Chicken manure as an organic fertilizer1

Abstract

Four chicken manure samples (two fresh, one two months old and the other 24 months old) were evaluated for pH, total and available nutrient content, and total and exchangeable Al, Total N ranged from 2.47 to 3.72%, the lowest value corresponding to the 24-month-old manure. There was little variation among manures as to total P, Ca and K, averaging 18,588, 18,358 and 24,238 p/m, respectively. Total Mg and total Al were higher in the 2- and 24-month-old manures; however, no increase in the exchangeable fractions of these cations was observed. Exchangeable Ca ranged from 1,558 to 5,200 p/m; however, no specific pattern with age of the manure was observed. AH the K present in the manures was in the exchangeable form. Available P increased with age of the manure. This P fraction represented 10, 7, 68 and 97% of total P for fresh (1), fresh (2), 2-month-old, and 24-month-old manures, respectively.