Drying chicken manure

[Retraceh]

I am looking into ways of drying chicken manure that we run off the muck belts on a weekly basis from 2 sheds. Is there some way to utilise the RHI to dry the muck on a drying floor.
Thought would be that we run the belts weekly and spread onto the drying floor then move to a field heap?

 

[Deereone]

Have you considered pelleting?

 

[Daniel]

Make pellets in bulk to use as fert on growing crops?

 

[Daniel]

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-a-poultry-litter-drying-systems-grant

 

[Retraceh]

Seen the grant info so will get in touch. Was looking for info on the technology.You can get drying systems which use the heat from the house to dry the manure but that would mean installing them at each shed and presume would not get you a RHI payment. I was wondering if a boiler could be used to heat water which acted as underfloor heating and dried the muck. Pelleting is an add on depending on cost.

 

[Daniel]

Why dry the manure? Just store and spread as it comes off the heap?

 

[Retraceh]

You will find out when you start running your multi tier unit! The muck has a high moisture content as it is fresh. We are in an nvz so it needs to be either stackable, which it isn't, or build a shed or lagoon for it. Also would like to take it to round to the other farm so if it was dry this would make it a lot easier.

 

[Daniel]

You will find out when you start running your multi tier unit! The muck has a high moisture content as it is fresh. We are in an nvz so it needs to be either stackable, which it isn't, or build a shed or lagoon for it. Also would like to take it to round to the other farm so if it was dry this would make it a lot easier.

Something else to worry about! We have an old pig shed and an old cow shed with grain walling in which we can use for muck storage but both have quite low roofs for trailers to tip under. It's a bridge we are going to have to cross when we get to it.

 

[Retraceh]

Needs some thought as though it is good stuff, it is a pia at this time of the year. I mix ours in the muck spreader with gypsum to dry it up so that we can store it in field heaps.

 

[Steven Rawding]

Please call 01563 829990 during office hours for a free site survey and feasibility proposal as I am sure we will have a solution.

 

[tw15]

Big downside is you loose alot of the n content in the muck I know someone with a system and is always breaking down and giving problems best to use it wetor make a mixing plant to mix it with compost .That makes some good stuff and adds more organic matter as well as the nutrients from the chick muck.

 

[Retraceh]

Used to use compost, but in the winter months it does not dry it enough as the compost is wet. I Don't think you lose the nutrient value by just drying it. What kind of system do they have?

 

[tw15]

Have a look at the test results for both dry and wet ,quite a difference between them .
Did a trial strip of dry bulk chicken muck straight across a field thinking we would see a big difference but could not see any sign of it having been there. where as wet stuff you could see . Dry stuff spreed with a lime spreader rear gate wide open wet put on with a west.
Try to google LANDSHIRE COUNTRY FOODS and speek to paul crocker he has a system and produces pellets and dry bulk manure.

 

[Wastexprt]

Needs some thought as though it is good stuff, it is a pia at this time of the year. I mix ours in the muck spreader with gypsum to dry it up so that we can store it in field heaps.

Sorry to be a pain, but if you mix the chicken muck with a waste gypsum the whole lot becomes a waste. If it's natural gypsum then that doesn't apply.

 

[warksfarmer]

I am looking into ways of drying chicken manure that we run off the muck belts on a weekly basis from 2 sheds. Is there some way to utilise the RHI to dry the muck on a drying floor.
Thought would be that we run the belts weekly and spread onto the drying floor then move to a field heap?

My understanding (could easily be wrong though) you would need a boiler already registered for the RHI. If you have this then you can put the manure on your drying floor and dry it whilst claiming the RHI for drying the material because your drying a product. However would it pay to do this when you take into account the fuel cost to run boiler?

Probably would if you were in Tier 1 RHI but doubtful if in Tier 2 by the time you came to dry the manure.

 

[Daniel]

@Retraceh You were right about the muck being wet! Did you ever solve the problem?

 

[patsybla5]

Im looking some help in regards to drying units for poultry litter,what are the best systems out there?it will be for two 16000 free range bird houses, i have a manure shed built but the litter is not stacking well.

 

[Bones]

Manure house couldn't be big enough ,and a good fall away from the doors, you could put some sort of high barriers on the inside of the door opening and fill it to the top .

 

[thesilentone]

Interesting problem.

Putting aside the RHI for the moment, where is the value for the product. Assuming layer is around 20%DM and broiler up to 50% (housed) what do you have ?

We will assume layer

If you put it through a Centrifuge you will have a higher DM in the fibre fraction than using a screw press, but less tons (around 25% DM from the screw press, 30% DM from the Centrifuge). That is easy to work out from the split between liquid and dry fraction.

 

[renewablejohn]

Chicken sheds on the east coast used to put the wet manure into open top IBC containers and stack 3 high. Then when ground suitable for spreading used a forklift with pallet rotator to empty direct into a side discharge spreader. Farmers used to love it.