Paca Pellets and Chicken Splats

Ah compost.  Proof that in the end, even poop has its uses.  In the case of alpaca pellets, more use than some.  We've had chickens for a couple years now and I can't say enough good things about their manure and its effects on the garden.  As an example, adding chicken manure to the soil around radishes gives them a (slightly frightening) crisp spiciness that elevates this humble root from an oft' ignored salad garnish to a real flavor-packed little pocket of crunch.

The drawback of chicken poop is, unfortunately, a REALLY high nitrogen content that will burn the dickens out of any plant you place it next to, unless, that is, you compost it first.  Add to that the fact that chicken manure smells worse than any other livestock manure (including pigs, if you can imagine it), and you can see why it isn't the ideal fertilizer.

'Paca pellets (aka llama lumps), on the other hand, are almost odorless and contain a great mix of all three key fertilizer ingredients.  You can put 'paca pellets right on the soil without worrying about burning the fragile seedlings.  Compost the stuff and you have an amazing soil amendment that people will pay top dollar for (well, top dollar for a manure anyway). 

We spend a sizable amount of time every weekend pulling piles of straw and paca doo out of the barns. While the ever-increasing pile by the barn is growing by the day, every time I climb on the tractor and stir the pile the rich, black, steaming soil that is exposed screams "grow something with me!!!"  I can't wait to take my share of the pile for the veggies this coming spring.

Why the mental ruminations on manure?  Yep.  It's coop cleaning time again.  It better be, or the biddies won't ever speak to me again.