Animal manure can be obtained from many animals. Their diet is essential, which is why animals that eat vegetables are the ones that produce the best quality animal compost.
One of them is chicken manure (also called chicken manure), which mixes the excrement of animals such as hens or foals with the straw from the bed they usually use for resting or laying eggs. .
Considering the food that these animals carry during their life, chicken manure is very interesting in agriculture because of its nutrient intakemuch higher than other types of animal and plant organic matter.
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Composition of chicken or hen manure
Chicken manure is an excellent source of nutrients. Its nitrogen and phosphorus content is at least twice that of other agricultural fertilizers such as cow manure.
The percentage of chicken droppings and other matter is not the only variable in nutrient content. The age of the chickens and the way they are raised also plays a role.
In addition to chicken droppings, chicken manure contains anything picked up when cleaning a chicken coop: urine, feathers, food scraps and chicken coop litter such as straw and hay, pine shavings or cedar, grass clippings, shredded leaves and recycled paper. This is why the NPK ratio in chicken manure varies a lot.
An average composition for good decomposed chicken manure (chicken manure) is as follows, according to Castellanos:
| Nutrient | Amount (%) |
| Organic material | 70.0% |
| Nitrogen | 3.47% |
| Match | 3.08% |
| Potassium | 2.09% |
| Calcium | 6.12% |
| Magnesium | 0.83% |
| Sodium | 0.56% |
Therefore, we are talking about one of the manures with the highest concentration of nutrients, which is why it is usually used regularly in the contribution to the payment of the fund in many demanding cultures.
Unlike other types of manure from larger animals (such as horses or cattle), the potassium intake is significantly lowerthis is why it is usually mixed with fertilizers such as potassium sulphate to enrich it and increase the fertilizing units of this mineral.
What is the use of applying chicken manure to the soil?
The high organic matter content of chicken manure or chicken manure offers an overall improvement in its soil physical, chemical and biological parameters.
However, this manure It is mainly used for the supply of nutrients.since as we commented before, its content is much higher than that of other animals, and much more compared to vegetable compost, where they tend to be scarce in nitrogen and phosphorus content.
Some of the benefits of chicken manure in improving soil properties are:
- Increases the concentration of organic matter and carbon in the soil
- Increases microbiological life and its heterogeneity.
- Improves moisture retention and root development.
- Increases the supply of nutrients and the assimilation of fertilizers.
- Provides a good amount of nutrients as an organic (and likely organic) source
Chicken manure dose
chicken manure does not have a specific doseand its quantity is mainly based on the supply of nutrients that one wishes to incorporate into the soil.
For example, to provide 100 FU of nitrogen, considering an average concentration of 3.4% nitrogen, 3 t/ha (3000 kg/ha) must be provided.
Usually it is incorporated between 5-10 t/hacovering a large part of crop needs in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
If we want to dose per square meter, for small areas and other areas, such as gardening and orchards, we would talk about a recommended standard of 0.5-1kg/m2.
Compared to other fertilizers with less nutrient concentration, between 2 and 3 kg/m2 are usually added.
Source: iasoybeansHen Manure Presentation Format
Chicken manure can be purchased in small quantities (mainly bags) or in large quantities, by truckloads.
It can be applied to the soil as is, once decomposed, with a mixture of usual straw from animal litter or transformed into granule shapewith better conservation and greater ease of application by machines.
Importance of composting
One of the problems with chicken manure is that you have to control its state of decomposition very well before applying it to the soil.
When used fresh directly in the field, its high nitrogen content mainly of ammoniacal originmay result phytotoxic to roots Plant.
The ammoniumwith the temperature in the soil (when applied in summer for example), it quickly passes into gaseous form, ammoniawhich at high concentrations literally burns the root system Harvests.
Therefore, it is recommended to use it only when it is already perfectly composted and decomposedtransformed a large part of the nitrogen into the organic form (organic nitrogen).