Hi. I received some left overs from cleaning out the chicken coop from a friend. Should I let this compost some more, or can I put it right on the vege garden?

Definitely let it compost. I've experimented with using chicken litter that hasn't aged, and it literally killed my plants. Moreover, the area I added the litter to refused to allow anything to grow at all. A year later, that spot finally grew weeds and I knew it was ready for use!

Pile that litter somewhere and do add other material to it to help the composting process. Grass clippings, leaves, the usual. Next year it'll be a really good addition for your garden.

Thanks! Is it because it is too nitrogen rich?

The high nitrogen in fresh manure is definitely the primary problem with using it straight away like that.

What if I mix it in with some almost finished compost in my compost bin. How long should I wait to use it then?

If it was me, I'd wait the same time regardless. The other reason being: there may be pathogens in fresh manure, and aging it gives those pathogens a time to die.

Thanks! I definitely should have waited to do anything with it until I asked on here. Last night I mixed it in my compost.

I wouldn't use it on vegetables. Sparingly on ornamentals. @Horseshoe may have some extra thoughts, if he's around at the moment.

Ok. It is not much. I can probably sift most of it out and spread over a large area of ornamentals I have.

I am sure Dave's advice is correct. However I routinely spread chicken manure mixed with shavings directly on my roses - on top of the rather thick layer of assorted mulch. Apparently by the time the manure filters down to the roots, all the bad is gone.

"I wouldn't use it on vegetables. Sparingly on ornamentals. @Horseshoe may have some extra thoughts, if he's around at the moment."

Ditto what Dave said. It's not just the too-much-nitrogen but also the potential pathogens that might carry over on your veggies, especially those veggies where we eat the foliage (lettuces, greens, chard, onions, etc.) So yes, enjoy the moment(s) and let that poop age a bit, it'll do ya justice. (The only manure I put directly into the garden w/out composting is rabbit.)

Shoe

One thing - by mixing it with almost finished compost, you've inoculated the fresh poop with huge numbers of microorganisms that specialize in digesting compost and each other.

You probably speeded up the rate at which pathogens are consumed, at least somewhat.

Weirdly I was just reading the small scale poultry flock and just finished the chapter where he talked about using chicken manure. Pretty much he, Harvey Ussery, recommends to let the manure sit a year before using it. He uses a deep litter method though so if you put it in your compost that was up to temp I bet you could get it going a lot quicker.