Chicken manure composting is an environmentally sound way of recycling nutrients and disposing of waste that would otherwise be useless. It may be used on the farm, marketed as a fertilizer for nurseries, gardeners, growers of organic produce or golf courses, or used in land reclamation.

Fresh poultry manure is ordinarily considered a “hot” manure because its very high nitrogen content can damage plant roots if applied directly. For the same reason, it is best composted together with other materials that can add carbon to the final product, for a final carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of 25:1 to 30:1. Unlike fresh manure, compost is free from any offensive odour and is unlikely to damage plant roots, provided that its moisture content has been sufficiently reduced.

Drying reduces mass and thus transportation costs, while making compost easier to handle and apply evenly. If dried at a sufficiently high temperature, the compost will have a reduced load of pathogens. A lack of sufficient initial moisture to complete the curing process can also be a problem. Composting should ideally take place at a moisture content of 50%-60%.

A good composting system will facilitate the aeration of the compost to provide oxygen concentrations of at least 5%, so that high enough temperatures will be reached. This is essential for a consistent, high-quality product that can meet market demands. For this reason, commercial composters typically use forced-air composters. A system of pipes is used to aerate the composting material. This method is more capital intensive, but has the advantage of reducing the time needed for the process to as little as 30 days.