Between rows as in a strip 6" to 12" wide for 36"+ rows might be pratical and save time and labor of composting especialy for corn which can utilize more N than most plants. As you probably know,most gardeners believe chicken manure is too hot without composting first. In common use where contact with plant parts is possiable and/or plants that are easily over fed with N,I aggree. Tomatoe is a plant where chicken manure can easily have extremly bad effects because it doesn't handle N very well and liklyhood of contact with plant is likly. If you look closly at a famer's field of corn you will notice plants are so close to one another,the untrained eye might confuse it with milo and the color shows very generious amounts of N.
Knowing my advice is contrary to the majority,I encourage you at minium do a test plot. You and your chickens might become the envy of the neighborhood with future crops.

All animal manures should be composted before going on, or in, the soil, if only because of the potential of disease pathogens.

Kimmmsr, possiability of soil born pathogens impact on livestock and humans consuming plants is of great interest to the agriculture communuty. USDA and Texas ag extension service have always countered claims this is possiable by those apposed to animals as food. I try staying out front on issues that could possiably effect farming and ranching.
Will you please pass along research sources you know of on the subject of animal born diseases that can be transported from soil to above ground plant parts. I didn't see the need of getting into this discussion , hence the caveat about ground contact by eatable parts which the majority on GardenWeb already understand.

klem1, there have been, in the last 30 years, numerous food recalls, both meat and vegetables, because of contamination by animal manures with disease pathogens such as E-Coli, Listeria. Salmonella, and others. The Center for Disease Control, The National Institute for Health, the USDA all have come out with recommendations about using animal manures in the garden which is in used then they should not be applied sooner then 90 days before harvesting of crops growing above ground and 120 days for root crops, and that it is best to compost animal manures before using in the garden.
The link is just one of many readily available.

Here is a link that might be useful: Animal manures in the garden

All chicken manure is not the same. If the chickens are kept using the deep litter method, the poo and litter compost in the coop with the chickens providing the mixing during the average one year between clean outs. It stays clean and earthy smelling BTW.

But someone like my city neighbor that cleans out the coop each week for his three chickens, as is normal for many city type coops, that litter and poo then goes to a compost pile.. which chickens love stirring for you.

Deep litter method I would not worry about putting it between rows as the corn seeds are planted, especially if it's a long season variety. So I don't see one simple answer .

All manure, from animals or humans, can contain disease pathogens. How clean their environment has little to do with whether there may be disease pathogens present or not.

Kimmsr,The quote at bottom of this post is from the link you posted that supports what I told the OP AND answers the question on wherther pathogens are transported from soil to the ears of corn. I tried answering the origional question and make it clear I don't advocate applying chicken litter to all his plants. Fact is I never said it is the prefered way,but was ok for saving labor if that's the goal. If this business came up in conversation between just you and I,there would be no reason to carry it this far. But in light of the fact that the majority of we who requent GW are hobbiest,your broad statments are almost certain to confuse the issue of soil amendments for many of us. I encourage anyone who sees this thread and still is unsure,to not only check out your link but others as well before making up thier mind. I encourage Kimmsr to think twice about sweeping statments such as " All manure, from animals or humans, can contain disease pathogens. How clean their environment has little to do with whether there may be disease pathogens present or not." because while it is true, those reading it likly miss the word CAN and assume all manure contains all those pathogens and is better avoided alltogeather for any purpose. Collective,the experts that speak on this simply want to make the listener aware and reccommend ways of reducing risk, not name the risks and drop the subject leaving the listener scared and nervious feeling they should just stay away from waste material because of all the desease lurking in them. There is risk of catching any number of disease every time you leave home but you simply take steps like washing hands to reduce risk. I will leave it like this. Rather than attempting to poke holes in baloons,just say I don't think it's a good idea. If you feel the need to campain against manure as soil amenedment,start with those better informed that you and I who outright say bunny,lama,goat,sheep and others are good to go straight to the garden without restrictions on which plants nor when.

"Animal manures harbor pathogens harmful to humans, including E. Coli, Salmonella, and Campylobacter bacteria, and Giardia or Cryptosporidium protozoa. These organisms are not actually taken up by plants, but they can affect people when they consume crops contaminated with soil."

I disagree that all manure contain harmful bacteria. Manure from grass fed cows contains orders of magnitude less harmful bacteria than corn fed. If it was my corn plot, knowing that I will cook all corn, that the soil will filter most of the bacteria, that I can do between the rows fertilization, I would just go ahead. If it does not burn the plants, and unless it is extremely fresh and applied right on the seed it won't, it will make great corn. Pathogens are a problem for uncooked produce. I never heard of a salmonella outbreak linked to corn.

Ever since the early 1900's when people found that Mary Mallon, aka typhoid Mary, was a carrier of Typhus and was infecting people whereever she worked in food service we have known that manures, both human and animal, contain many disease pathogens. Denial does not make that any less sure, and none of the research I have seen to date supports the misinformation that grass fed animals are ess likely to have disease pathogens in their manure.