doing what you are doing! It's what I do and I have ducks too so have a big bucketful of shavings, straw and poop every single day. I layer that with grass clippings and other green stuff and the kitchen vege waste.

Raw chook poo is supposed to burn plants, although it doesn't seem to harm my grass when I let them out to free range, but I suppose the rain washes it away eventually, and it's not like I'm exactly examining the lawn close up either!

Thanks for all the advice. From what you've suggested I think I will stick to what I'm currently doing - adding it to our compost heap! Probably easier too!

Chicken manure is very nitrogen rich, which is good for grasses, but bad for most veggies/flowers. It is also an excellent activator for composting - speeding up the breakdown of the other stuff you're throwing on your compost heap.

So, what you're doing is the best solution. Stick with it.

florence wrote:M bantams are in an ark - although I let them free range around the garden most days. Could I put the ark directly onto the veg patch over the winter? It's not a huge patch, but big enough to take the ark. I'm not sure how the hens would be if they were penned in & walking around on mud all day. Seems pretty horrid to me - soggy and uncomfortable, especially as the soil is heavy clay.

Helen

Hi Helen
I can sympathise with the clay. I have the same problem. Rather than letting my girls bury themselves in it, I have a temporary pen for them. It's easy to move. I let the girls have fun scratching in the clay for an hour or so and then move them to somewhere less messy.

I find you can't beat a good pair of hens's feet for incorporating whatever additive to clay soil. Whether it's grit or organic matter, then hens are sooo much better at digging it in that I am. And they clear up all the bugs for you as they do so.

Cheers
Zoe