Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
• The composter should be loaded in the manner shown here.
Layering of Poultry Offal Compost Pile
Top
Manure cap
Layer of straw
6-inch layer of manure
Single layer of poultry (6 inches away from edges of pile)
Layer of straw
6-inch layer of manure
Double layer of straw
Bottom
Concrete pad
• Once the pile is capped, monitor the temperature (daily readings).
• Pile should reach 135°F-160ºF within two to four days; temperatures in excess of
130ºF are needed.
• Once the temperature drops to 120ºF (fourteen days) compost is turned into the
second bin and recapped.
• After another fourteen days at the proper temperature the compost can be stored or
applied to fields as manure.
• If it fails to heat or smells bad it is usually due to the material being too wet; mois-
ture excludes oxygen, and the compost becomes anaerobic. To remedy, turn and
add dry litter.
• Poultry compost is similar in nutrients to manure, but lower in nitrogen and higher
in phosphorus and potassium.
• Proper heating destroys coliform, salmonella, Newcastle disease or IB (infectious
bronchitis).
The Author's Experience:On-Farm Poultry Processing
2
Chicken processing has been very successful at Kingbird Farm with the support of
friends and family. My comments are prefaced by the fact that nearly every slaughter
was assisted by friends and family who come for the lunch and apparently the fun of
it. It defies logic to have such an excellent crew of volunteers every year willing (and
skilled) to assist in changing a feathered bird into a clean broiler fit for the most par-
ticular customer.
