I need composting help!

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I just got a pair of rabbits and have heard their poop is great for the garden and composting.

My question is can the whole litter box be dumped into the composter? It has pine pellets, bits of timothy & alfalfa hay and obviously their poops. I didn’t know if the hay could go in the composter? Or if that could somehow make alfalfa grow in my garden?

All the contents can be composted. I used to save a step by having the rabbit hutches IN my chicken run.

Hay doesn’t typically have seeds, but if you hot compost the seeds will be killed. If you chicken run compost the seeds will be eaten.

 

[DramaBrahmaMama]

I just got a pair of rabbits and have heard their poop is great for the garden and composting.

My question is can the whole litter box be dumped into the composter? It has pine pellets, bits of timothy & alfalfa hay and obviously their poops. I didn’t know if the hay could go in the composter? Or if that could somehow make alfalfa grow in my garden?

You can dump it all, it probably will grow bits of alfalfa, just keep turning it till it bakes it. Once it gets warmer and your compost starts it's processing again, you should be fine. It's a much better alternative to trying to apply straight rabbit poop to the garden. It is acidic and will burn up the plants.

 

[NatJ]

It's a much better alternative to trying to apply straight rabbit poop to the garden. It is acidic and will burn up the plants.

Are you speaking from experience, or from reading it somewhere?

Because everything I've read says rabbit droppings ARE safe to apply immediately, unlike most other kinds of animal manure.

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/bunny_honey_using_rabbit_manure_as_a_fertilizer
Here is one example of a page saying that rabbit manure can be used directly, with no composting needed.

(It is fine to compost rabbit droppings, just not as necessary as for most other kinds of animal waste.)

 

[DramaBrahmaMama]

Are you speaking from experience, or from reading it somewhere?

Because everything I've read says rabbit droppings ARE safe to apply immediately, unlike most other kinds of animal manure.

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/bunny_honey_using_rabbit_manure_as_a_fertilizer
Here is one example of a page saying that rabbit manure can be used directly, with no composting needed.

(It is fine to compost rabbit droppings, just not as necessary as for most other kinds of animal waste.)

Experience. My kids shoveled out from under the hutch and applied to my ground crops, zuchs and squash, and the next day they were wilted down. So, I asked my grandmother about it and she said it needs to be completely dried before application, and she would generally cut it with something else like straw before spreading it out.

 

[NatJ]

Experience. My kids shoveled out from under the hutch and applied to my ground crops, zuchs and squash, and the next day they were wilted down. So, I asked my grandmother about it and she said it needs to be completely dried before application, and she would generally cut it with something else like straw before spreading it out.

I suspect quantity makes a big difference. Most articles skip details like "how much"

 

[BabyGotQuack]

I’m not planning on adding it straight to the garden just because they aren’t in a hutch with a wire floor. They use a litter box so it has the pine pellet bedding and whatever hay they drop and didn’t want that stuff put straight into the garden. So I will be putting it in the composter. But thanks for the info!

 

[DramaBrahmaMama]

I suspect quantity makes a big difference. Most articles skip details like "how much"

Very possible!

 

[Percheron chick]

In 45 years of feeding alfalfa and spreading non composted horse manure which can have as much as 10% wasted alfalfa, I have never had an issue with volunteer alfalfa. Quite the opposite. Alfalfa plants can fix a ton of N. Weeds in the bale are more apt to be the problem.

I just got a pair of rabbits and have heard their poop is great for the garden and composting.

My question is can the whole litter box be dumped into the composter? It has pine pellets, bits of timothy & alfalfa hay and obviously their poops. I didn’t know if the hay could go in the composter? Or if that could somehow make alfalfa grow in my garden?

 

[WILIFORD]

Rabbit & Goat manure are both cool fertilizers and can be added straight to your garden. But just like anything "to much of a good thing", right. Apply what you need and throw the rest on the lawn, or any plants that can use a little boost . Here is a recipe for compost booster. Mix 1 can of beer, 1 can of cola (not diet), 1 cup of ammonia in 2 to 3 gallons of water and pour that on your compost pile and stir it in.

 

[Ascholten]

Rabbit poop, may be safe but if you are shoveling from under a hut, it's probably piss laden too, and THAT will burn your stuff up, all that urine /ammonia. Poo ok, mix, too hot.

Aaron