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avgusta_gw

Why isn't there worms in the rabbit manure pile?

last month

I am having this kind of manure first time. It is a full pickup truck load. I took about half of it and never met even one worm.


When I work with horse manure, it has worms in every shovel.


Why don't worms like rabbit wastes?

Comments (17)

  • last month

    Is it composted at all?

  • last month

    I dont know how composted rabbit manure should look . I see very few droppings. Most of it is very sticky like wet clay, I probably could make a statue from it.

  • last month

    I don't know, then. I'd love to see your artwork when it's finished..

    avgusta_gw thanked annpat
  • last month

    What's your plan for it?

  • last month

    I need it for composting, for fertilising vegetable beds, roses....


    I'm mixing it with my sandy-clay soil and very fine woodchips, and it does not mix well. Still very sticky.

  • PRO
    last month

    Rabbit poo is low ammonia, that's why it can be applied cold directly instead of needing to compost it for a while. Probably the reason there's no worms is there's no food for them in the sticky pile. Horse manure tends to have a lot of edible left in it that worms can work with. Rabbits process a bit more efficient, and there is less in their poo to be of interest to worms.

    It being sticky could be because it's wet. Let it sit out and dry. It could be because it's a seriously green compost, and too much green can make a sticky- add in brown compost material. Like shredded paper, dried leaves, sawdust or the fine woodchips. And let it sit/turn it to break down and mix in till it's not sticky.

    avgusta_gw thanked beesneeds
  • last month

    We have rain every day, thus it is hard to dry it.


    May be I should make pots for seedlings from it and forget fertilizing for a while. :))

  • 23 days ago
    last modified: 23 days ago

    After several dry and very hot days, I 've able to work this substanse thru the construction mesh. At least I've got some fine particles of manure which are possible to mix with soil and wood chips.

    While I 've been "shredding" manure thru a mesh, I thought about is there a "shredding machine" for grounding dirt? Like an electric wood chipper/shredding machine , may be? It is hard to believe that it is not invented yet for gardeners like us.

  • 23 days ago

    Is shredding it necessary? Is it not possible just to mulch with it? Or if composting it just to add to the bin as it is?

  • 23 days ago

    It looks like it is much better to mulch or add to potting mix or to compost if it is shreded or crushed some how. When it is dry out it is like very hard rocks. I put it on top of the raised beds without shredding before rains started. It laid there under everyday heavy rains and didnt changed at all.


    I will try to dissolve in water the particles that didnt go thru a mesh, and pure that "rabbit gravy" over a mix of shreded boxes and woodchips before putting it into a compost pile. Maybe it will work easier.

  • PRO
    23 days ago

    There are mechanical mills folks like ceramics artists use to grind up dry clay. There are ones specific for it, but some folks use feed mills. They can run a few hundred to several thousand dollars depending. There are commercial dirt grinders, but those can tend to be more expensive than the home/hobby grinders.

    I do have to wonder about that manure. What does it smell like? Or did smell like when it was dumped off? What was its texture like compared to now when it's been sitting for a bit?

    avgusta_gw thanked beesneeds
  • 23 days ago

    It had normal manure smell, not bad, but even pleasant for any gardener smell. Compare to horse manure that I've got from other place, rabbit manure had stronger smell . Now it is about 2 weeks sitting in a truck bed , there is no smell at all. This night we had heavy shower, it became like soft sticky clay again, I cannot mix it or work thru a mesh. A bucket with "rabbit gravy" smells nice.

  • 23 days ago

    I'd be putting it on my garden as is, and if I hated the looks of it, I'd cover it with something I liked the looks of---like compost. I can't see me grinding up manure to put on a garden, but I definitely can't see me grinding up manure to put in my compost.


    Life is short. Don't you have some gardening to do?


    Is that your truck? Let me know if it is, because I'd have plans for it.

    That manure will breaK down, and unless there's something somehow tainted about it, it will improve your soil. However, if you really can't stand the looks, use the truck while you have it to get something more appealing to cover it with.


    avgusta_gw thanked annpat
  • 22 days ago

    You've got to unload that truck!! Don't be lazy like Klem.

  • 21 days ago

    I'm working on it.:))


    I need to shredd/crush it for making container mix. Not to make it pretty.

  • 20 days ago
    last modified: 20 days ago

    I see. I'm glad you're not lazy (like Klem). Are they pellets? I probably still wouldn't bother grinding. Most plants don't mind a chunky soil.