Preparing Manure from Chicken Dump- Need Suggestion

Dear All,

We generate around 4-5 Tons of chicken dumps mixed with rice husks and we want to use the same to prepare manure for our crops and vegetables.

Kindly suggest how can we make a proper fertilizer out of it. We have an open field where we are storing it presently.

Despite the paucity of literature about chicken litter safety for land application little is known about the safety of chicken litter for land application and general release into the environment.
This waste is potentially important for land application as an organic fertilizer because of its relatively high nutrient content especially nitrogen, attributable to inherently high levels of protein and amino acids .
Chicken litter is a mixture of chicken feces, feathers, bedding materials and spilt feeds, drugs, and water etc. is also contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasitic protozoa, and helminthes; antibiotics and pathogenic microbes with antibiotic-resistant genes; heavy metals; growth and sex hormones such as estrogen, specifically 17 beta estradiol, and testosterone; and pesticides such as dioxins, furans, polychlorinated biphenyls, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Pathogenic bacteria in chicken litter and chicken litter-based organic fertilizer.
E. coli , Salmonella , Campylobacter , Staphylococcus, Clostridium , Listeria, Actinobacillus, Mycobacterium etc.

These are highly pathogenic bacteria with health devastating effects in humans and livestock . and the potential to widely spread in the environment both vertically and horizontally, implying that they can have devastating human and environment health as well as economic problems .
Staphyloccocus aureus* infects humans through air, water, and crop farms .
Clostridium botulinum* is transmitted to cattle when the animals eat toxin-containing spores of the bacterium that may be found in soils or decomposing carcasses of birds in chicken litter.
Clostridium perfrigenes* is picked from contaminated soils and human and animal feces or waste that may come with bedding materials or feed ingredients .
Listeria monocytogenes* infection (listriosis) is mainly through ingestion of contaminated produce following soil application of contaminated chicken litter.
L. monocytogenes* , although not absorbed by plants, stick to roots and plant surfaces . thereby contaminating vegetables, edible fruits, and root crops from agricultural land where chicken litter has been applied.

Fungi, helminthes, protozoa, and viruses in chicken litter
Fungi such as Histoplasma capsulatum Aspergillus spp. , Penicillum spp. , Fusarium spp.
Infective Parasites viz. Heliminth ova (Ascaris spp. & Tenia spp.) , Protozoa (Cryptosporidium & Giardia spp.)
Viruses etc, HPAI , H5NI strain

Antibiotics in poultry litter
Fluoroquinolones, which include ciprofloxacin, danofloxacin, difloxacin, enrofloxacin, fleroxacin, lomefloxacin, and norfloxacin etc.
Sulfonamides that entail sulfachloropyradazine, sulfadiazine, sulfadimidine, sulfaguanidine,
sulfamerazine, sulfomethoxazole, sulfamonomethoxine, and sulfanilamide.etc.
Tetracyclines, which encompass chlortetracycline, doxycycline, methacycline, oxytetracycline,
fluoroquinolones, sulfonamides, and tetracyclines.
The presence of antibiotics, especially those that kill pathogens in chicken litter and are broad spectrum, may distort major biological processes in soil upon application of the litter, including development of antibiotic resistance, which can affect humans, livestock, fish, and wildlife .
Some antibiotics such as chlortetracycline are adsorbed onto food crops such as vegetables (green onion and cabbage) and corn in levels increasing with soil contamination .
Upon land application of antibiotics-loaded chicken litter, some of the antibiotics are easily leached through the soil to groundwater and adjacent water sources, thereby affecting non-target organisms

Pesticides in poultry litter
Rabon, Zoalene, Unistat, Nicarbazin, Furazolidone, Nitrofurazone, and Cyromazin etc. incorporated in poultry diets to destroy insects at their larval stage in chicken bedding have also been detected in broiler litter in concentrations increasing with the chemical amounts, use frequencies, retention and stability and composting stage of the litter meaning it can also enter the water systems.

Heavy metals in poultry litter
In poultry production, heavy metals, including arsenic (As), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), selenium (Se), and zinc (Zn) are added to feeds in the form of minerals such as zinc oxide and manganese oxide in various formulations for disease prevention and feed conversion efficiency for the purpose of improving weight gain and egg production . To maximize gains poultry famers commonly feed birds, especially broilers, on higher levels of the elements, particularly cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and arsenic (As) etc.
The presence of heavy metals in chicken litter such as Cu, Fe, Mn, Co, Mo, Zn, and perhaps nickel (Ni) and selenium (Se) required for plant growth could make chicken litter a rich source of micro-nutrients. However, the high concentrations of Cd, Pb, As, and Hg pose serious health risks to animals, plants, and environmental health. In humans, ingestion of As beyond the MPL, for example more than 10 g/L in drinking water, may induce malnutrition; upper gastro-intestinal, reproductive, lung, and skin cancers; neurological and hormonal defects; Cd causes kidney, liver, and brain damage, and is carcinogenic; Hg and Pb cause fatal brain damage; and Co results in sterility .
Land application of heavy-metal-contaminated chicken litter in large quantities, or repeatedly, may exacerbate heavy metal pollution

Growth hormones in poultry litter :
In chicken litter, there are also sex hormones such as estrogen, specifically 17 beta estradiol and testosterone, excreted through chicken urine and feces, with a negative effect on reproduction in aquatic organisms such as fish .

In brief "Poultry Litter " is not safe for land application as fertilizer !

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Thanks for also pointing out the risks, however I have considered the demerits already and therefore looking for a solution to turn it into compost… Poultry litter if treated properly will get rid of these conditions.

Still looking for suggestions…

Chicken litter is usually rich in nitrogen but poor in carbon, showing low C/N ratio which limits the composting process.
In order to obtain the optimum C/N ratio, poultry manure can be composted with different organic amendments ( agro waste ) that behave as carbon source.
The major disadvantage of the process is the large quantity of carbon-rich materials necessary to accomplish the C/N ratio recommended values .

Below are some practical hints that may render dry chicken litter waste into a safer bio fertilizer feedstock.
Restrict land application of dry chicken litter at least 100 feet from a bore well, water source etc.
Keep dry chicken litter stockpiles at least 100 feet from a stream, water body, or bore well .
Do not leave dry chicken litter stockpiles uncovered for more than 15 days.
Do not apply dry chicken litter on land that is flooded .
Do not apply dry chicken litter to land during precipitation events.
Apply dry chicken litter at no greater than agronomic rates.
Apply dry chicken litter at no greater than agronomic rates
Dry chicken litter land application .
Balance nitrogen application rates and nitrogen crop requirements, with application rates not to exceed the realistic nitrogen rate .
Ensure that soil pH is maintained in a range appropriate for crop production.
There should not be any potential for spills or runoff into surface waters when applying dry chicken litter Therefore, it is advisable to maintain some field buffers between litter application areas and streams or other surface waters.

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Dear Farmer,
we are doing this process in two ways.
one way : in a elevated shade place, with rain protection, we keep chicken dungs with paddy husk or any other bio bed materials, one tonne , spread it on the soil to a maximu height of 45 cms. All around this heap, arrange a bund of , 6 inch height with soil, and water the chuicken mannure, (droppings/poop), to an extent of 50 to 60 % wetness.( should not be watery and must be wet and when pressing, water should not drain). cover the heap with old wet jute gunny covers.
Keep for 3 days and then add Mushroom spawn, Sajor Kaju 1 kilo, spread it on the heap and mix it thoroughly with spade, and finally sprinkle required water ( to maintain 50 to 60 % wetness ), cover the heap with old wet jute gunny covers.
once in 3 days, mix the heap, wet the heap to required and cover the gunny bags.
after 30 or 35 days, you will find the chicken droppings/mannure in black colour, oder less. means the compost is ready for use.
2nd way: Use waste decomposer of (NCOF), National Centre for organic farming, sprinkle the processed waste decomposer- 200 ltrs, instead of sajor kaju. The rwmaining process and time is same.
you can use the compost for all your plants.
with best wishes sir, g.p.rao, farmer

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Dear Mr Rao,

Thanks a lot for the advice, I will give it a try the first method and will update here with the results.

Is the production of poultry excreta 4-5 MT per day or month
We can provide a high utility product from this so called problematic waste/pollutant. The negative aspects can be converted into positove aspect.
Äąet us know your interest