# Chicken Manure On Hay Fields



## pengs68

Anybody use Chicken Manure on their hay fields? I have heard good things but never tried it myself. I am going to lime and get my fields ph levels right this year. Then I was going to try and spread Chicken Manure next spring or the year after.


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## slowzuki

I'd love to but its very expensive to buy here.


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## vhaby

Are you thinking about laying hen manure or broiler litter?


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## Tim/South

We used chicken manure 30 years ago. It was a soupy and smelled to high heavens until it rained. There was a noticeable increase in weeds, most we had never seen before. 
I believe our state regulations now call for the manure to sit under a roof for one year before being sold and spread. I am not 100% certain about that, just what I was told.
Bermuda seemed to love it.


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## somedevildawg

I live too close to town and neighbors, stinks.......have to do two applications for required N, by that time coulda bought urea and not had to deal with the smell...my p levels prohibited me from using anymore.


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## endrow

We donot use manure on the orchard grass fields all our customers want low pottassium grass hay.


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## pengs68

vhaby said:


> Are you thinking about laying hen manure or broiler litter?


 I know its composted but I am not sure if it is hen or broiler.


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## pengs68

somedevildawg said:


> I live too close to town and neighbors, stinks.......have to do two applications for required N, by that time coulda bought urea and not had to deal with the smell...my p levels prohibited me from using anymore.


I have used Urea in the past but it seemed to only give the fields a bump in crop that year and maybe a little the next. I was hoping to get more of a prolonged bump and increase the organic matter in the soil.


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## enos

Used broiler manure for years. Composted it for a year. When wet it stinks something horrid. Had the neighbors looking for a body in woods next to farm. When fresh it will burn grass if put on too heavy. I either put it on at 12 yards per acre with lime spreader or did it when raining/ irrigating. Go too heavy and you will not dry it, on orchard grass it gets so thick it lodges and goes mushy. I found the best use of it was for reseeding, lay on thick, plow it under 8 inches and seed to grass. When the roots get long enough to hit manure the plants can use it.


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## NDVA HAYMAN

We have put it down in the fall at 2 tons per acre. It was laying hen manure and yes it does stink for a bit. Smells like ammonia to me. I have a sample tested to see what I am getting. Mike


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## Bob M

I have used some on rented ground in the past. As Mike said above 2 ton/ac will probably be enough if it is dry. I did not have any problems with weeds and the hay seemed to respond well.


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## NDVA HAYMAN

By the way, what we are getting now is called "finishing end manure". I took it that it is the manure that comes from larger birds that are ready or have left for Tyson to be butchered. But I am not sure of that. Maybe someone can chime in. Mike


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## ANewman

I work for a friend of mine when not doing hay. We clean out chicken houses for a living. Mostly broiler houses and a few pullet houses. He sells the litter to mostly row crop customers. If you know the quality of the product you are buying it can be very beneficial if you can overlook the smell and the mess. All of what we sell is powder dry and generally has around a 60-40-50 NPK per ton analysis.

Tim is right, Bermuda loves litter! Along with a little supplemental N.


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## Hand&Hand Farms

Hen is great if put out from late fall til about now. We put about 2 tons per acre with no more weed problems than normal. It does an excellent for us on bermuda and bahia. Of course soil sample calls for more N but in MS no one is going to pay 45 to 50 dollars a roll just to cover N cost. Like someone else said, don't put hen out after the first cutting, it will take a week to dry at 95 degrees.

When we can get it we will put about half ton of broiler out after each cutting just for the N. We mainly clean out the laying houses because no one else wants to mess with them and the row crop guys pay top dollar for the broiler.

We all use it here so smell don't matter to us, it just upsets the Democrats.


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## evan

Around here it is a very sought after fertilizer, however the weeds are a nightmare. We mainly grow organic fresh market vegetables (160 acres) and we use composted poultry manure as our main fertilizer and love it, it gives a stable source of N and works great as a carrier for other nutriants and minerals. DO NOT let any of it get wet in a hopper... it turns to the most horrid mush known to man...


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