Does anyone make bunny-poop compost?

[belleandferdinand]

Having two poop-happy bunnies in the house, I was wondering if anyone was composting for their gardens? The SaveABunny blog has a post on it, and I’d love to learn more.. (and it might help me keep my plants alive!) — http://blog.saveabunny.org/archives/5

 

[osprey]

I compost all of my guys’ output – poops, urine soaked litter and uneaten hay.  I use a super cheap composting set up, just a ring of wire fencing bent into a circle.  I also compost leaves, grass clippings, hedge trimmings, coffee grounds and kitchen veggie waste.  I dump the litterboxes into the pile, then rinse the boxes with a hose.  I let the rinse water run into the pile to moisten it.  I turn it over about once a month to get some air and moisture into the middle parts.  My system produces useable compost in 2-3 months, depending on what I put in it.

I really enjoy composting, I love the idea of making something useful out of garbage.  if you have any questions fire away!

 

[MimzMum]

Oh osprey, that sounds wonderful! I was wondering if anyone used the bb’s their bunnies left, and I didn’t even think about using the scattered hay that’s leftover after a meal! The urine & litter too? 0.o I use “Good Mews” (which is a tightly rolled recycled paper pellet type) and I just found some today that’s been sitting out under the snow all winter long and it hasn’t even broken apart! Wouldn’t that keep a compost pile from…well…composting?

I’m going to have to have the hubby set up something like what you mentioned. I dearly want to use bunny tailings for a vegetable garden this year. I despise using things like Miracle-Gro and other chemicals on my food and store bought stuff is so expensive (AND crummy!) up here.

[belleandferdinand]

Thanks Osprey – does it make a difference what litter you use? I am using Yesterday’s News which is paper based..

[Jyka]

I have a pile of compost going in the back corner of the yard…problem is that I keep putting off planting some vegies. Was waiting for Autumn (Fall) because Summer was too hot, but now it’s rainy and I can’t be bothered getting soaking.
Would be really great to grow fresh vegies though…where is my umbrella…

[osprey]

I read the composting/soil forum on gardenweb.com, and they have a saying over there: IALBTC – It All Leads Back To Compost.  Basically, this means that anything that came from a plant or animal can become compost.

MimzMum: In the frozen arctic, your composting season will be short.  Unless you get really technical, most piles will freeze and stop decomposing during the winter.  This just means it will take longer.  One of the wonderful things about compost is that if the process gets interrupted, it will start again once conditions are right again.  There are people in cold weather areas that deep freeze their kitchen wastes, and then throw the whole winter’s worth into the pile in the spring. As long as you have room, you’ll get compost eventually.

belleandferdinand: Different litters decompose at different rates.  I have found that the Cat Country/Critter Country straw litters and the Green Pet Aspen Supreme litter decompose much more quickly than the Feline Pine/wood stove pellet litters.  The saw dust in the pine takes a long time to decompose, which is OK, you just let it sit, or use the compost as mulch and let the garden finish off the decomposition.

My philospohy with composting is KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid.  If you pile stuff up, it will decompose, all “composting” does is make the process faster or nicer looking. I have not had big problems with smell or vermin, and I find the whole process fascinating (yeah, I am a geek).

This is a good starter about home composting http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/EP323.  Your local Ag. University extension will likely have similar info.

[osprey]

Jyka, does the spot where the compost is get any sunlight and water?  If so, you can spread out the compost and plant directly in it (this is called “sheet composting” or “lasagna gardening”).  I have done this with herbs for the buns as well as tomato and squash plants. 

[Jyka]

Yep – i could definately plant directly into the compost…just gotta get off my butt and do it! I should promise you all a pic of my newly planted vegie garden in a week and put pressure on myself.

[Floppy]

now that sounds cool…hmmm I just threw some poo in the pots thinking that would eventually break

down and help the soil and plant.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I plan on starting composting too. 3 Buns= a TON of poop. They can fertilize the veggies I grow for them. Last night I was cleaning the cages and was like “oh, man, that’s a lot of poop”

All winter I was trying to work out a way to save the bun poop inside the house without it getting moldy as is what happened with most containers I stored it in. I can’t compost outside in the winter here. Anyone have any ideas?

I read that bun poop, unlike most manure, can be applied to the soil/plants directly and it will not harm or burn the plants. I collected some in a big, shallow container and put the dried poops whole in my flower bed. Now I need to start saving for my veggie garden.

[bunnytowne]

I just throw the poop in the flower pot or on the groun           on the plant.   stuff works great doesn’t it.

[rabbitsmba]

Or sell it on eBay…..

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Rabbit-Manure-Best-fertilizer-Organic-natural-Bunny_W0QQitemZ170220713876QQihZ007QQcategoryZ20540QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[babybunsmum]

wow… i’m suuuuch a geek.   i’m so excitied that i found this thread right now.  lol.  i’m going to enjoy reading through the links posted here… thanks!! 

i started composting after i adopted pinky & i have lots to learn.   i decided to designate a plastic garbage bin for collecting compost initially since i can keep it right at my side door which is conveniant for emptying the buns poop/hay bins into.  conveniance is key for me.  i’ve been putting in the hay & poops, as well as all my veg / coffee grounds / dryer lint waste and i keep it moist by taking the lid off in the rain and letting rinse water into it.  it sits in a sunny spot so i’ve noticed that it composts rather quickly.  when it gets full my plan is to dump it into a compost bin that i have in the back corner of my yard & haven’t used for years.  it feels good to finally be putting all this waste to good use! 

i use yesterdays news pellets which say are decomposable… but i thought the urine soaked stuff would be bad for the pile? 

[osprey]

Urine soaked litter is great for the pile!  Urine contains a lot of Nitrogen, which speeds up the composting process and makes the pile get hot.

[babybunsmum]

no way… that awesome!  i gots lotso urine soaked litter

my garbage man is going to love me now… that stuff weighs a lot.

[ScooterandAnnette]

Now I’m confused, because all the composting stuff that I’ve read has said not to put any animal waste at all in the compost. And I know that when Scooter started trying to add bunny poop to one of my plants it died.

Okay I should clarify that the stuff I’ve read said not to use animal waste in any compost that’s going to be used for growing fruits and vegetables, which is most of my garden.

[osprey]

Unfortunately there is a lot of bad info out there regarding composting.  I can give you some simple guidelines that have worked for me over the years:

– What to compost – basically anything that was once alive can be composted.  The easiest thing to remember is what *not* to compost, and work from there.  Bad stuff for compost:
   meat, dairy, fats and oils – these will decompose, but are smelly, take a long time and attract flies and rodents.  Some people will compost fish, others do not
   cereals – if you are squeamish about rodents, do not compost stuff like oatmeal and noodles.  These things attract mice and rats.
   poisonous/dangerous plants – avoid poison ivy, oak and sumac, oleander
   invasive plants – stuff like Ivy, Kudzu, Morning Glory may survive the composting process and pop up in your garden when you use the compost
   seedy weeds and diseased plants – unless you are super careful, you can transmit diseases.  I do compost weeds, and just pull out the seedlings when they pop up, but some people are annoyed by that
   omnivore/carnivore feces – dog and cat poop can carry parasites, and needs special handling to compost properly.  Not for beginners.
   inorganics – rocks, soil, plastic, metal, stuff like that will not compost

Everything else should be fine for composting, including herbivore feces.  Manure comes in two types, “hot” and “cold”.  “hot” manures contain a lot of nitrogen, and can burn plants, so they must be partially composted before use.  Examples of hot manures are horse, cow, chicken, sheep.  “Cold” manures are lower in nitrogen, and can be applied directly to the soil.  Examples of “cold” manures are rabbit and goat.

I generally have two piles going, one with fresh stuff in it and one that is almost ready to use.  Compost needs four things to work well: carbon, nitrogen, water and oxygen.  If you live in a dry climate like I do, you’ll need to water your pile occasionally to keep it going.  Examples of carbon items are fallen leaves, paper and cardboard, straw, sawdust (like what litter pellets are made from).  Examples of nitrogen items are grass clippings, kitchen vegetable waste, manure, urine and hay.  If you have too much nitrogen, your pile will smell like ammonia, so add more carbon if that happens.  A pile with too much carbon will never heat up.

The process itself is really simple.  People tend to overcompilcate things because they want compost right away, or someone will tell them how hard it is.  If you are patient, any pile will work, and you can chane the parameters to make things run faster.  A properly built pile DOES NOT SMELL!  People often think compost is a smelly pile of garbage.  It actually smells like the forest floor, a very pleasant earthy smell.  If rodents are a problem in your area, just don’t compost food stuff.  Mice have no interest in eating bunny poops.

 

[rabbitsmba]

While I don’t compost in my yard, our city does have compost pick up along with the garbage. We compost all the bunny stuff – droppings, newspaper, woodstove pellet litter.

While it is true that most places say “no animal watse”, upon calling the city and asking for specifics, I was told that animal waste from carnivores is not allowed, but waste from herbavors is allowed. This seems to jive with what osprey said about “hot” and “cold” manures. SO as long as the waste is from an herbivore, it’s completely fine to compost.

[babybunsmum]

that’s great info osprey… thanks!  i had heard about water & oxygen being integral to composting but not about carbon &  nitrogen…  this info really helps me understand.   makes sense that carbon reduces the ammonia smell… thats why litters are made of it!  so when i start adding the soaked litter pellets i’ll add in some fallen leaves or shredded paper.  but i actually think i’ll have enough hay bits to keep the balance. 

very cool.  i love it that i can do this!  i have a nice big patch of garden in my back yard that is begging for great compost before i do any planting since it’s such a fierce clay soil.  with 2 buns i’ll have a respectable shade garden in no time & when i have enough for myself i can try to sell some on ebay

[MimzMum]

We used to have a compost pile at my childhood home. Pretty sure only herb-based organics went into it. I never thought it smelled bad…only earthy and loamy, like it should.
Okay, dryer lint?? lolz…I guess that means that cast off bunny fur will be a good ingredient too? Pippi is blowing her coat, currently. >.<

[ScooterandAnnette]

I had a composter at my mother’s place for years and was really pleased with the humus from it. I’m still not entirely sold on the bunny poop. I keep remember my poor plant that was killed off from it. Mind you by the end I think it had more than an inch of bunny poop sitting on top of the soil. Again, was NOT my idea to put the poop there! When we rented the house we’re currently in we asked the landlord about putting in a composter and he said absolutely not, they’re smelly and attract rodents etc. No point in trying to educate him on composting, he’s pretty thick. This is the same guy that impaired 2 apple trees by pruning them multiple times a season and then decided that there was something wrong with them and dug them up.

We’ll definitely be putting in a composter at our new house, and I’m guessing we’ll be composting the bunny poop and litter!

– Annette

[MooBunnay]

I can’t wait until my new house is finished so that I will finally have a backyard AND a compost pile! I’ve sprinkled bunny poops onto some potted plants I’ve had before without any trouble, however, it was just a couple handfuls for each one. The plants actually did seem a little bit greener after that! Thanks for all the detailed info. Osprey…I use pelleted pine for litter so I’m glad that it will compost somewhat. I’m hoping to plant a vegetable garden to provide the greens for the bunnies…so funny that their poop will be fertilizing the plants they will be eating Have you found that the compost pile gets very stinky? I found some Rubbermaid outdoor composting bins that are covered that I think I will have to use because my neighbor’s houses won’t be really all that far away from mine – and I might make enemies quickly if the smell of bunny pee/poop travels around the neighborhood.

[babybunsmum]

oooh moobunnay.. so exciting that you’ll be in your new house soon!!!  i’m not too far from my neighbors & i haven’t had a complaint.  my active compost bin right by my side door is really not that stinky at all.  when i first started it i also added a few expired house plants with their soil which seemed to cut the smell… plus with all the hay bits some how it only smelled when i first dump the litter in.  as soon as it’s mixed up the smell dissipates.  mind you this bin is not a reg compost… it’s a plastic garbage bin with a lid which i believe is working because i’m lifting the lid off & stirring it up every couple of days.  

i read somehwere online that dryer lint & hair is compostable.  i have plenty of both… and i believe they’re in the carbon category which i need since otherwise i seem to be adding too many from the nitrogen category.

[osprey]

Dryer lint is mostly plant fibers (cotton) and animal furs (wool) so it will compost, albeit slowly.  Hair and fur will compost, just very slowly.  Any nonorganic fiber in the lint (stuff like polyesters and rayon) will not compost.

Moobunnay, the pile should not smell.  If you add too much nitrogen at once, you can get an ammonia smell, and fresh manure will smell if it is not covered with some carbon like leaves or sawdust, but bunny poop does not smell so you should be find unless you adopt a horse.

 

[Snowshoesmom]

Having had seven bunnies spanning the last nine years I have lots of bunny poop compost.  Actually it is huge!  My husband pushes the pile with his plow truck.  I mostly dig in to the very bottom layer, there are lots of good worms in there.  I usually add some of this bottom layer to my garden every year.  Good luck and enjoy composting.   Who knew that rabbits could be such wonderful gardners ; – )

[MooBunnay]

Thanks Osprey – I’m so excited for my vegetable garden! No plans for a horse in the future, I don’t think he’d quite fit in the yard..tho..a small horse perhaps…

Snowshoes mom – I have 7 bunnies right now so I guess I have a biiiig compost pile to look forward to!

[Toki+Pumpkin+Elmo]

This might be a stupid questions.. Do you keep the bin closed? Do you just keep it closed for months?

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