vermicomposting (worm beds) using RabbitPoo!
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Devon's Mom Lauren
Well-known member
OHHH Ok not that far from me. Thanks!
Kyah
Member
As far as using worm and rabbit manure to grow plants, the comparison of the two is like comparing an apple with a squash. Both are good for you nutritionally, but contain different vitamins and minerals.
If you look at worm compost for example, it is full of beneficial mesophilic bacteria, fungi and microbes, but more importantly it contains plant growth regulators and hormones, most notably auxins. Here's a link for more info:
http://www.vermiculture.ca/transform/worm_castings.htm
I've made different kinds of vermicompost, and the best I've used by far was made with rabbit manure, wood shavings, and shredded newspaper.
When it's all processed, I remove the worms and mix it with potting soil to start seeds with. It's wonderful stuff.
I had my worm castings tested by a lab a few years ago. I'll see if I can scan and copy and post it for you. It was really interesting...
When I move the little seedlings outside to the garden, I use a few handfuls of worm compost in the planting hole, a big handful of leaves, and top dress with rabbit manure. But I also throw a lot of everything else onto and into the soil too though. Old hay, straw, grass clippings, egg shells, composted hen poop. It's all good food for the soil's micro life. I like to think they like a little variety in their diet too.
-Kyah
I thought I would post this as a point of interest. I have some worm bins in the basement and will add more as time goes on. They are doing very well and are packed with worms. I had an eight week old kit die in the cage, I think it fell off the shelf and broke it's neck, so I buried it in the worm bin that seemed the most packed with worms. That was two Saturdays ago (April 20) and at this point the head is basically down to the skull although the rest of it is still there, although shrunken. There is no smell as the kit is completely covered and when I opened the lid it just smelled like damp earth as usual. When I uncovered it to check there was some smell but not bad. Scarlett also had a litter of four this past Saturday that didn't make it and they are buried in some of the other bins.
Anyway, I just thought it might be of interest to some. We're told not to put meat and dairy products in the worm bins but it's all fine if it's buried properly. The eight week old kit was a bit big but I wanted to experiment and see how it would do. I'll keep an eye on it over the next couple of weeks to see how it breaks down.
Happy composting!
Anyway, I just thought it might be of interest to some. We're told not to put meat and dairy products in the worm bins but it's all fine if it's buried properly. The eight week old kit was a bit big but I wanted to experiment and see how it would do. I'll keep an eye on it over the next couple of weeks to see how it breaks down.
Happy composting!
trinityoaks
Well-known member
I have just one question: WHERE DO YOU GET THE WORMS?
You order them from a vermicomposting person or businesstrinityoaks":4l7auvg4 said:
(or you ask Kyah how much she charges to mail them out ) There are quite a few hits if you google "vermicomposting worms" Now that I think of it, we even have a business here in Madison. At least one. hmm...I think I'll check craigslist.....
I bought a pound five years ago from a lady in Bradford which is about an hour away from me. These worms are all descendants of that first pound. If you have an old pile of leaves on your property you can dig under them and likely find a bunch of worms. Doesn't take long for them to multiply!
trinityoaks
Well-known member
How come all the worm sellers are in Canada?! :evil:
A pile of leaves? What's that? :lol: (Around here, the running joke when we travel east is, "What're them-thar funny-lookin' telephone poles with them-thar funny-lookin' bushes on top? How'd they get them bushes to grow up thar?")
A pile of leaves? What's that? :lol: (Around here, the running joke when we travel east is, "What're them-thar funny-lookin' telephone poles with them-thar funny-lookin' bushes on top? How'd they get them bushes to grow up thar?")
:rotfl: So true...so true. the MIL, who we visit every couple of years, lives in New Mexico. One time we drove back going East thru Texas then up from Louisianna. I never thought I'd get tired of driving, but sweet mother...there's nothing but sand burrs, little round dry bushes, heat, and telephone poles across Texas. Even New Mexico had the occasional tree to look at.trinityoaks":3ojc352k said:
http://www.southernbaitworms.com/ try these guys. Or http://www.topline-2000.com/index.html Alabama and New Mexico, respectively
We breed a LOT of rats, mice and guinea pigs. Can worms handle much in the way of wood shavings? I'm guessing we would need a lot of worms to process all the shavings, but to do some of them, would we have to do anything but soak them to get the urine out of them? Does the type make much different? We use Aspen
i find they can handle it fine.
I've had my worms going for a few months now and they have been doing fine. (eating scraps and living in the cellar. I think it's time to start adding bunny poo! How exciting for them. All I know is I want so good castings for next spring. I'm so looking forward to a new garden spot with lots of veggies for the family and the buns.
Since you are just starting to add bunny berries to the mix, you may want to just put them in one side, so the worms can adjust at their own speed. I'm far from an expert on raising worms, but seems to me I remember someone saying that too much bunny poop at first caused problems. (If I remember wrongly, I hope someone will correct me.)
I think that was me. I had a tote full of fresh bunny poop, drained but it had urine in it. I put a half pound of worms on top hoping they would burrow down in it and they were all dead within a day. I have set up a couple of cages now to catch the poop so it doesn't fall in the urine and I find the worms like that much more. I also find, like everything else, moderation is the key.
I have now harvested four of my nine worm bins and have a few pounds of the most beautiful, moist and fluffy worm castings. The bin I put an entire eight week old rabbit in got a little too moist but it worked and it was the latest bin that I harvested. I have found most of the skeleton pieces but that's all. I might compost a rabbit that big next time, though.
I have now harvested four of my nine worm bins and have a few pounds of the most beautiful, moist and fluffy worm castings. The bin I put an entire eight week old rabbit in got a little too moist but it worked and it was the latest bin that I harvested. I have found most of the skeleton pieces but that's all. I might compost a rabbit that big next time, though.
you put an entire rabbit into your worm bin?!?!?! somehow that completely surprises me...(like a who would have thunk?)
Yup, eight weeks old, I had an established worm bin that was working well so I dug a hole in the middle of it, put it in and covered it over. Didn't smell at all. I posted about doing it a few months ago. I just harvested that bin now and found most of the skeleton and bits of fur. As I said above, I probably wouldn't do it again because the bin got wetter than usual. I would likely compost it.
Worms will eat anything. We're constantly told not to put meat and dairy products in the bins but if you completely cover them it won't smell. Also, don't put too much in at a time. The only thing I wouldn't put in the bin would be poop from a carnivor (human, dog, cat, etc.) because of the pathogens required to digest meat. They are better hot composted.
Just my personal opinion....
Worms will eat anything. We're constantly told not to put meat and dairy products in the bins but if you completely cover them it won't smell. Also, don't put too much in at a time. The only thing I wouldn't put in the bin would be poop from a carnivor (human, dog, cat, etc.) because of the pathogens required to digest meat. They are better hot composted.
Just my personal opinion....
There is some great information here for "bin" vermi-composting. There are other ways that may work better for those with more room outside and less room inside. One is worm beds right under the rabbits. I used this way for years and it works for for those of you that have a rabbit shed with a dirt floor. I still have a dirt floor, but I have pulled the bed boards out of the rabbitry and now prefer to remove the litter more often. I always keep one side of my garden fallow, I dump the litter (rabbit poop and hay refuse) in wheelbarrow size piles there. The piles keeps the heat up during the winter which allow full composting in the inside and worms on the edges. In the early spring, I spread the piles out some to let the worms have at all the manure, and by garden time it is all composted and ready to turn in. I do not sell worms, but when I had beds under the hutches I often did.
Some people remove the manure from under the pens, and put it in to garden-like beds outside under shade and close to a water source to keep the manure moist during dry periods.
This is probably the best way for those who are raising them to sell.
Some people remove the manure from under the pens, and put it in to garden-like beds outside under shade and close to a water source to keep the manure moist during dry periods.
This is probably the best way for those who are raising them to sell.
