Here is what has been racing through my mind since I left Pecker's new Home:
Imagine a Hydroponic Greenhouse system that uses a wire screen drop basin located under a the floor of a coop to gather and inject poultry waste into the water to create the nutrient source load; along side of the fish colony or even in place of the fish colony....this could easily be done and would result in a more nutritious energy load for the plants. That would mean that more plants would be supported by a smaller system; or a system of this size would support a larger number of plants....
If you set up an experiment where you collect fresh droppings from poultry you could digest the material and calculate the nitrogen content and thus the energy load present for plants to absorb. The fresh droppings are needed because ammonia from the droppings is not lost before it enters the system. Once the nitrogen content of the poultry manure is determined, the size of the system could then be scaled based upon the number of poultry present in the system.
The nutrient load for the system would be acquired each night when the birds enter the coop. Once they go to their roost they will defecate, and their droppings would then pass through a screen on the floor of the coop and drop into the catch basin, thus entering the system. Based on the number of birds used; the number of plants in the greenhouse could be determined; so that there is a needed balance present to offset the energy inputs by the birds. The nutrient requirements of plants is well documented and used in calculations for the recommendations of fertilizers.
I have heard of systems where the poultry droppings provide the food source for the fish colony and the combined load of the fish and poultry waste is used to feed and grow the plants.
I am intrigued, to say the least.
Pretty sure that I'll have a hard time sleeping tonight with thoughts racing through my head.
Edited by Rock Home Isle - 6/30/12 at 2:18pm