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heavier and made the manure difficult to remove when poultry houses were 

 cleaned out. The extra weight of the sand could not be tolerated by the 

 manure spreader owned by the poultryman, and he voiced his dissatisfaction 

 after having to make several minor repairs as a result. 



Instead of aerating manure, sand packed it down tight. Sufficient 

 amounts could not be added to wet manure to provide the consistency 

 needed for tilling without causing the manure to be too heavy. 



Wood chips proved to be an excellent additive to liquified poultry 

 manure. Chips were light and easy to handle. They aerated and aided in 

 drying manure, and facilitated manure removal. Wood chips were also 50% 

 cheaper in price than sand and more readily available. 



After chips had been added and manure was tilled once a day for 2 

 days, the manure had a consistency that was still wet, but friable. 

 Fresh manure had a relatively dry bed to fall upon before being tilled. 

 Chips did not pack like sand, but remained light and enhanced drying by 

 providing increased surface area. 



By the 11th day, the areas where chips had been addea were still 

 wet but in much better condition for removal from the poultry houses 

 than was the manure in other treatment groups. The control house was 

 unchanged and the manure had the consistency of thick soup. The houses 

 where sand had been added were essentially the same as the control, but 

 some areas now had a thicker, heavier consistency. 



No rain fell while the experiment was performed, but skies remained 

 overcast. Temperatures averaged 27 C and the air was calm. 



Tilling with and without the addition of wood chips to manure. On 

 one occasion when the poultryman had his houses cleaned out, the manure 

 and the sand beneath it, both of which were dry, were removed to a level 



