Increased understanding of the fate of manure phosphorus (P) after soil application is needed to effectively utilize manure to its full fertilization potential. To determine the short-term effects of manure amendment on soil P distribution, we aerobically incubated two Maine soils with 0, 100, or 200 mg P kg^-1 of litter-free layer hen manure at 25^oC for 108 days. Interchanges among P species were characterized using sequential fractionation with H₂O, 0.5 M NaHCO₃, 0.1 M NaOH, and 1.0 M HCl followed by phosphatase hydrolysis. Amendment with poultry manure had a similar effect on both soils; however, the soil P level was amplified in the soil with greater sand content. Water soluble inorganic P (Pi) in amended soils initially increased, but later declined to control levels. Changes in NaHCO₃, NaOH, and HCl fractions were similar for both amended and unamended soils, reflecting the importance of soil properties in controlling P dynamics. A decrease in NaHCO₃-Pi along with a simultaneous increase in NaOH-Pi at Day 84, implied transformation of P from one fraction to the other. Addition of 200 mg P kg^-1 poultry litter increased HCl-extractable P from both the inorganic and organic fractions. Enzymatically hydrolysable organic P changed very little following poultry manure addition, as the majority of organic P from poultry manure was non-hydrolysable. These results suggest that soil properties, including texture, are primarily responsible for controlling P distribution in soils amended with poultry manure and that the majority of amended P is in forms considered relatively unavailable for plant uptake.