Chapter 17 - Composting Dead Birds

Composting of dead poultry became popular in 1988 when Dr. Dennis Murphy of the University of Maryland developed a successful method which utilized dead birds, straw, and litter. Composting is a natural process where beneficial bacteria and fungi, convert organic material – in this case, poultry carcasses – into a useful end product called compost. Dr. Murphy and others have demonstrated that composting will work during all seasons of the year. No offensive odor is created if properly done and the end product is safe and can be used as a fertilizer and soil amendment. The final composition of the compost can be highly variable, depending upon the management of the process.

Storage facility design and construction requirements:

• Must be properly designed and sized for the appropriate storage period.
• Must protect the composting material from water.
• Storage structure must be constructed according to the NRCS Conversation Practice Standard Composting Facility, Code 317.

Siting requirements:

• The composting facility must not be located within the 100 year flood plain.
• The composting facility must be located no less than 300 feet from water wells.
• Runoff from outside drainage areas must be diverted away from the compost facility.

The composting storage facility must be inspected yearly when the facility is empty. Maintenance of the storage facility is also required. The following maintenance practices must be observed:

• The compost storage facility must have a roof and concrete floors and curbs under the primary and secondary composting bins.
• Deteriorated wooden materials or hardware must be replaced.
• Concrete floors and curbs must be patched as necessary to maintain water-tightness.
• Roof structures must be checked to assure structural soundness and repaired if needed.
• Exposed metal must be inspected for corrosion and wire brushed and painted as needed.

The composting process must be conducted in accordance with NRCS Conservation Practice Standard Code 317 and including the following criteria:

• The composting facility must include a primary composting unit into which alternative layers of low moisture content manure, carbon source material (straw is common), and dead animal carcasses are placed.
• minimum temperature of 130°F must be reached during the composting process (temperatures of 140°F to 160°F are ideal). If this temperature is not reached, the resulting compost must be re-composted by turning and adding moisture as needed.
• Moisture must be controlled. Initially, follow the parts by volume recipe of 1 part dead birds, 1.5 parts litter, 0.5 parts water, and 0.5-0.75 parts straw. An alternate recipe is 1 part dead birds and 2-3 parts litter when the litter has a high moisture content. Further addition of water following initial loading almost never needed.