# Composting



## Malexis (Apr 26, 2009)

Im researching composting as im thinking about starting to do it, but have no clue ow to start. One thing i've seen on a few web sites is to not compost ret waste as it may have stuff in it that could harm people (probably if doing fruits or veggies) but does this include rabbit waste?

If i can compost rabbit waste how would i go about this? I mainly use carefresh, but i aslso use wood stove pellets on occasion (and maybe more often soon) are these able to be thrown in compost two or do i need a grate over the litter so i can seperate the poo's? Would the pee be bad if it was mixed in to? Anyother advice?


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## Malexis (Apr 26, 2009)

I cant edit my post yet so i just wanted to add:

If i do vermicomposting (which is using worms and kitchen scraps) will i still be able to use rabbit poo as opposed to regular composting which mostly uses garden scraps?


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## jcottonl02 (Apr 27, 2009)

Rabbit poop makes an absolutely fantastic compost!!
We put all grass cuttings, vegetable peelings that the rabbits can't have like potato skins, leaves and weeds and we put that in the compost bin in the garden, with plenty of moisture, and with the rabbit droppings! Let it compost over time- I'm not entirely sure how long it takes but the longer you leave it the better the compost! Leaving it a good few months to really compost down is great.
Then spread it over your flower beds and start using it!

I use Bio Catolet litter- it is completely safe to use with rabbits. It is completely compostable, completely dust free, and very environmentally friendly. 
So this goes into the compost too, as it is 100% biodegradable and compostible. 

https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/Litter.11/Bio-Catolet+:+25ltr.149.html


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## Sabine (Apr 28, 2009)

I use straw pellets, straw and hay as litter and the whole lot goes into the compost. I found though that it only composts well if mixed with lots of wet materials like kitchen scraps or grass clippings. i usually have too much rabbit waste to get the right mixture I found the rabbit litter alone doesn't compost very well.


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## tonyshuman (Apr 28, 2009)

I have read you can do vermicomposting with rabbit poo. Rabbit poo can be put directly on plants as well, as long as you don't put urine-soaked litter right on plants. I am limited by not having a backyard, although I am blessed with a nice, large, screened-in porch. I plan on making rabbit poo "tea" compost, or perhaps doing vermicomposting with a 2-sided bin, once I have all my plants in their pots.

Currently, I'm mixing old and new potting soil with rabbit poo in a big rubbermaid tub on the porch. In a few weeks, I'll fill my hanging baskets with soil from this bin and plant.

Then I'm planning on putting a porous divider into the bin. That way you can put worms in half, and once they've done their thing, they migrate through the divider into the other half, and you can use the casings they leave behind as fertilizer. My plan is to use old rabbit litter (I use the wood sawdust pellets) with poo, along with vegetable kitchen scraps (not that we make many) as substrate for the worms. I can then harvest the casings throughout the summer. I normally line the pans with newspaper, but I don't know if that can be composted.

Like I said, I'm limited by space and it being a living area. I don't want my back porch to smell awful! I think a compost tumbler would be great, and I've put rabbit litter with newspaper into my bf's mom's dry compost pile when we were staying with them. There are a lot of configurations out there if you just search "home composting".

edit: didn't mention that I separate poo from litter by using plastic craft screens from Wal-Mart.


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## Malexis (Apr 29, 2009)

Im still trying to find a way to seperate the litter and poo, i bought a screen but didnt like it too much. Do you have any pictures of one i coould try?
What is rabbit poo tea composting? Also i've started to weed "my garden" and have a pretty good area for some veggies. Could i just take the poo and mix it in with the dirt? 

Also i know the difference of composting and vermicomposting is that composting gets more of dirt and grass and vermicomposting gets worms and veggie scraps. What if i did the overall composting but threw in some worms, would that work or no? 
Im going to talk to my dad about starting to compost and see what he thinks about it. One thing i'd be worried about with vermicomposting is being overrun ith worms once they keep multiplying. What would you do to keep this undercontrol?


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## Sabine (Apr 29, 2009)

I am Sabine's partner 
Composting if done properly generates heat which would kill off worms etc.
A wormery is using the worms to do the job rather than a composting action.
Also the worms used are not in general common or garden earthworms they are special types for wormeries.


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## jcottonl02 (Apr 29, 2009)

*Malexis wrote: *


> Im still trying to find a way to seperate the litter and poo, i bought a screen but didnt like it too much. Do you have any pictures of one i coould try?
> What is rabbit poo tea composting? Also i've started to weed "my garden" and have a pretty good area for some veggies. Could i just take the poo and mix it in with the dirt?
> 
> Also i know the difference of composting and vermicomposting is that composting gets more of dirt and grass and vermicomposting gets worms and veggie scraps. What if i did the overall composting but threw in some worms, would that work or no?
> Im going to talk to my dad about starting to compost and see what he thinks about it. One thing i'd be worried about with vermicomposting is being overrun ith worms once they keep multiplying. What would you do to keep this undercontrol?


You don't need to separate the litter from the poo, if you use the brand of rabbit litter I use- this is completely compostable, and is designed to be so


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## Malexis (Apr 29, 2009)

*Sabine wrote: *


> I am Sabine's partner
> Composting if done properly generates heat which would kill off worms etc.
> A wormery is using the worms to do the job rather than a composting action.
> Also the worms used are not in general common or garden earthworms they are special types for wormeries.


Thanks! Hmm i think we might just go with normal composting though without the worms.. Sounds like it would be a better fit for us.


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## irishbunny (Apr 29, 2009)

All we did was throw the litter in a pile, it contained bunny poop, shavings and hay and collected it up all year and just threw it on mixed with the dirt. The veggies are flying up. Oh and we have donkey poop from my friends donkeys in there too, don't know if that makes much difference or not.


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## tonyshuman (Apr 29, 2009)

Sorry I haven't replied yet. Busy day, and I don't really know that much about composting. Vermicomposting you have to buy the worms special, they are called red worms or something and you can buy them online. They aren't that cheap though...

Compost tea is just soaking the veggie scraps/poo/etc in water for about a week and using the water and sludge as liquid fertilizer. There are fancy set-ups to do it too, but I don't know if they're necessary. 

You can just mix rabbit poo in with the dirt. You can then plant immediately or wait 2wks or so.


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## Malexis (May 1, 2009)

hmmIm going to mix this weeks poo in the garden area and mix it in and see how it goes. Im not going to put too much just this weeks or so. 

Thanks!


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## BethM (May 1, 2009)

I've been reading a lot about vermicomposting (with worms). 
Does anyone here do this, and if so, do you use a commercially made worm bin, or make your own? I really like the Can-O-Worms container, but it seems expensive.

I read that they will even eat hair/fur? That is certainly not in short supply here!

We're in the process of buying a house, and I really want to get started with composting right away. (I cringe every time I have to throw away veggie waste. Such a waste!) I'm not terribly excited about having just a pile that would need to be turned, and not look good in my yard, and can't really afford the fancy bins.

Will also be getting a rain barrel right away. Or as soon as we can afford it, anyway.


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## tonyshuman (May 1, 2009)

I plan on making my own bin. A lot of the bins are really expensive, and the cost of worms just adds to it.


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## dquesnel (May 1, 2009)

I guess it is that time of year again- to begin planting!

As Clare (tonyshuman) sad you can add the poop directly into the soil, mix and plant. But if you are growing fruits or veggies from that, you should wait 90-120 days to harvest to avoid possible contamination. Rabbit poop is the *only* manure that will not burn plant roots!

I also use a grate to separate the poop and urine in the litter pan. It is very handly.

Rabbit manure is very high in nitrogen and contains large amounts of phosphorus (for fruit and flower formation). Because it is so high in nitrogen, you only need about 1 part rabbit manure to 5 parts dirt/compost. If you use more, the plants may grow too big, too fast!


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## BethM (May 1, 2009)

Would I be able to put used litter in the compost pile if I am using compressed pine pellet litter (like Feline Pine)?

We've decided that we'll start with a regular compost pile, because we'll have to have one anyway for lawn clippings and leaves. Then we might add a worm composter later. (I know you can do homemade ones pretty inexpensively, but I've read that the homemade bins are messier, smellier, and more work than the commercially made worm systems. So I'm just going to wait on that for awhile.)

Anyway, would I need to separate the urine-soaked litter from the poop and hay, or dump it all on? My litter box has a built-in grate, so separation isn't a problem, I just hate to throw stuff away if I could compost it instead.


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## tonyshuman (May 1, 2009)

Yes, I have put used compressed pellet litter and soiled newspaper in a regular compost bin, at my bf's parents' home They said it would be fine. 

The urine-soaked litter needs to be composted for a while to let some of the ammonia come off (it evaporates), but I don't see why this couldn't be done in a normal outside compost bin.


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## tonyshuman (May 1, 2009)

Rabbit Manure and its Potential


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