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6 7 , over a broad swath. Chain flail (side deliver) spreaders are with the scraper, then raised to 6 feet or more in height with favored for slurried manure because they produce a desired the wheel loader. uniform rain pattern. However, flail spreaders require a high PTO horsepower. Any tank type manure spreader can usually j General supervision becomes routine once the procedures of be adapted or modified for satisfactory thin-bed spreading. scraping, hauling, spreading, harrowing, and stacking have been determined based on weather and operating perfor- Liquid manure tank trucks or trailers with splash plates work { mance. Ranch labor can operate thin-bed drying equipment well with slurried manure. Tankers are mechanically simple whenever there are gaps in an individual's work assignments. and have quick turnaround time, but are committed to haul- Operation may be on a catch-when-catch-can schedule, but ing tons of water that do nothing for the product. Slurry more prompt and regular transfer of fresh manure from under management is especially difficult in wet weather. the cages to the dry yard surface, and more frequent harrow- ing are essential to accelerate the drying process and to ac- The harrow should have closely spaced teeth or several gangs complish your primary goal. Harrowing in the spring and fall in tandem to get multiple stirring with each pass. The size of ! is subject to hourly changes as dictated by the weather. harrow and number of passes per day can be tailored to the pattern of the dry yard, and character of the product. FERTILIZER VALUE Thin-bed dried manure has a high fertilizer nutrient value A dump truck or spreader truck is needed for off-shipment compared to the product of slower drying processes because of dry manure. Loading and hauling can be provided by the in rapid drying decomposition is arrested promptly. Experi- poultry ranch. However, such services are commonly con- ! ments performed in southern California on 1-inch thick layers tracted to manure haulers who maintain a fleet of trucks. of fresh manure resulted in drying from an initial moisture Some dry poultry manure is shipped on bottom dump trucks content of 62 percent to 6 percent in 24 hours in summer, to distant row crop production areas. Dry manure should and from 69 percent to 10 percent in 48 hours in winter. be covered for highway transport to prevent blowing. i MANAGEMENT Poultry manure starts as a rich source of the principal plant nutrients nitrogen (N), phosphorus (PZOS) and potassium Some flies will always be around poultry whether hatched (KZO). If stored damp, some of the N disappears as volatile from uncontrolled wet spots or attracted from the neighbor- ammonia (NH,). hood. Control of adult flies to reduce the number of fly eggs is critical to success of the overall program. ! The percentage of nutrients on a weight basis when fertilizer is applied to crops depends on its moisture content—half the Scrape manure daily from under poultry cages to prevent moisture, twice the value. Common poultry product manure fly eggs from hatching. Promptly haul to the dry yard and will have 3.5 to 4 percent N on a dry basis. Thin-bed dried spread as thinly as possible onto a dry block to produce poultry product manure will often range 5 to 6 percent N on the smallest and flattest globs. Generally, an entire strip is the same basis. covered uniformly to capture the most sun and drying effect. All strips are harrowed and cross-harrowed at high tractor SAFETY speed to invert undried particles and to mix fresh manure Safety instruction and supervision around all manure han- into dry base. In several days the oldest material should be dling operations must be strictly enforced. The equipment is dusty dry and ready for windrowing. The windrow is started rugged and demands operators' full attention around drive i I