I have chickens and would like to use aged manure from under the layer roosts as the only fertilizer. Anyone have a recipe for peat based mix using chicken manure?

My manure analysis is N 1.8 P 2.4 K 1.3 etc.

How much per cubic foot of mix?

Since the manure has SOME liming capability, would I still need to add that?

Any trace elements that the manure is missing that I'd need to add?

Any help appreciated!

in pots you use POTTING MEDIA ...

and until you train the chicken to poop in the pot.. manure is not media ...

can you.. predict how it will effect drainage??

predict water retention???

predict what diseases/problems it might carry .. or encourage in a pot .... damping off/gnats/mildews/fungi ..

etc????

what it will do in the pot in regard to media structure ... is much more important than whatever benefit you might get from the low fert ...

in my world.. success in pots is all about predicting how the media will respond ... and when you start adding variables ... is when you start having problems ...

all that said.. try some in a FEW POTS ... but do the vast majority in sterile potting media .... and then report back as to the result ....

the only way to truly learn.. is to experiment.. but dont bet the retirement on your theory by doing the whole project with such ...

but again.. that is my warped world ...

ken

I think if you're going to use chicken manure for fertilizer, you would need to compost it first (see link below).

BTW, a point that might be of interest to you is that your manure analysis (1.8/2.4/1.3) would be approximately equivalent to a commercially purchased fertilizer of something like 1.8/5.45/1.56 (except of course the commercial fertilizer would normally contain secondary and micro nutrients as well).

The reason for that is because fertilizer companies always report the middle number as P205 (which is phosphate not actual phosphorus). The last number is reported as K20 (which is potash not actual potassium). To get the actual phosphorus percentage, you'd have to multiple their number by .44 and to get the actual potassium, you'd have to multiply their number by .83

Art