Compost (sort of) safety

[serenethirteen]

We switched to using chicken layer crumbles for our cat litter a couple months ago. We wanted something compostable, and cost effective. It works great! So my original intention was to compost it in the Humanure style, aka really hot compost that kills all the bad stuff. But I got to thinking...our chickens when free ranging, go through poop all the time. Dog poop, cat poop, cow poop, horse poop, pretty much any poop they find to get at the goodies within. In addition they have free access to the compost pile. They take what they want and leave what they dont. They have never gotten sick, knock on wood. Why cant I put the "litter" out there for them to go through? Are there parasites specific to cats that would transfer? Other than the Ick Factor, I cant think of anything else that that is a reason not to do this. Please correct me if I'm off base!

 

[Chris09]

We switched to using chicken layer crumbles for our cat litter a couple months ago. We wanted something compostable, and cost effective. It works great! So my original intention was to compost it in the Humanure style, aka really hot compost that kills all the bad stuff. But I got to thinking...our chickens when free ranging, go through poop all the time. Dog poop, cat poop, cow poop, horse poop, pretty much any poop they find to get at the goodies within. In addition they have free access to the compost pile. They take what they want and leave what they dont. They have never gotten sick, knock on wood. Why cant I put the "litter" out there for them to go through? Are there parasites specific to cats that would transfer? Other than the Ick Factor, I cant think of anything else that that is a reason not to do this. Please correct me if I'm off base!

Do a Google Search for Toxoplasmosis.


Chris

 

[chfite]

The primary vector for Toxoplasmosis is the cat. The primary responsibility here is to wash your hands.

There are many other pathogens out there. Wash your hands. Cook your food.

Chris