Chicken Manure

[Bullfrog44]

Hello fellow organic growers, I come for advice again.

I am thinking about raising chickens for the purpose of fertilizer for my organic garden. Problem is I don't know how many chickens I should raise to sustain my garden. The garden could get as big as 50 x 35, but right now it is 25 x 35. The other issue is I live in a city, and have neighbors. Would chickens cause noise or smell issues? Any other advice?

 

[h.h.]

Unless you make use of the poultry products, it's an expensive source of fertilizer.
If you want to raise chickens, you need a rooster. If you don't want noise, don't get a rooster.
Layers are you're best bet. A couple of birds will give you 2 to 4 eggs a day which is plenty for most folks. You will need supplemental light about half the year to keep them coming. Give the neighbors eggs to keep them happy and not complaining.
Stink? Get enough and they will.

 

[Red Fang]

I have no idea how many chickens would be necessary for your needs, but it would be many, probably dozens or hundreds and even a few is likely a no go in the city. A coup that is regularly cleaned may not smell that bad, but it will smell too much for such close quarters more than likely. I had chickens as a teenager and roosters are noisy. Roosters are not necessary for egg production but are if you want to produce your own chicks. Maybe rabbits would be better, they make great manure, lots of it and make no noise and smell can be controlled with regular cleaning. Rabbit and goat manure are the best or so I hear. peace

 

[nukklehead]

Carefull though that SHITS hot..lol

 

[h.h.]

Bake some birdseed so that it doesn't sprout and spread it liberally around the property to attract native birds. Stop feeding several weeks before any planting. And or pile sticks loosely over the plantings. It's mostly quail that destroy seedlings but everybody wants the seed.
Plant sunflowers, trumpet vines, thistle, deergrass. Small flowers to bring in bugs to eat, some shallow water with stones protruding out.

Layers are only really good for a few years. If you get a bunch now, you'll end up with a bunch of useless birds down the road..Get a couple of fancy chickens. Maybe some araucanas. Get a couple more when production starts to fall off so you're only supporting a couple at a time in retirement.

 

[Paul_Revere]

Carefull though that SHITS hot..lol

I'll sencond that! I don't grow weed organically, but i do in my veggie garden outside. Alittle chicken manure goes a long way. Collard greens love it.

 

[Bullfrog44]

I am not oppose to any other animals either. Goats would be good for milk as well, and I bet my bulldogs would love a goat around. I am trying to be self sufficient as well, you know, in case the world as we know it ends. Rabbits sound promising as well. Keep the info coming you guys.

 

[h.h.]

When the end of civilization comes, I don't want to have to feed anything but myself. Not unless I become a goat herder with lots of land to travel.
I liked Sea Maiden's idea of snails. High protein and people aren't gonna beat you down to get em'.
Rabbits might be a good bet, though they don't come without smell and again you have to be into butchering.
Pot bellied pigs, though nobody I know considers them food, I think would be worth considering.
Most people I know with goats, have them penned up out back and don't get much use out of them. You really got to have a taste for the meat and the milk. Those who do use the products were raised with the taste. If you don't want stink, don't get a male.

 

[mad librettist]

In my neighborohood goat meat is very common. Nice flavor and low fat.

 

[h.h.]

In my neighborohood goat meat is very common. Nice flavor and low fat.

For many, butchering a goat, is a time of celebration. Here it varies with culture. Most either love it or they don't like it at all. It just has a different flavor you should be aware of before jumping in.

 

[pearlemae]

Theres a couple of ways to go. If you are seeking to be self sufficient you'll need a sizable flock 12 or 15, most of your chicken manure will come from the coop, they poop alot a night. If you put your run where the garden is going to be they will help till the garden and poop to fertilize. The best way is to get a couple of pigs, put the pigs on the garden plot and they will plow it for you. They can really break up virgin ground, take the pigs off when they are done and till it up. You can eat the pigs, and chickens get a freezer for sure.
Good luck get the book self sufficiency on five acres, even if you don't have that much land it has a lot of really good info.
I did the whole organic back to the land thing in the early 70's in Northern Idaho. rented a hundred plus year old farm. Great live while it lasted.

 

[grapeman]

AS HH says, chicken shit is hot. We haven't used it for decades. If not composted properly, it can cause a lot of problems.

One thing for sure if you use it, you better have a dedicated zinc foliar program as CS will tie up your zinc sources in the soil.

 

[mad librettist]

chicken tractor!


dehydrated chicken shit is one of the biotone ingredients

 

[trichrider]

six layers provide 4 or 5 eggs daily, you must compost the squat, and they smell as bad as pigs imo. no rooster, no sound problems.
seems like every one of my neighbors keeps chickens. they are popular. get two pullets every spring and they will be laying by thanksgiving...you can eat the retirees.

they are expensive to feed! so keep that in mind...($50 month or so), good luck.

 

[fungzyme]

Don't know how rural you are, but if you want chicken manure it's probably best to just find a source of composted chicken manure. If you want chickens - and they're great, I have 3 hens and live in a suburban area - it's probably going to take a bunch to be able to get significant amts of manure. You'll have a shitload of eggs, though! My problem at the moment is that my compost piles are predominantly hay because that's what we put down in the coop and in the henhouse. There's manure mixed in with it, but not really enough. As far as noise/smell, they're a hundred times better than any of my neighbor's dogs - they squawk every once in a while, but they're in the henhouse at dusk and back out in the morning - not barking like crazy every time an emergency siren goes off 24/7 like the neighbor dogs. And no smell to speak of - if I had 2 dozen it might be a different story though.

If I could only train them to poop directly in the compost pile, I'd be in chicken heaven.

 

[gOurd^jr.]

surprised noone yet has mentioned ducks...many prefer the eggs, which are bigger too. And ducks are not known for being loud as roosters are.
I saw a short clip of a sheep farmer who went organic and started rotating his sheep with ducks and perhaps goats? there was a third critter i think goats. Apparently they can work well since they eat selectively different things as one population recovers from grazing another is being utilized.
perhaps I can find a link that demonstrates better as I am a biit zooted atm

edit not much luck finding a good vid but Fukuoka used to use ducks running around his field i recall

 

[Bullfrog44]

Lots of good advice, one thing I would like to throw out is I don't want to become a butcher. Not what I am about. Main thing I want is possible fertilizer and eggs or milk. Love the goat, chicken and duck ideas. I threw out some of these ideas with my family and I didn't even know that half my family have raised birds at some point in their lives, crazy.

 

[fungzyme]

I threw out some of these ideas with my family and I didn't even know that half my family have raised birds at some point in their lives, crazy.

Heh - ain't that the truth. Seems like everybody we talk to and mention chickens has a chicken story of their own, from childhood, or a grandparent's farm, etc. A lot of people out there are only one generation away from a rural/small town existence, I guess. I hope to get back to that myself within the next few years...

 

[Granger2]

Bull,
Goats are notorious for getting thru and over fences. One goat could cost you thousands in one short incident. Rabbits will mess with your crop if they get the chance, and will burrow under any fence. Must stay in hutches always. Pigs will destroy your crop.

Most any manure is going to do a good job for you, but all will need to be composted first, or spread when garden is fallow.

I kind of liked HH's idea with the birdseed. You could use a simple cheap hand held spreader, or throw it out by hand where you want the birds to crap. Offer a bird bath also. Good luck. -granger

 

[manpan]

An old girlfriend made me a Jamaican curried goat dish. It was awesome.
I'm just saying there are meat options for goat. The flavor was certainly unusual.