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Little-TON - Colorado

Starting up a chicken coop with the wife at home this year....obviously Im interested in the chicken poop..and the eggs.... ought to be interesting....
I hear the poop is strong and needs to break down..we shall see....

12/17/2014 11:28:10 AM

Whitehall Montana

Chicken poop should compost at least 2 years as it will burn everything it touches.

12/17/2014 11:32:31 AM

Eddyz@efirehose.net

Wizzy
Call me, I've raised chickens and a crap load of other birds for many years. I will help you with any questions you got
Eddy

12/17/2014 11:43:53 AM

BC, Canada

Wiz
I am the chicken man- so to speak. Chair of our local poultry club here and on the board of the local abattoir society (where I am supposed to be right now). We do lots to encourage people to grow their own food, meat and eggs. We hold workshops and do a big display at the local farmers fair. A few birds, even on a city lot, are easy to keep and can be very productive. Once a routine is learned, by both you and the birds, it can be low maintenance and a fun hobby.
Number one hint, a good coop and run that protects your birds from predators. This is the biggest heartbreak for people keeping birds that I deal with. Check with other local poultry keepers to find out the issues in your area. It is along list. Every predator in the world, us included, see chickens as a walking snack food. Neighbors dogs are probably responsible for as many losses as any other predator. Make the feeders and water containers easy to use and then you'll enjoy it. Have a steady rodent control method that gets used all the time, that includes safe feed storage- I use metal garbage cans. I use rodent bait in "stations" and also have one of those electric zapper traps.
I have a lot of birds. My manure collection method is to spread cheap hay on the ground of the run and let the birds scratch through it for seeds and bugs. This also helps to keep their feet and eggs cleaner. They poop all over it of course. Then every once in a while I pitch fork the hay liter out the little door I built at the back of the run in to a pile. The pile gets turned once and then is ready for garden. Yes, bird droppings are hot stuff when fresh.

Good luck on it. Any questions I'll be glad to help.

12/17/2014 11:52:53 AM

Netherlands

I worked for several years on my uncle's chicken farm. Farmers used to pick up the manure after it had been sitting on a huge pile for a year.

Chicken manure is extremely high in nitrogen, which causes burning. Treated dried chicken manure can contain up to 4.5% nitrogen. Dried cow manure rarely gets higher than 2.0%.

12/17/2014 12:51:38 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

We are pretty exicted to get started, chicks will come in April and will be started in the basement. Getting 8 chicks, two Rhode Island Reds, Two Easter eggers, two Plymouth Rock, and two Red starrs. They are going into the Slave patch area where once a 500 Wallace grew big. We got a high tech chicken coop and I have to make a second caged area so they can be out but nothing can get in where we are not home. If all works well, who knows. maybe Ill start a second coop up at Jareds.... Plan on even cover cropping the coop area with Peaceful Valley chicken cover, clover, tritacale, alfalfa....oh tay oh tay....cant wait to start

12/17/2014 1:12:06 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

Ill call you tonight Ice

12/17/2014 1:25:58 PM

Central Minnesota

They eat everything. Plan to keep them in a pen, free range will not work with pumpkin plants or any kind of garden. I finally got rid of all ours after 6 years. The eggs are great and for the most part they are good to have around. But, free range is tough unless you don't mind all your landscape dug out and everything eaten. You will not have much for bugs around though, like I said, they eat everything.

12/17/2014 2:13:08 PM

Corryton, TN

And everything eats them!!!

12/17/2014 3:44:43 PM

Hanson Ma

I fence my garden and I don't worry about them damaging my pumpkins. It's all in the prep. I compost my chicken stuff for 3 years. I have three piles I rotate. But I do know of people who put it in in less. The leaves were huge. You will never want a store bought egg again. Good luck.

12/17/2014 7:07:11 PM

Hanson Ma

Oh yeah and get some Easter egg chickens They lay green to blue eggs. If your gonna do it get something you can't buy in the store. Black copper Marins lay chocolate brown eggs.

12/17/2014 7:12:51 PM

Deerfield, Michigan

I agree with MNFisher, I have to clip their wings once a year to keep them in the pen/run. The eggs are great but keeping up with the high cost of feed makes it about a break even hobby. I have about 50 hens and one rooster so 25-30 eggs per day. After 2 or 3 years I get rid of them and start fresh.

12/17/2014 8:00:52 PM

NE Kansas

If chickens were six feet tall, they would be the most feared predator on earth...

12/17/2014 9:39:03 PM

BC, Canada

Nelson, you got that right! We used to have a hen that we called "Henzilla". She would get in the garden, preferring to attack the young sprouts and it was like the monster destroying Tokyo. Check out cassowaries.
We have been crossing the Marans with the Ameracaunas or Easter Eggers to get the olive eggers. Makes the dozen eggs look real cool. White to light brown to dark brown to chocolate with blue green and olive thrown in.
Still just an egg.

12/17/2014 10:43:28 PM

Going Green

If it is manure your after then rabbits are the ticket. One Doe with one litter will produce 2000 pounds manure per year. The manure doesn't burn plants like chicken manure does. Rabbit manure can be package and sold for five dollars a fifty pound bag. The Satin rabbit is used for meat and provides 2 1/2 pounds of meat at 8-9 weeks. So extra males can be sold alive for fifthteen dollars or butchered for ten dollars. Extra females can be sold for twenty to thirty dollars each. One male nine females and three to four litters per year can net you 18,000 pounds manure...15,ooo for your gardens and three thousand dollars in manure sales and two thousand dollars in rabbit sales. That's five thousand dollars income and cost you less than four hundred dollars a year in feed cost!

12/17/2014 11:41:22 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

WOW, Very Interesting on the rabbitZ. I have wild cotton tails up there now I visit 3 times a day. Ive nicked named one "Lil Bunny Rabbit', he actually comes up to me within two feet when I call him.....but putting up some cages for the manure...really has got me thinkin....Just last morning saw the fox come thru and try to get one....Last year was the first year we didnt shoe them away, they left the pumpkins alone. (always covered) and trimmed the rye grass under the canopy...

12/18/2014 9:41:57 AM

Little-TON - Colorado

so might be cool to start with a few domestic bunnies..Thanks Pumpkin Farm
Yeah Ill have to clip their wingZ so they stay in their fenced area, but most of the time they will be inside the addition I still have to build. Then make movable hoop houses so we can direct them around the yard....

12/18/2014 9:45:01 AM

BC, Canada

PF is right about the rabbits. I kept them for years. The misses is after me to do it again so she can have the manure for the rose garden. It is nice manure and doesn't have the smell of chicken droppings. They don't seem to mind being caged. And rabbits are so easy to butcher. I had it down to 2-3 minutes- no plucking.
But I never got them to lay eggs worth a damn!
If you clip the chickens wings --- only do one wing. You got foxes? Scary for the birdies!

12/18/2014 12:41:37 PM

Whitehall Montana

I have wild rabbits come into my yard and use the pumpkin leaves for shade.They fall asleep under the leaves all the time and never have chewed on any plants.

12/18/2014 12:59:16 PM

West valley, utah

I definitely agree with the rabbits, we have about 30 rabbits, we use about 50% of the Manure are in our gardens it is fantastic our plants love it, and it also makes great compost tea!!!!

12/18/2014 2:38:04 PM