More recent poultry questions and answers

Poultry

Chicken manure quantity

How much manure would six chickens produce in gallons or pounds on a weekly basis?

Six commercial laying hens will generate approximately 11 pounds of manure every week or 1.5 gallons. Broilers will generate less. The annual nutrient production from this number of chickens will be less than 1 pound of any available nutrient per year. The amount will increase if you over-feed the birds.

John A. Lory
Environmental nutrient management specialist

Chicken manure for garden

From a flock of six chickens how much manure can I put on my garden on a periodic basis?

Six birds would provide sufficient phosphate for 1200 square feet. The exact balance depends on current nutrient levels in the soil and the crops grown. You will likely not provide all crop nitrogen at this rate. The best strategy would be to add the manure to a compost pile and then apply the compost at times of the year when fertilization is needed and the likelihood of runoff is low.

John A. Lory
Environmental nutrient management specialist

Coccidiostats in poultry feed

What amount of a coccidiostat should be in poultry feed?

Most commercial coccidiostats are added at 500 grams of the commercial premix per metric ton of feed. This depends on the coccidiostat used. For instance, Coban 60 (monensin) contains 60 grams per US pound of premix with the remainder being filler for ease of use.

Jeff Firman
Animal Sciences

Poultry cannibalism

What is the role of lysine and methionine in poultry cannibalism? I've been having a problem even though feeding an 18 percent protein ration

Any nutrient deficiencies can lead to cannibalism. Thus lysine and methionine deficiencies could have this effect. Generally cannibalism is the result of some form of stress and can be caused by such things as overcrowding or in this case a protein deficiency. Please keep in mind that protein itself is less important than having the correct amino acid balance. An 18 percent protein ration may still have amino acid deficiencies.

Jeff Firman
Animal Sciences

Turkey diet

I have a seven-year-old pet turkey. It may have some leg problems so I don't want to overfeed it and cause it to get too heavy. How much should it eat in a day? Should it be fed free choice or according to its body weight?

Generally a turkey would eat about 3 percent of its body weight per day. Thus if it weighs 33 pounds, it could eat about 1 pound per day. Adjust this according to whether the bird gains or loses weight. Yyou can determine this visually or grab the bird and stand on a scale.

Jeff Firman
Animal Sciences