Chicken Litter & Hydrophobic Soils

Litter as Fertilizer or Mulch

• Chicken litter is one of the best types of natural fertilizers because of the high concentration of nutrients in the manure. The litter is packed with vital plant macro-nutrients nitrogen and phosphorous because of the rich diet chickens require. Incorporate chicken litter into farmland or gardens by applying it to the surface of the field and then tilling it in or plowing it under. Chicken litter is also an effective mulch. Because chicken litter is a mixture of manure and bedding made from straw, hay or sawdust, you can use the properties of the litter to keep weeds down and to cover bare ground. Since the ingredients in chicken litter vary, its effectiveness as a fertilizer is not always the same. For example, chicken litter with straw in it will be a better mulch than one with sawdust. However, the sawdust chicken litter will increase soil fertility better since the sawdust particles are small.

Aggregate Stability

• If soil particles do not adhere to one another well due to low amounts of clay and organic matter, the soil may be hydrophobic due to poor aggregate stability. Aggregate stability is the ability of the soil to form tiny clods and cracks in its surface. Good aggregate stability allows water to penetrate easily into the soil. Since chicken litter is high in organic matter, adding it to a soil can increase the aggregate stability of the soil because the organic matter contained in the litter acts as a bonding agent between soil particles. However, adding too much chicken litter to any soil can lead to hydrophobicity.

Hydrophobicity

• Just as oily surfaces repel water, soil can become difficult for water to enter. High concentrations of organic compounds, such as those found in chicken litter, can reduce a soil's capacity to absorb water. Too much chicken litter added to the surface of a soil can make the rich organic soils block natural pores, and soil aggregates may become blocked by the rich organic particles. Hydrophobic soils generally form a seal on the surface which has a greatly reduced capacity to absorb water. This surface layer can be very thin. Thus, with proper tilling , you can incorporate the chicken litter into the soil and increase water penetration.

Old and New Chicken Litter

• When using chicken litter to increase the fertility of a soil, use old materialto incorporate into the soil rather than as mulch. This is because old chicken litter is more broken down, and no matter how thickly you apply it, it will not function well as a mulch. Also, old chicken litter will likely contain more concentrated nutrients and should be treated as a fertilizer. Using too much concentrated chicken litter near plants, such as when mulching, can cause nitrogen burns. New chicken litter has more intact fibers and works better as a mulch. Applying it to the surface will also help it to break down since it is exposed to the sun. Once the new litter has served its purpose as a mulch, and decayed in the sun, you can incorporate it into the soil at the end of the season by tilling.