What Do I Do With All That Chicken Poo?

Did you know that the average chicken poops roughly every twenty to thirty minutes? That means a single chicken can produce up to fifty droppings in a day! When you have close to forty chickens like I do, that quickly adds up to around 1,400 droppings every single week. Needless to say, chicken keeping isn’t all fresh eggs and fluffy chicks. One of the less glamorous parts of owning a flock is dealing with the mountains of chicken manure they produce.

So, what do I do with all that poo?

The first thing to understand is that chicken manure is actually a valuable resource. While most people see it as waste, gardeners and farmers often see it as black gold. Chicken manure contains important nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which are essential for healthy plant growth. In fact, chicken manure is one of the most nutrient-rich animal manures available.

However, there’s a catch. Fresh chicken manure is too strong to be applied directly to most plants. Because it contains such high levels of nitrogen, it can burn plant roots and damage crops. That’s why it needs to be composted before it is used in the garden.

One of the easiest ways to compost chicken manure is to keep a compost pile directly in the chicken run. This might sound a little strange at first, but it actually has several benefits. Chickens love scratching through compost piles in search of insects, worms, seeds, and other tasty treats. As they dig through the material, they naturally turn and aerate the pile for you. This helps speed up the composting process while giving your flock something fun to do.

A compost pile in the run also helps keep chickens occupied, which can reduce boredom and unwanted behaviours such as feather pecking. Rather than standing around looking for trouble, the chickens spend their time exploring and scratching through the pile. It’s a simple form of enrichment that requires very little effort.

Whenever I clean out the coop, I can simply add the manure and used bedding straight onto the compost pile. The chickens then do much of the work by breaking it apart and mixing it together. Over time, kitchen scraps, leaves, grass clippings, wood shavings, and chicken manure all break down into a rich compost that can later be used around the property.

Once properly composted, chicken manure becomes an excellent natural fertiliser. It helps improve soil structure, increases water retention, and provides a slow release of nutrients that plants can use over time. Garden beds, fruit trees, and ornamental plants can all benefit from the addition of composted chicken manure.

For poultry keepers with larger flocks, chicken manure can even become a small business opportunity. Many gardeners are happy to purchase composted manure because it provides a natural alternative to synthetic fertilisers. What starts as a waste product can eventually become something valuable.

Of course, not every bit of manure ends up in the compost pile immediately. Regular cleaning of the coop and run is still important for keeping chickens healthy. Removing excess droppings helps control odours, reduce flies, and maintain a cleaner environment for the flock. Healthy chickens are happier chickens, and happy chickens tend to be more productive.

While dealing with chicken manure may not be the most exciting part of poultry keeping, it is simply part of the job. Every egg collected comes with a little bit of cleaning somewhere along the way. The good news is that what starts as an unpleasant chore can actually become something useful and productive.

So, the next time you think about the amount of manure a flock produces, remember that it’s not just waste. Whether it becomes compost for the garden, fertiliser for fruit trees, or even a product to sell, chicken manure has plenty of value. By keeping a compost pile in the chicken run, you can even get your flock to help with the work. That’s a win for the chickens, a win for the garden, and a win for the chicken keeper.