Gun Dog Forum

I no its bad to in hale the dust when cleaning the coops. Can you use the dung for ferilizer in the garden is it harmfull ?

The guy we get our pigeons from showed us his garden in the back of his house that he uses his pigeon dung in..he composts it using a compost bin and mixes it with leaves and grass clippings and adds the mulch to his garden.. personally i would use something else but thats just me.....ruth

Pigeon manure is very likely high in nitrogen, like chicken manure, so you probably don't need a lot of it. Overfertilizing with high nitrogen maure can burn new growth in plants. I would mix it with something like peat moss, old straw or hay bedding or ground up maple leaf litter. Alternatively, I would turn it into the garden well in advance of planting(2-3 weeks).\

RayG

Hattrick wrote:I no its bad to in hale the dust when cleaning the coops. Can you use the dung for ferilizer in the garden is it harmfull ?

Though unlikely that you would catch anything (though my grandfather did catch Histoplasmosis) here is a link to some problems associated with pigeon poo. http://www.idph.state.il.us/public/hb/hbb&bdrp.htm

I use them for the majority of training but try to breath as little pigeon dust as possible. Not sure its good enough but prefer a dust mask when handling birds in a confined coop. This is the reason I also prefer a more open coop.

Occasional some one has an allergy type reaction when in the pigeon loft so be aware but on the other hand it is not real common. I have any place from 30 to 60 pigeons in my loft most of the time and I have very little dust to contend with. I do put all of the manure on the garden and try to cover the asparagus bed with two or three inches every year. Do to feeding more whole grain and less protein than yu do to our poultry it seems to have less nitrogen but I haven't tested it. Just know it is good stuff for the garden.

Though I never have it might be wise to wear a dust mask if you are having dust problems when you are cleaning the loft. Probably where I clean it everyday I get less dust that you would otherwise.

Ezzy

I always compost pigeon and chicken poo first because it will burn your garden if you put it on fresh. It works really good after it's composted.

my grandfather did catch Histoplasmosis

Did it effect his eyes? or lungs?

I got it and have had 2 laser surgerys on my eye. Be carefull, a little bit is all it may take.

We used to compost the chicken poo with some good horse manure, hay and anything else we had. I use only the manure from my calfs now.

You can build the coop with a poo catcher, use close wire mesh for the flooring of the coop and add a shelf under neath this, use a sheet to catch the droppings and scrap them off into a bucket or whatever you compost in, use a cheapo mask over your mouth and you should be OK.

My son wants to raise up some egg layers so we may get back into the chickens again.

He had it in his lungs, thought it was pneumonia at first. He was also caring for about 2500 birds and never wore a mask.

Thats a lot of birds, I got it from the water here while in my mommas belly. Lungs make the x rays look like tb I get that all the time.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002073/

This is a good read on Histoplasmosis, what it is, where you might get it, and the syptoms and treatment of it. Though pigeons can be the source it is present in many areas we come in contact with every day. Protect yourself to the level you feel comfortable with would be good advice.

Ezzy

I believe I am allergic to it. Had reactions a few times after being in my coop without a mask on. Takes a few hours after, but onset of wicked chills and overall feeling crappy...not fun. I don't go near my coop without a mask on now.

We have chickens and have used the poo as fertilizer. It works very well but as others have stated it is VERY high in nitrogen and can burn your plants. I put a bunch in a container with water and make a "tea" as my grandmother used to call it. AKA Chicken poop soup. Use it sparingly, maybe once or twice a season. I am assuming there is not a ton of difference between chicken poo and pigeon poo. Probably a good assumption. Just don't use it full strength.

How frequently does everyone clean out their pigeon coop?

Good ? i clean mind once a year i`m not sure if that is good or bad, only have 12 birds thinking of about 15 more maybe. Thanks for the in put i dont think im going have alot crap but i feel safe from with using it from the responses i got. I will lime it heavy an should b find thanks