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Chicken manure pellets as a soil conditioner

geordiefgeordief Posts: 21
edited March 2023 in Fruit & veg
These pellets...
https://www.woodies.ie/westland-10kg-organic-chicken-manure-tub-1042366

...are described as helping to condition the soil.

Is this true based on the small amount of them that one is likely to use?
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Posts

  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    Yes it works. It is concentrated so you don't use it as a mulch, spot applications like scattered in bean trenches etc. are more appropriate.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Do foxes go after the pellets as with BF&B?
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,487
    No evidence of fox activity.  The pellets tend to 'fluff up' when wet, which I've thought might stifle seeds.  I'm a great believer in them, so I scatter them on the plot or in the drill until they've expanded. Then I sow the seed.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I can vouch for chicken pellets as well.
    When we removed a 100’ row of 30 year old conifers we just used the CP and soil improving home made compost,   I planted the border straight away. Plants grew really well. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • WAMSWAMS Posts: 1,960
    B3 said:
    Do foxes go after the pellets as with BF&B?

    My dog goes mental for them so foxes might.
  • LunarSeaLunarSea Posts: 1,923
    edited March 2023
    I'm trying to get away from bought compost so this thread has got me wondering if my home-made compost mixed with chicken manure pellets well in advance would provide a suitable medium for growing my tomatoes & cucumbers in the greenhouse in pots? I'd obviously use tomato feed periodically once the fruit is set.
    Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. 

    I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I always mix homemade compost about 50-50 with bought potting compost for my tomatoes, and last year I put a bit of topsoil in too, and it works fine so I don't see why not as long as the texture/drainage/moisture holding capacity is OK. You could mix in a bit of topsoil if you have some (bought potting compost usually has sand in it and sometimes loam, not purely organic matter).
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • LunarSeaLunarSea Posts: 1,923
    Thanks Jenny. Yes I've got some old JI No.1 & No 2 that I could use to give the home compost a bit more body.

    Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. 

    I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Sounds ideal!
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    Strictly speaking soil conditioners are bulky organic matter, compost manure etc. Chicken pellets are fertiliser,  the advantage is they are relatively slow release.  So they are great for adding nutrients,  but a mulch of compost or similar on top as well will do more to  "condition" the soil, in terms of texture,  moisture retention , or breaking up heavy soil.
    AB Still learning

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