Black Head Disease
 

Any of you using chicken litter for fertilizer seen this disease develop in the turkeys on the property?

We are considering using chicken litter for food plot fertilizer due to the much lower cost compared to equivalent formulation of commercial fertilizer ... plus the ancillary benefit of reducing soil acidity.

I've heard folks that believe that it has led to smaller flocks. I can't honestly say if it leads to the disease or not.

Info on the internet would suggest fertilizing areas accessible to wild turkeys with chicken manure would not be a good idea.

We decided that despite the substantial savngs on fertilizer costs, that the savings are not worth the risk of using chicken litter. We used it only one year and hope that we have not put the turkeys that roam the area in jeopardy.

For what it is worth, a wildlife biologist that works for the state of Alabama and another that works for the state of Mississippi that we contacted both advise against using chicken litter.