Could i go out and collect say , a bunch of sun dried pigeon guano, then maybe boil it to remove any virus/bacteria/whatever, then pour that into some soil and benefit from the nitrogen? Only thing im thinkin is i might boil out the nutes or ruin them but i have no idea so im hoping someone knows lol thx in advance. BTW i will do it way outside away from the house i wouldnt boil this sh!t in my own house .
I use pigeon manure regularly, the nitrogen content can be kind of high, so use it lightly. There is no need to boil it, it not coming in contact with any edible portion of the plant. You only really need to worry about virus/bacteria when growing with manure on crops that might come in contact with it directly, Spinach, lettuce, Tomatoes, meloens and squash. If you just want to use it as a liquid fertilizer just soak it in some water over night, strain, and drench the soil.
Thanks for the quick reply. Okay good to know someone uses it regularly with no problems, yeah I'd definitely use lightly just a quick nitrogen fix to get the yellow back to green i hope. I'm hoping that the fact that its on dry concrete in direct sun for about 8+ hours it might be sterilized(the pigeon excrement i might use).
Uncomposted avian manure hold a number of potential problems. Better to either compost or run through a worm bin, IMHO. Even in the paradigm of a worm bin you have the ongoing issues as with any avian compost - it WILL heat up your worm bin to levels that will kill your worms. Like it does to the roots of a plant when used 'straight up' in your soil. Bottom line: Great amendment properly handled and processed. In it's raw form it WILL kill your plants on a very consistent level. HTH LD
Like it does to the roots of a plant when used 'straight up' in your soil. Bottom line: Great amendment properly handled and processed. In it's raw form it WILL kill your plants on a very consistent level. HTH LD[/QUOTE] With all do respect, in general I usually agree with you LD, but in this case you are way off. It is true that if possible to compost the manure first, it does make the bring down the soluble Ammonia and Nitrate content. Which does make it easier to use, less consequence for making mistakes with over application. Soluble Nitrate and Ammonia are what "burns" your plant not the heat from the composting action. That's not to say if you had a very large compost pile and you planted a plant in it, in that case it may steam the roots, but even then I would doubt it. It is common practice on organic farms to plant legumes into their compost piles. In conclusion I have been using uncomposted pigeon manure as one of my main sources of nitrogen for three seasons now. Your summery is false on so many levels, it does not kill your plants on a "consistent level". Under this logic, almost all fertilizers should composted first to make them "safe". If growers take responsibility of proper application rates, they will have no problem with nitrogen toxicity. The "hotter" a product is the lower the level of material used it is that simple. For example: I use 1 cup to 1/2 cup pigeon manure (depending on bedding) per gallon of media. If I was using blood meal it would be one table spoon, if it was Ammonia Sulfate of teaspoon, Urea half a teaspoon and just for fun is I was to use anhydrous ammonia (82-0-0) you would use 2 drops per gallon of soil. Though technically you couldn't use anhydrous ammonia is vaporizes at room temperatures. In closing to is the farmers responsibility to apply the correct level of nitrogen to the plants, it does not matter the material used.
Well i realize using it strait would be very bad for the plant so I was thinking of making it a tea, then feeding the water to the plant then watering that to dilute it into the soil, not exactly adding chunks into the soil. But still i wonder, beside killing the 'good' bacteria and all, what what boiling it do to the NPK? Oh and..... do you use fresh or dried old pigeon manure?
Its barn stored/dried manure, large heaping piles of it. My mother in law has a two story barn with about 200+ pigeon in it, and it has been piling up for 15 years or so till I came along and started mining it. I would say you will smell your lose of Ammonia right away when you start boiling it. Nitrogen volatilizes very easily, Nitrogen (NO-3) and Ammonia (NH +4) both easily convert into gas, adding heat will help speed that process up. Lastly is I do add directly to my soil mix medium to small piece of dried chunky pigeon manure. No composting time once mixed and I have never had a problem. I have read that will have a NPK between N 3-8% P 3 or less K 2 or less. Depends on feed, if the birds on a high insect diet Nitrogen is higher and K is much lower. If on a high seed diet Nitrogen is high and K is high. Also amount of bedding if any plays into NPK.