A guy appeared at our plot yesterday and gave us 2 sacks of pigeon poo. It was a disgusting mass of mustardy coloured sludgy stuff - so I buried it in the heap (the one that will be there for at least the next year). It didn't really smell, but was full of wheat (?) seeds.
What have we been given - is it good stuff?
Sarah.
i'll be watching replies with interest because....a while back i acquired some, reading it was good for 'accelerating' the compost heap. it stunk to high heaven, really, really! but i tipped it all in and mixed it up. however when i emptied the bin, after 6 months it had all little maggots in it, and the smell was still there, really vile! i still shudder at the memory now! so.. to add to sarah q's if i may-is this normal? is it my treatment of it or the poo itself?! what should it be like, if that's not too many strange questions!
Another watching with interest here. I've noticed someone round the corner keeps pigeons. So if it's useful stuff, I may ask the owner if I can dispose of it for them!
Since I posted, I have done a little searching on the internet and it would seem that this is the most fabulous manure of all time. Apparently, in ancient Iran they built huge towers in the fields to encourage pigeons to come and live and them once a year they would scrape our all the dried poo for use as fertiliser in the fields.
Anyway, it is a compost acelerator - and definitely needs to rot down before application. I intend to get a bale of straw and mix it all together - glorious job for me!!
But I do hope that someone with successful experience of using this stuff comes along and reports their experience - certainly want to aviod the maggot scenario...
sb
You MUST take a look at these pigeon-manure-producing towers:
http://www.iccim.org/english/Iran/04/115.htm
Guano was the seabird equivalent imported from South America in Victorian and early 1900's by the gillian tons.
in the kitchen garden mag this week (feb)there is an article about some italian bloke and he uses it to feed his plants diluted three to one with water i think and u should see his plots amazing he calls it his special mixture
Pigeon poo is OK-but heed my warning. Years back this chat built an entire pile of it-it gets hot.like on fire-not easy to put out and the stench was vile.
Stephan