Rabbit POOP!!--w/a few pics....now.

Two to three hundred head create a lot of POOP!!
:x I mean......A BUNCH!! :x

Add those inquisitive few that "LOVE" to play with the water valves,
and you end up with a lot of rabbit...GLOP!! :evil:
Nasty...stinky....evil crud that 'rolls' your stomach
and tests your gag-reflexes...ad infinitum.

Yesterday, I took the first step on a long road.
A road that will, hopefully, ease the problem and
add a few bucks to my pocket as well. POOP TRAYS!
Seven down and only Seventy-five to go!
Piece of cake! I "AM" a supreme glutton for punishment.

I've watched....and watched....and watched some more.
As my local lumber yard desperately tried to sell some
1/8th inch hardware cloth they've had for several years.
They'd lower their price.. 'just a little' and add a huge sign.
.........NO LUCK........ it still wouldn't sell.
But...the price was getting lower. Not low enough to suit me though.

Then....I made my move.
Boldly!!! I walked up to the owner.
"How much...for the whole shootin'-match??"


He nearly swallowed his coffee cup! "All of it?"
He squeaked over his coffee as some dribbled down his chin.

"YEAH!!! All of it! I didn't stutter. What's your price?"
"And don't tell me you AIN'T been tryin' to get rid of it!"
"I've watched you shuffle this stuff all over the store,
and you still ain't had no takers!"

You could see the small wheels begin to turn.
Smoke slowly flowed from his over-sized ears.
"Well, Grumpy, I've got a lot tied up..."

"DON'T give me that crud! What's your price? AND
don't expect me to pay what you've got in it!" I argued.
"HOW MUCH....to make it all go away?"

"I've got over 300 feet in stock and I cain't sell none!"

I chuckled, "That's your problem not mine. 65 cents a foot
and I'll take it all....Cash!"

I bought two rolls of 36" and one roll of 24".

That's a lot of wire....with no wood for framing. :mrgreen:

I was "given" a stack of dunnage lumber that's treated.
One by four by eight feet long. There's close to 500 pieces in the stack.
I "have" to take it all. But, about every fourth one is clear.
Not a knot to be found in any of it. That's the framing I need for the "POOP-Trays."

I'll take some pics later today and try to post them.

Grumpy.

Yowza, what a project you just started. My mind boggles.

NICE SCORE!!

Good negotiating there, Grumpy!

So, your trays will catch the poop but let the urine flow through, yes? Will you then bag up the poop and sell it as fertilizer?

Good Job Grumpy!!!!!!! Now your making my Wheels turn..... I gues the old saying goes.."Money talks,BS walks"- as my DAD always said

SCORE!!

Love your stories, grumpy!

Frecs":3ihsus42 said:

Good negotiating there, Grumpy!

So, your trays will catch the poop but let the urine flow through, yes? Will you then bag up the poop and sell it as fertilizer?

Click to expand...

Exactly.....!! I sold quite a bit of manure this spring.
$2.50 per 5-gallon bucket. $25.00 for a half pick-up load.

BUT....I learned something.
Folks are basically "lazy". They don't like to work very hard.
I'll take the manure out of the trays and solar-dry it.
I'll have enough wire and dunnage lumber left-over
to build a drying bin 30 feet long by 3 feet wide.
I've got a concrete pad on the south side of my barn
where I can put the drying rack. It's right alongside my driveway.

Build some frames and stretch plastic film over them.
Place them over the drying bin...and voila!! Solar dryer!
Put a high-velocity fan circulating air underneath the bin
and you should be able to dry the manure in short order.

I go through 50-75 pounds of feed per day.
That's an awful lot of empty feed sacks at the end of the month.
They're this new plastic stuff....not paper any longer.

Turned inside out...I've got a white plastic sack I can use for
"Solar-Dried" Rabbit Manure."
Easy to write on with a magic marker. Price/Weight/Happy Face!!

I don't know how much each bag will hold. I'd like to get the
moisture content down to 7 or 8 percent.
But, I'll bet I can sell it for a pretty good price!

Especially.....if I load the van and go to a "farmer's market" on the week-ends.
Hook-up with some gardening clubs. Flower gardeners. Rose-gardening clubs.
The possibilities are limited 'only' by one's imagination.

grumpy.

grumpy":12f6646u said:

Exactly.....!! I sold quite a bit of manure this spring.
$2.50 per 5-gallon bucket. $25.00 for a half pick-up load.

BUT....I learned something.
Folks are basically "lazy". They don't like to work very hard.
I'll take the manure out of the trays and solar-dry it.
I'll have enough wire and dunnage lumber left-over
to build a drying bin 30 feet long by 3 feet wide.
I've got a concrete pad on the south side of my barn
where I can put the drying rack. It's right alongside my driveway.

Build some frames and stretch plastic film over them.
Place them over the drying bin...and voila!! Solar dryer!
Put a high-velocity fan circulating air underneath the bin
and you should be able to dry the manure in short order.

I go through 50-75 pounds of feed per day.
That's an awful lot of empty feed sacks at the end of the month.
They're this new plastic stuff....not paper any longer.

Turned inside out...I've got a white plastic sack I can use for
"Solar-Dried" Rabbit Manure."
Easy to write on with a magic marker. Price/Weight/Happy Face!!

I don't know how much each bag will hold. I'd like to get the
moisture content down to 7 or 8 percent.
But, I'll bet I can sell it for a pretty good price!

Especially.....if I load the van and go to a "farmer's market" on the week-ends.
Hook-up with some gardening clubs. Flower gardeners. Rose-gardening clubs.
The possibilities are limited 'only' by one's imagination.

grumpy.

Click to expand...

You'll make a fortune! Definitely target the upscale horticultural market -- those classy ladies and gents will pay top $$ for black gold to help them win the next "best rose" competition or "best garden" competition.

YOUr right...I have a guy who does roses...he buys a garbage can full of manure from me every 3 weeks for 50 bucks (he offered me the price) I would of been happy enough for him just to take it....as he was loading he held out the money and asked "is 50 enough".....I was stunned and accepted...oh of course I throw in a "free" box of farm fresh eggs lol

:rotfl: Grumpy, just when I think you are going to dial it back a little, you start another major project!

Great score, by the way!

Good for you Grumpy. Nothing can keep a good man down very long.

wow... I think I might do something like that under my cages.. build the trays like that.. WHAT a great idea.. thanks for sharing... I have a questions.. Does it have to dry out like that ?Cant I put it right into the bag from the trays. ?.. Do you mix yours with anything else beside the berries , when you sell it in the bags.. so many questions..

Yepper, you said it. A glutton for punishment! Just can't sit still, can you? No doubt you'll pull it off with your usual grace and ease. Please keep sharing your ideas and projects - and photos whenever possible!!

Solar-Dried Rabbit Manure. I imagine folks will eat it up. Well, not literally.

Thats so cool Grumpy! I tried to find an old ad I'd seen, somebody had advertized their bags of poop for 10.00 each! I'd love to be able to make a few bucks on bags of poop! Hope all works out for you! :clover:

This is why you are the rabbit KING, Grumpy!!! Way to go!

Great idea. I've been using my manure to fill in the back yard. The edge of the property drops off several feet into a wooded area (not part of property). When I moved in the retaining barrier was collapsed and a fair amount of erosion had occurred. Our 14 adult rabbits have almost completed the task.

You could bag it straight from the trays, but drying it out would certainly make it weigh a lot less, and also help keep it from getting stinky.

Truckinguy had a setup like this a while back, too. Not nearly so many rabbits, though!

Thanks everyone...Mama had me "helping" her from noon to close yesterday!!
Sorry for not posting the pics.....I've got a few, but want to take more. I finally got to bed around 2:30 this morning.

Flemishstar: LOL...My grandpa's favorite! "Money talks---BS walks."

Miss M: You know me...gotta have some kind of weird idea going all the time. It keeps my mind occupied.

Beekeeper10: You don't count how many times 'life' knocks you down. You count how many times you get up.

Mary Ann: Sharing's what this site is all about!! That's the reason I like it so well. Drying it out reduces the possibility of mold or anaerobic pathogens growing in that damp environment. The only other 'additive' would be the errant pellets that get dropped into the mix.

SuburbanHomesteader: ""Solar-Dried Rabbit Manure. I imagine folks will eat it up. Well, not literally"" LOL. I about choked on my coffee over that one.

AmysMacdog: I'm still trying to come up with a decent price that makes both the customer and myself....content.

Kyle: Thanks, bub. I'm too old and hard-headed to change my ways. I always attempt to look at every aspect of this interesting avocation. Even down to the 'Rabbit-Berries'. My son, Myron, told me the other day, "Old man, I've never seen anyone like you. You can take a pile of XXXX and make money." He chuckled and shook his head in disbelief.

ckcs: You'll have one dynamite location for growing tomatoes.

Miss M: Those berries dried out....will sell themselves. I've even thought about taking an open container of them and offering 'free' samples in small bags. The only 'catch' would be...no utensil to scoop it up with....Just the customer's hand!! I'd imagine I'd get some funny looks, but it would be worth it to see the looks on their faces. :lol:

I'll do my utmost "best" to get some pics posted today. I've got a full schedule....gonna be super-busy.


Grumpy.

Looking forward to the photos, grumpy! Great idea...I've been wrestling with ideas to capture rabbit berries without all the extras...I think you've hit on a fabulous way to do so!

fuzzy9, you oughta read his books..Ive got the first one, reads just like his stories here. Great fun!

These pics aren't the greatest, but they'll give
you a general idea of what I'm doing.

Here's a 30"X36" tray. Front view.


Here's a view from the back. Note the flashing attached.
It diverts the water away from the tray and onto the ground.
Hanger screws are 8" in from each side.


I've got four installed, thus far. It was a crazy day and
I didn't get to spend much time in the rabbitry.


You can see where the water puddles on the ground
from the fryers playing with the valves. Messy!


One more wheelbarrow load and this aisle will be ready
for all of the trays. I need to torch the hair as well.
They're lookin' a little shaggy.
Note: You can see one of the hanger rods on the left.
I made a jig to keep all of the hangers the same.


More to come later.
grumpy