Will hay compost along with rabbit poop? : Cages, Hutches and Equipment

hello - ok i`ve got 2 does [ love each other ] - what do you`ll do with the soiled hay - i am putting it with the poop in a compost but my big question is will the hay break down - i definitely want the poop for my garden but the hay is taking up room and in a few months time i`m gonna be loaded - what do you guy`s do ??

You haven't indicated your location. Here the ground is snow-covered and temps below freezing so the rabbit trays are emptied into the compost bins. In warmer seasons, we often put it directly onto gardens. Rabbit droppings don't need to age like some other manures. I mix some of ours, which is mixed with hay and whatever else the rabbits have dropped, with aged sawdust and use it as mulch on my herb and flower gardens. But I have to compete with my daughter who may want it for a bed in the vegetable garden. I sometimes say that it would be worth it to raise the rabbits just for the boost to the gardens. With just the 2 rabbits you won't have that much to deal with, but I guess that depends on how much hay they're wasting and how much space you have for making compost.

i just stack it all in the furrows between the raised beds in the garden, or [in winter] .. a few inches deep over the garlic beds, fall planted potatoes, j.artichoke, Yams, or Taro . In the spring I will till the empty beds and remake them, and start the process all over again.

but does the hay break down that`s my big question

bubba man wrote:but does the hay break down that`s my big question

It does break down-- It causes no problems for me.. but I don't let them waste an awful lot of hay..

bubba man wrote:but does the hay break down that`s my big question

yes, hay breaks down but like any composting material the amount of time depends on various factors--temperature, moisture, size of pile, how intensively it's managed

ii`m in N.C. - town called PINEBLUFF

bubba man wrote:ii`m in N.C. - town called PINEBLUFF

I am in Tennessee, Quite a bit north of you, - Adding it to the garden, should work even better for you... frozen rabbit litter does not break down ,until it thaws...

tried goin to my profile and it wouldn`t let me add anything

thank you MAGGIE

If your hay is not certified weed free then putting it directly on the soil can result in a lot of weed pulling. Sometimes hay is used to suppress weeds but it will only do that in a thick cover and will then grow weeds from the area after it breaks down if it has seeds in it. If you compost it in a hot pile you can cook the seeds so less grow and kill them off in the pile before they spread to the garden. Otherwise the only issue is mixing in too much hay for a given area sometimes depending on variables of how and where you are using it.

akane wrote:If your hay is not certified weed free then putting it directly on the soil can result in a lot of weed pulling. Sometimes hay is used to suppress weeds but it will only do that in a thick cover and will then grow weeds from the area after it breaks down if it has seeds in it. If you compost it in a hot pile you can cook the seeds so less grow and kill them off in the pile before they spread to the garden. Otherwise the only issue is mixing in too much hay for a given area sometimes depending on variables of how and where you are using it.

and-- that is why I try to get coastal bermuda, perennial peanut, or alfalfa -[when I do have to buy hay]. I try to grow enough corn, and J. artichoke, that i can dry the stalks for feed [long stem fiber] , and not buy any hay at all.[ I would rather use straw for feed and bedding, than weed seed hay]