Biochar is for the Birds
- Caitlin Youngquist
- May 31
- 1 min read
Updated: 4 hours ago
Beyond building healthy soil, biochar can also help keep coops clean, and your birds healthier.
Biochar will both adsorb ammonia (reducing odor) and absorb moisture from wet droppings. This will help keep chicken coops cleaner and safer for people and animals. Flies are attracted to ammonia and it is a respiratory irritant for humans and animals.
Use at a rate of 5 - 10% biochar in the bedding. If it is too dusty, spray it lightly with water first.
Biochar can be mixed with feed in small quantities to improve animal health and growth by promoting healthy gut function, adsorbing toxins and pathogens, and improving feed efficiency. For additional digestive and gut health benefits, biochar can be charged with lactobacillus bacteria (ie. biochar bokashi).
From Biochar in Poultry Farming by Gerlach and Schmidt:
"According to studies by Van (2006), the addition of up to 0.6% biochar in the feed improves growth in young animals by an average of 17%. Similar results are confirmed by Kana (2010) and Ruttanvut (2009) for ducks and broilers."
Adding biochar to bedding or feed will also increase the quality of the manure for composting or using as a soil amendment. Biochar will adsorb the nutrients in the manure so they are more plant available (and not lost by leaching or volatilization).
RESOURCES:
Feed supplementation with biochar may reduce poultry pathogens, including Campylobacter hepaticus, the causative agent of Spotty Liver Disease. Wilson, et. al, 2019.
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