A lot of livestock produce manure that can be used in your gardens and on your grass but not all manure is the same. The manure that chickens produce is different from the manure that ducks produce.
This article looks into the differences between chicken manure and duck manure.
Duck manure vs Chicken manure:
You can keep both chickens and ducks on your property to produce eggs, for meat, or even as pets. Both can produce manure that plants can use but the manure isn’t the same, here are the key differences between the two:
The consistency:
If you own chickens and ducks you’ll know that the consistency of these birds’ poop is not the same.
Chickens produce poop that is fairly solid in consistency, it isn’t wet but rather soft. The poop also has a white material on top which is called urates. Chicken poop is also brown or green in color.
Duck poop, on the other hand, is quite runny, this is perfectly normal for ducks. The poop will usually be white in color or will take on the color of whatever the bird is eating.
That being said, the poop of both of these animals can vary in size, shape, and color depending on different situations.
The quantity:
The amount of poop that these birds produce varies slightly.
Chickens poop quite frequently but there are slightly longer breaks between their poops when compared to duck poop. These birds will poop every 20- 30 minutes or so.
Ducks, on the other hand, poop quite a lot, these birds can poop every 15 to 20 minutes on average. These birds will thus produce a lot more poop on a daily basis than chickens will.
Both of these animals have no need to have any control over their bowel movements so both birds will poop wherever they so, please.
Hot or cold:
Whether or not an animal’s poop is hot or cold makes a difference in how you can use it as a fertilizer.
Chicken poop is considered to be “hot’, if poop is classified as hot then this means that the poop contains so much nitrogen that it will burn any plants that you use it directly on.
The poop will cause the plants to wither quickly because it is hot. Hot manure will also cause plants to brown and be stunted.
Duck poop is not considered to be hot, the poop still has high amounts of nitrogen in it but because of its consistency, it will not burn the plants when used in your garden.
When it can be used:
If an animal’s poop is hot then it needs to be processed, by decomposing, before you can apply it to your plants.
Because chicken manure is hot you would have to compost it with carbon-rich materials before you can use it on your plants. Carbon-rich materials include straw and leaves.
Duck manure can be used directly on your plants and will not burn the plants if you choose to not compost the poop first.
That being said, it is recommended that all animal poop for use as fertilizer be composted, mixed, or pelletized before use.
Doing this will increase the nutrient availability of the manure, will change its handling characteristics, and control any pathogens.
How to use it:
You can use chicken poop as fertilizer but you’d need to compost it before you do this.
This involves piling the poop and the carbon-rich materials in layers and letting it sit. This heap needs to be kept moist and aerated throughout the decomposing process.
After a couple of months of this, the poop will be cooler and can be applied to your plants. The heap will become crumbly and black when ready and then it can be applied to your plants or grass.
Duck poop can be used directly on your plants but it may be more difficult to collect because it is runny.
You can shovel the poop and apply it on your plants or you can use the soiled water that your ducks swim in and pour this water on your plants.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other duck related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Duckling Vomiting, Do Geese Get Cold, Why Do Ducks Like Ice Water?, Why Is My Duck Throwing Up Water?, Does Duck Poop Kill Grass?, Duck Eggs Turning Black, How To Keep Ducks Quiet At Night
