Is bird poop good for plants? The easy answer is yes; its actually good to have some bird droppings in the garden. Keep reading for tips on how to compost bird droppings and other helpful information.
How to Compost Bird Droppings
You undoubtedly use bedding of some kind if you rear hens, pigeons, pheasants, or any other kind of bird. This bedding could be made of sawdust, dry leaves, straw, or another similar substance. Similarly, the bottom of the cage for indoor pet birds like parakeets and parrots is usually lined with newspaper.
When you’re ready to compost bird droppings, gather the droppings and the bedding, add everything to your compost bin, and stir everything together. Newspaper is included in this, though you might want to shred it into smaller pieces. Dont worry about bird seed; it is compostable, too.
Since most bird manure is high in nitrogen, it should be added at a ratio of roughly one part bird droppings to four or five parts brown materials (including the bedding), along with sawdust, straw, or other “brown” matter.
Also, droppings often contain viable seeds. In fact, some seeds require passage through the digestive system of a bird in order to be released from germination inhibitors, which prevents them from germinating easily. As a result, birds are crucial to the distribution of plants in the wild. But occasionally, the plants that are so dispersed end up being weeds, so some observation is required.
In areas with dense bird populations, like in trees where seabirds or wading birds (herons and cormorants, in particular) establish nesting colonies and return year after year to raise their young and deposit droppings, the buildup of droppings eventually causes a severe concentration of minerals, which ultimately kills most or all of the vegetation below. It eventually even kills the trees that support the nests.
Droppings also contain microbes (bacteria, microscopic fungi, viruses, etc. ) and even parasites. Plants are not at risk (in fact, seeds that have passed through a bird’s stomach are actually sterilized, eliminating the pathogens they originally carried), but gardeners, pets, and other birds may be. Since bird poop microbes rarely survive long after they are expelled from their bird host, the risk of infection usually diminishes quickly. However, in areas where droppings accumulate, some undesirable microbes may survive while others may be able to move in. If you must gather bird droppings, whether they come from a pigeon-infested ledge, a chicken coop, or a bird cage, ), its better to wear a mask and gloves.
There are exceptions if droppings are typically dispersed sufficiently randomly to minimize issues with their concentration.
You frequently see the original plants under a bird feeder dying back, but this is usually due less to the presence of droppings and more to the buildup of seed hulls, some of which, like those of sunflowers, are allelopathic (toxic to other plants). Regular cleaning can help alleviate this problem. Or install a seed catcher under the feeder.
How are Bird Droppings Beneficial to Plants?
In short, bird droppings make great fertilizer. Many gardeners use bird droppings as rotted chicken manure, which boosts the soil’s nutrient content and ability to hold water.
But you can’t expect it to perform miracles by simply spreading a lot of bird droppings on the ground. In actuality, a garden full of bird droppings may harbor dangerous pathogens. Fresh bird droppings can burn delicate stems and roots because they are “hot.”
Composting bird droppings before adding them to the soil is the simplest and safest way to benefit from bird poop.
FAQ
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