Re: Rabbit manure

Goosegirl 1/31/2013, 10:04 am

plantoid wrote:
cheyannarach wrote:I used to have rabbits, now I want them again... Do rabbits and chickens get along??

Yes .....so long as there is enough carrots and onions in the pot

GG

CarolynPhillips 1/31/2013, 10:55 am

I love rabbit manure.
I am currently over stocked with rabbits and need more cages. (39 new zealand rabbits) And more rabbit manure than I can keep up with during the winter. I store it in 55 gallon drums and 30 gallon trash cans until it is time to refresh the garden beds.
In addition to fresh green grass clippings , I wanted to grow some beds of carrots for the rabbits. It's a circle of life. They fertilize their own food and carrot seeds are very reasonable. Since the rabbit does not need a full grown carrot, you can grow one carrot per inch. In one 4ft x4ft bed and by the inch, you can grow 2,304 small carrots and give each rabbit one carrot a day.( plus feed and or grass)
It's a good winter green when there is no green grass and the carrots grow in cold winter weather here.

Triciasgarden 2/1/2013, 12:27 am

I am so envious of all this rabbit poo you all have, lol!

That is a great idea on growing carrots for the rabbits! They can also eat the tops, right? That is getting some great use of growing space, food above and below ground for them!

CarolynPhillips 2/1/2013, 7:56 am

carrots for green tops and carrot root for the rabbits. But it should not be their only diet. Just an addition to lower feed cost and give them something green during the winter and a snack in the spring and summer and the carrot itself will help tone down their teeth. And they like pine cones for that too.

wncsohn 2/5/2013, 3:07 pm

Here's our new rabbit hutch. It currently is holding 16 little rabbits. We're only going to keep about 6 of them, the rest are for meat & fur.

It is over our compost pile, which contains various "left-overs" from last years garden, chicken poo, pine shavings and now rabbit poo, hay/feed & rabbit urine. Will be turning it here in a week or so. Just watered it down today.

Rabbit manure - Page 2 2_4_13Rabbit127_zpsdf0c7a0e

Rabbit manure - Page 2 2_4_13Rabbit127_zpsdf0c7a0e

CapeCoddess 2/5/2013, 3:45 pm

Oh wow! That is a composters dream come true!
Excellent!

*having rabbit poo envy here*
CC

Pepper 4/14/2013, 12:06 am

plantoid wrote:Pepper make sure you have a stepladder so you can take pictures of your plants ... rabbit muck if it is neat pellets with out hay seeds is like highly classified rocket fuel to most plants .

Plantoid you were right about the rocket fuel! I used it to amend all my beds now everything is way further ahead than last year. Even my "natures mix" is preforming like MM. I am sold on rabbit poo.

Triciasgarden 4/14/2013, 1:13 am

Congratulations Pepper, that's great you are having a much better year!

plantoid 4/14/2013, 1:02 pm

Like all things don't go too heavy with it , for it is high in quick release nitrogen as well as some slow released nitrogen some plants like that quick release of large amounts , others like root crops will start growing forked roots if too much is available to them too quickly in large doses .

Pepper 4/14/2013, 4:35 pm

Thanks for the warning plantoid. Too late Ethel; I already added three wheel barrow loads to each bed. As last year I am documenting my successes and failures in pictures for all to see.

Tris 4/14/2013, 6:57 pm

I use lots of rabbit poop Smile

to separate it from the hay, lay it out in batches in a Tupperware or on a tarp, the hay will dry out and float away and the poops will stay Smile

**RoOsTeR** 7/25/2013, 9:51 am

One of my sons has decided he wants to raise rabbits Very Happy

Needless to say, dad is pretty happy to be getting rabbit poo for the garden! I purchased an old hutch off of CL the other night and my wife will be picking up the rabbits tomorrow afternoon. I will have poo by weeks end Very Happy

Pictures to come!

Lavender Debs 7/25/2013, 9:57 am

RoOsTeR wrote: ...snip...I purchased an old hutch off of CL the other night .....

I used to clean old hutch floors with a torch and wire brush. Easy to clean hair and old poo out of the hutch (or at least off the floor if it is a wood frame hutch) before adding your new bunns. I bet I do not need to say, keep a hose at the ready incase hot hair floats to the dry grass. BTW, it is pretty easy to make your own hutches... jus sayen

**camprn** 7/25/2013, 10:09 am

RoOsTeR wrote:One of my sons has decided he wants to raise rabbits

Well, poop! rahrah

**RoOsTeR** 7/25/2013, 10:41 am

Lol, I've made plenty of coops and other shelters for our animals. This biggest thing stacked against me right now is time...sometimes a few bucks for someone else's labor is worth every penny Very Happy

One thing that did sell me on the hutch, was the poop chute that directs the droppins into a bucket or whatever. I wasn't to fond of bringing on more critters. The poop chute:D settled the deal. That and my sons research on rabbits. He took the proper steps to be informed and inform and educate me a bit...how could I pass that golden deed up Very Happy

Lavender Debs 7/25/2013, 10:51 am

RoOsTeR wrote:Lol, I've made plenty of coops and other shelters for our animals. This biggest thing stacked against me right now is time...sometimes a few bucks for someone else's labor is worth every penny

Whoops, sorry, I do sound snooty don't I. Should have just stuck to how easy it is to sanitize the floor without chemicals. Good growing to you!

**RoOsTeR** 7/25/2013, 2:04 pm

Lavender Debs wrote:
RoOsTeR wrote:Lol, I've made plenty of coops and other shelters for our animals. This biggest thing stacked against me right now is time...sometimes a few bucks for someone else's labor is worth every penny

Whoops, sorry, I do sound snooty don't I. Should have just stuck to how easy it is to sanitize the floor without chemicals. Good growing to you!

Absolutely you don't sound snooty Debs! Rabbit manure - Page 2 3170584802

I hope my reply back didn't sound snooty. Rabbits are a first for our farm. I'll take any advice given Very Happy

Triciasgarden 7/25/2013, 4:08 pm

Sounds like a wonderful deal, you don't have to make the cage and the poo falls directly into a bucket for you! It can't get much easier!

**RoOsTeR** 7/27/2013, 10:29 am

The kids got their rabbits last night! Now I'm waiting on the poo Very Happy

If you look closely, you can see the built in chute under the wire and a bucket for collecting!
Rabbit manure - Page 2 IMG_1432_zpse4ca119f

Rabbit manure - Page 2 IMG_1431_zps3af870a3

Lol, they're not still for long!
Rabbit manure - Page 2 IMG_1430_zps51392879

I must admit, they are pretty dang cute Cool

**donnainzone5** 7/27/2013, 12:13 pm

Adorable bunnies! But I couldn't see the chute.

batmap 7/27/2013, 12:45 pm

The hay content makes me pause. You may not want those seeds growing in your garden. If not, composting it first is required.

The thing about rabbit droppings and urine is you likely can directly use around the garden vs composting first... unless your absorbing material has seeds. So I suggest if you want to apply fresh rabbit droppings, be sure your absorbing material has no seeds (like sawdust or maybe even old dry mulch).

I think a closeup photo of the 500# rabbit poo can help, but as long as you are sure garden's integrity and pH will not be compromised... go for it.

**RoOsTeR** 7/27/2013, 1:37 pm

The spent hay and straw from all of our animals goes into the big compost heaps. As does our other manures and kitchen scraps.
The rabbit manure (or some) will go to the garden. Whatever we don't use there will also go into the compost piles. It's somewhat difficult to see from the pictures, but there are sloped chutes that direct the rabbit manure into a bucket. Hay and straw are left behind. Wink

bnoles 7/27/2013, 1:53 pm

RoOsTeR wrote:One of my sons has decided he wants to raise rabbits Needless to say, dad is pretty happy to be getting rabbit poo for the garden! I purchased an old hutch off of CL the other night and my wife will be picking up the rabbits tomorrow afternoon. I will have poo by weeks end
Pictures to come!

Hey big guy.... I can't tell you how jealous I am!

**camprn** 7/27/2013, 1:59 pm

Rooster they are SO CUTE!

**sanderson** 7/27/2013, 2:13 pm

Adorable :-)

(Emoticons not working this morning)

Sponsored content


	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.