Will hay compost along with rabbit poop?

[bubba man]

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 ??

 

[Rainey]

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.

 

[michaels4gardens]

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.

 

[bubba man]

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

 

[michaels4gardens]

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..

 

[Rainey]

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

 

[MaggieJ]

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.

 

[bubba man]

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

 

[MaggieJ]

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.

 

[michaels4gardens]

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...

 

[bubba man]

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

 

[MaggieJ]

I added your location to your profile.

 

[bubba man]

thank you MAGGIE

 

[akane]

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.

 

[michaels4gardens]

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]

 

[bubba man]

so you say i should use straw instead of hay

 

[michaels4gardens]

so you say i should use straw instead of hay

First off, - no, I am not saying you should feed straw instead of hay...

In order to answer the question -- "what would be better for you", ..I would have to understand your feed program.
let me explain...
I do not feed rabbit pellets...I feed root crops,weeds, and kale, as my primary sources of rabbit nutrition. Rabbits need long stem fiber to have proper gut motility. The diet I provide [root crops, weeds, and kale] is very low in long stem fiber..
so ,-the needed Long stem fiber is provided by the feeding of -Hay, corn stalks, J. artichoke tops, or ..straw.

I have a garden, I grow family food, and livestock food. Rabbits are a part of that program. In that context... "I" would rather use straw for a source of long stem fiber, than weed seed filled hay. [Because,.. weed seeds cause me years of extra work weeding, I already spend several hours a week weeding ,to keep them removed from the garden].
**The rabbits would be happier , if I could find a good weed-seed free hay.

If you are feeding a rabbit pellet as your primary feed, Then you can use whatever you wish for extra fiber and or bedding, because the nutrition requirements of your rabbits are being met by the "complete feed" in your rabbit pellets.

 

[akane]

Most grass hay in Iowa is best summed up as simply calling it "weed hay". Nearly all livestock are fed legume hay and grass hay sold is whatever in the heck people bale between the corn fields. I've certainly never seen named grass hay and had to bring it over the state line myself until feed stores started shipping in straight timothy. Not worth the cost though. Alfalfa or clover are 50/50 for quality. Not sure if it's just how fast plants fill back in an area resulting in it being extremely difficult to keep a clean field here or that no one demands that kind of quality so no one grows it.

 

[michaels4gardens]

Most grass hay in Iowa is best summed up as simply calling it "weed hay". Nearly all livestock are fed legume hay and grass hay sold is whatever in the heck people bale between the corn fields. I've certainly never seen named grass hay and had to bring it over the state line myself until feed stores started shipping in straight timothy. Not worth the cost though. Alfalfa or clover are 50/50 for quality. Not sure if it's just how fast plants fill back in an area resulting in it being extremely difficult to keep a clean field here or that no one demands that kind of quality so no one grows it.

If i should end up having to feed weedy hay, I will certainly be creating a compost pile, and then, using a lot of black plastic in my gardens.. I have had mixed success killing off all of the weed seed with composting-- even though the compost looks like it heated well, and I carefully remove the top and side layer that is not "heated well" - I still get a lot of weed seeds germinating sometimes...

 

[akane]

I got some type of weird nettle or low thistle that utterly took over once from the hay. It poked through gardening gloves and jeans as it spread about a foot high across all the garden plots. I ended up actually abandoning the area since the giant black walnut was giving me issues anyway and I'd had to haul in several tons of dirt just to get started.