Quail manure as fertiliser — fresh, composted and how much for the bed

Quail manure is a strong fertiliser: rich in nitrogen and phosphorus, quickly available, and with an effect that lasts several years. Fresh, it does not belong near plants, because it burns roots and young leaves. It works best composted together with litter and dug in in autumn.

The author has used quail manure in the home garden and had good results with it. The figures in this article come from L. A. Zadorozhnaya's collection «Quail keeping» (2005) and apply to poultry manure in general; the source gives no measurements of its own for quail manure.

How much manure you get

A rule of thumb: what goes in as feed comes out, by volume, roughly as manure — a bucket of feed, a bucket of manure. With floor keeping this is not pure droppings but droppings mixed with litter of peat, wood shavings or straw. For the garden, this mix is the better material: the litter soaks up moisture and brings the carbon-rich material the compost needs.

What it contains

The drier the manure, the higher the content. The source gives for poultry manure:

Dried manure is about 80 per cent organic matter. Compared with cattle manure, poultry manure is three to four times richer in nutrients. In the first year it acts almost like a mineral fertiliser, and because part of the nutrients is released slowly, it keeps working for another two to three years.

What it lacks is potassium. For potatoes, root vegetables and other potassium-hungry crops, manure alone is therefore not enough; wood ash makes up for it.

Why not fresh

In fresh manure, most of the nitrogen is in the form of uric acid. In the soil it turns first into urea, then ammonium and finally nitrate. In large doses this holds back seedlings and young plants, and with overdosing nitrate builds up in the vegetables. Direct contact with fresh manure burns leaves and roots.

Fresh manure is therefore not spread on its own but mixed with plenty of straw, peat or wood shavings, and preferably in the first half of the growing season.

Storing and composting

Pure manure should not lie in the open for long. It loses nitrogen, and if it freezes through in winter and thaws in spring, up to 40 per cent. The simplest way with little loss is the compost heap. This is how it is built:

1. On a level, slightly raised spot, spread 30 centimetres of absorbent material: peat, straw, wood shavings or leaves.
2. On top, 20 centimetres of manure, then litter again, manure again, until the heap is about a metre high.
3. Moisten dry material as you build.
4. Against the smell, cover the heap with straw and about 20 centimetres of soil.

After about six weeks the compost is ready. Whether germs and weed seeds die in the process depends on how warm the heap gets inside; a small, loose heap often does not get there. In that case, allow it longer to rot.

The compost is best spread in autumn: scatter it and dig it in straight away. Given in spring, it delays the ripening of the crop, according to the source. Only on sandy soils does spring work as well, about two weeks before sowing or planting.

How much for the bed

The source's amounts for poultry manure, per square metre:

Compost of manure and litter takes more: up to 1.5 to 2 kilograms per square metre when digging. The source repeats the liquid feed every 7 to 10 days until the vegetables ripen.

For individual crops, the source gives rules that are easy to remember:

• Potatoes: no pure manure and no liquid feed, only manure with litter in spring, plus wood ash.
• Root vegetables: manure with litter only in autumn.
• Onions and garlic: manure with litter in autumn.
• Leafy vegetables and herbs: no liquid feed.
• Squash family and tomatoes take the largest amounts and get the manure in spring, cabbage in spring or in autumn.

Hygiene

Fresh poultry manure can carry pathogens, including salmonella. Wear gloves when mucking out and spreading, and wash your hands afterwards. Do not put fresh manure on beds with vegetables that will soon be eaten raw, such as lettuce, radishes, herbs or strawberries; use it via the compost or in autumn. How long to leave between fertilising and harvest is a question for the garden advisory service in your region.

Giving it away and selling it

Many keepers have more manure than their own garden needs. If you give it away or sell it, ask your local veterinary authority and agricultural advisory service first what applies; the rules differ from country to country.