 Time now for Focus on the Field with your Ag Director, Agriculturalist Bridget Riegel. A single hen can produce nearly 70,000 pounds of manure per year. Multiply that by a few more chickens in the backyard and you really have to know what you're doing to handle it. Extension poultry specialists say that composting the coop litter, which includes the bedding and manure, is an efficient way to manage.