UK gardening - Composting poultry feathers

Author

Composting poultry feathers

James Fidell

2006-03-26, 7:21 pm

My previous posting reminded me...

Is there any reason I shouldn't just dump feathers from chickens
I've plucked on the compost heap? There must be something I can
do with them other than making a very unpleasant-smelling bonfire.

James

Sacha

2006-03-26, 7:21 pm

Mike Lyle

2006-03-26, 7:21 pm

Sacha wrote:
> James Fidell wrote:
> How about keeping them, sterilising them and stuffing pillows or
> cushions?

They're a good slow-release source of nitrogen. I'd dig them in, as
they're too slow for the rest of the compost.

--
Mike.

Richard Brooks

2006-03-27, 4:21 am

James Fidell wrote:
> My previous posting reminded me...
>
> Is there any reason I shouldn't just dump feathers from chickens
> I've plucked on the compost heap? There must be something I can
> do with them other than making a very unpleasant-smelling bonfire.
>
> James

Put them in a grille-fronted box, hang that on a tree and watch them
disappear!

Richard.

--
"Usenet is like a herd of performing elephants with diarrhea --
massive, difficult to redirect, awe-inspiring, entertaining, and a
source of mind-boggling amounts of excrement when you least expect
it." Gene Spafford (1992)

The Invalid

2006-03-27, 5:21 am

On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 08:54:05 +0100, Richard Brooks
<richardbrooks@kdbanglia.com> wrote:

>James Fidell wrote:
>
>Put them in a grille-fronted box, hang that on a tree and watch them
>disappear!
>
>
>Richard.

Every bird in the area will love you

newsb

2006-03-29, 12:21 pm

In article <oh8f22pbqrl7i00ka5op89q2d4m5aqqv27@4ax.com>, The Invalid
<the_invalid@hotmail.co.uk> writes
>
>Every bird in the area will love you

Apart from the chickens...

--
regards andyw

La Puce

2006-03-29, 1:21 pm

newsb wrote:
> Apart from the chickens...

I do this with my dogs hair. After brushing my dogs (long hair
Tervurens) I roll them into a ball (the hair not the dogs) and stick
them on the holly. Some fall onto the ground, gets into the flower beds
and the slugs don't like it.

Nick Maclaren

2006-03-29, 3:21 pm

In article <1143650611.637628.54900@g10g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,
La Puce <helene@rudlin.co.uk> wrote:
>
>newsb wrote:
>
>I do this with my dogs hair. After brushing my dogs (long hair
>Tervurens) I roll them into a ball (the hair not the dogs) and stick
>them on the holly. Some fall onto the ground, gets into the flower beds
>and the slugs don't like it.

I did it with an old down/cotton duvet. It took a while, and then
vanished.

I have asked before in many forums, but never have had an answer
as to what breaks down keratin in the soil. One idiotic answer
was "nothing much", so I pointed out that much of the UK would be
knee deep in old wool if that were the case. The consensus is
"bacteria", which isn't exactly informative and may well be wrong.

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Mike Lyle

2006-03-29, 3:21 pm

Nick Maclaren wrote:
[...]
> I have asked before in many forums, but never have had an answer
> as to what breaks down keratin in the soil. One idiotic answer
> was "nothing much", so I pointed out that much of the UK would be
> knee deep in old wool if that were the case. The consensus is
> "bacteria", which isn't exactly informative and may well be wrong.

Interesting. Fungi, it seems from several papers, such as:

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache...k&cd=6&ie=UTF-8

http://tinyurl.com/s4e8u

and

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache...k&cd=7&ie=UTF-8

http://tinyurl.com/gsdz9

Another reference, from Brazil, suggests that pathogenic keratophilic
fungi on the skin (presumably things like the athlete's foot family)
evolved from harmless soil-borne species. Presumably unsterilised
feathers and hair already carry populations of the necessary.

I didn't search further.

--
Mike.

Nick Maclaren

2006-03-29, 5:21 pm

In article <4904gaFlp7llU2@individual.net>,
Mike Lyle <mike_lyle_uk@REMOVETHISyahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>Nick Maclaren wrote:
>[...]
>
>Interesting. Fungi, it seems from several papers, such as:

Interesting. Either papers have appeared since I last looked, or
you are a better searcher than I am. Thanks for the references,
whichever it is.

>Another reference, from Brazil, suggests that pathogenic keratophilic
>fungi on the skin (presumably things like the athlete's foot family)
>evolved from harmless soil-borne species. Presumably unsterilised
>feathers and hair already carry populations of the necessary.

To call the athlete's foot fungus pathogenic is stretching the meaning
of the term to almost breaking point! To a good first approximation,
it causes trouble only to people who insist on perverse and unnatural
behaviour, like wearing shoes. I used to suffer badly but, since I
gave up shoes in favour of sandals (some 30 years back!), have had
no trouble.

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Mike Lyle

2006-03-29, 5:21 pm

Nick Maclaren wrote:
[...]
> To call the athlete's foot fungus pathogenic is stretching the meaning
> of the term to almost breaking point! [...]

Well, OK, maybe pigeon-fancier's lung or something. I dunno from such
things.

--
Mike.

James Fidell

2006-03-29, 5:21 pm

newsb wrote:
> In article <oh8f22pbqrl7i00ka5op89q2d4m5aqqv27@4ax.com>, The Invalid
> <the_invalid@hotmail.co.uk> writes
>
>
>
> Apart from the chickens...
>

I loved the chicken, though. It was very tasty indeed.

James

Richard Brooks

2006-03-29, 6:21 pm

The Invalid wrote:
> On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 08:54:05 +0100, Richard Brooks
> <richardbrooks@kdbanglia.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> Every bird in the area will love you

I tore the feathers off a duster which made quite a pile (atchoo) but
after getting used to the new box, they tore into it like - well - birds!

Richard.

--
"Usenet is like a herd of performing elephants with diarrhea --
massive, difficult to redirect, awe-inspiring, entertaining, and a
source of mind-boggling amounts of excrement when you least expect
it." Gene Spafford (1992)

The Invalid

2006-03-30, 4:21 am

On Wed, 29 Mar 2006 17:06:37 +0100, newsb <news@benevolent.org.uk>
wrote:

>In article <oh8f22pbqrl7i00ka5op89q2d4m5aqqv27@4ax.com>, The Invalid
><the_invalid@hotmail.co.uk> writes
>
>Apart from the chickens...

Ha, didn't think of that

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