- Author: Edward Walbolt
Chicken manure compost is an environmentally friendly and effective organic garden fertilizer. I use chicken manure to amend my soil and add usable nutrients to it at the start of the planting season. As a vegetable gardener, I treat my soil with plenty of chicken manure compost before I plant my crop in order to help provide a good start to the garden. I turn lots of chicken manure into the soil before I place my starters. After I have all the plants in the ground I add a thin layer of chicken manure to top my soil as well. I notice that applying in this fashion allows for extended release of the nutrients. In comparison with chemical fertilizers, manure is more cost effective and can be purchased inexpensively almost everywhere. Chicken manure is most preferred over steer or rabbit manure for its well rounded nutrient spectrum after it has composted and been prepared for garden use. Chicken manure is the richest variety containing the highest N-P-K ratios in comparison with other farm animal manures. Chicken manure subjectively seems to have the least amount of “odor” when compared to the other varieties making it more desirable to work with, if you will. An important tip, gardeners should only use manure that has already been composted for garden use. If the manure is not broken down and composted before use there is a very strong nitrogen content that will “burn” and can potentially damage or destroy your plants. Garden variety chicken manure is sold at all the home improvement retailers and has been composted and is ready for you to use immediately. Chicken manure will be the reason you are almost certain to have someone caught noticing your well-grown garden while asking you, “do you smell that?”
![chicken chicken](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/USS/blogfiles/11622.jpg)