Will hay compost along with rabbit poop?
- bubba man
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Will hay compost along with rabbit poop?
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 ??
Last edited by MaggieJ on Sat Dec 15, 2018 2:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Title was not specific
Reason: Title was not specific
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Rainey
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Re: important question
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.
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michaels4gardens
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Re: important question
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.
meat-mutt rabbits, a few laying hens.
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michaels4gardens
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Re: important 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..
meat-mutt rabbits, a few laying hens.
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Rainey
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Re: important question
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
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Re: important question
My rabbits were raised on a hay-based diet and there was a fair bit of waste, but it never worried me. I used it on the vegetable garden as a combined fertilizer mulch. The nutrient leech down to the soil and the hay, while it breaks down, suppresses the weeds. I should note that some people find that hay deposits weed seeds in their gardens doing it this way, but I never found it made much difference. Our soil is so laden with weed seeds that mulching is the best way to save work.
Please add your location (province or state if Canada or US, otherwise your country) so we have a rough idea of your location. Adding your hardiness zone is also helpful. Many, many rabbit questions are influenced by location and you will get more pertinent advice if we know what it is.
Please add your location (province or state if Canada or US, otherwise your country) so we have a rough idea of your location. Adding your hardiness zone is also helpful. Many, many rabbit questions are influenced by location and you will get more pertinent advice if we know what it is.
Sojourning in 1894 . . .
- bubba man
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Re: important question
bubba man wrote:ii`m in N.C. - town called PINEBLUFF
Thanks, this helps for this thread. But with so many members, you really cannot expect us to remember where each one lives. Add it to your profile, it only takes a minute and then it will appear under your name on each post.
Sojourning in 1894 . . .
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michaels4gardens
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Re: important question
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...
meat-mutt rabbits, a few laying hens.
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Re: important question
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.
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michaels4gardens
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Re: important question
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]
meat-mutt rabbits, a few laying hens.
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