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A question about bedding

 
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Location: Sudbury ON, Canada
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A question about bedding,
I have 5 hens. They live in the coop and run, 8 ish months of the year, on deep litter which I have been cleaning out once a year in the fall and putting directly on the garden.  In the winter the hens live in the greenhouse, Again on deep litter.  In the spring I clean 80% or so of the litter out of the greenhouse and use it to mulch raspberries or fruit trees or other perennials and plant directly into what remains.
This has been working for 18 months now and all seems well.  My question is, should I be worried about a buildup of ammonia or pathogens or something?  Should I add an additional compost step?
 
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Hi Tom,
Any pathogens that might build up would be for chickens... and would not affect the plants. That is why some people trade chickens and tomatoes in a greenhouse, as it helps break the cycle for the other one.

I might be concerned about how "hot" the manure is going directly onto the plants... but if you have been doing it for this long without any visible issues on the plants... then I'm guessing it gets composted enough in place? It wouldn't hurt to pile it somewhere and let it sit for a while first to be on the safe side.
 
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Chicken manure on its own has the chance of burning tender plants. If your deep litter appears to be composted and not kicking up a strong ammonia smell when you mix it, you are probably safe spreading it on hardy perennials and orchards!

My deep litter system for my hens still has a large portion of carbon available when I clean it out yearly. I further compost it after I clean out my coop because I want to break down more of the shavings that exist personally.
 
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