Manures of different animals

[Tree Dude]

Does it matters to use a specific animal's manure or is it ok to use any? For example: cattles, horses, goats, sheep, rabbits and so forth.

Tree Dude

[CaptainCompostAL]

All animal manures can be composted and used in soil building. However some are better balanced and richer in nutrients than others, without extensive composting first.

Check this out:

http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/organic/2003082510028156.html

Happy Gardening!

[Jim Miller]

"Never use fresh animal manures in any aerobic tea brewing method either! Whatever pathogens, NaCl salts, or diseases in the original material will grow tremendously in the tea. It's best to use well aged compost or composted manures in any tea brew. Aerobic bacteria and fungi are the best microbes in composting and soil building that digest and destroy most disease causing bacteria. Some anaerobic bacteria is harmful to plants and soil organisms. "


Capt. How long do you compost your Horse manure mix before making tea out of it.
I have 4 bins made from pallets about 4x4x4 each

I have turned them each week for 4 weeks , The last time I turned the first batch it didn't heat up.

I use a Horse Manure, Hay, Sawdust mix from a horse farm do you think it would be ok to make tea from this mix.

Thank you

Jim 8)

[Dchall_San_Antonio]

Tree Dude,
The more variety the better. When you think about compost, all it is is an accumulated mass of microbe dung from 25,000 different species of microbes.

[CaptainCompostAL]

My raw horse manure is always premixed with lots of untreated pine sawdust and hay bedding from the local equine clinic. My compost stockpiles are about 75% horse poop/sawdust, and 25% leaves and fish scraps.

I takes me about 2-4 weeks to make a ton a good usable compost, that I use in all my aerobic tea brews, soil amendments, and mulching agent in my no-till sustainable farming system.

My piles usually get over 150-160 degrees F easily. I also keep my piles constantly moisturized with lots of rainwater, doctored up with lots of high nitrogen/protein and high carbohydrates like urine and dry molasses.

[Jim Miller]

Thank you for the help.
Things are starting to grow around here in Salisbury MD.

[CaptainCompostAL]

When it comes to any animal manure, whatever that animal eats, will come out of its poop.

I have found out that if you like a particular type of animal manure, but can't find it in your area, just find out what that animal eats, go get it, and put it in your compost pile, or make a good aerobic tea out of it! (LOL)

For example, cattle and horses eat cattle and horse feeds. I like to use these high protein/carbohydrate foods in all my tea brews, and as soil amendments, and as a biostimulant tea for my compost stockpiles.

[Tree Dude]

Dchall_San_Antonio wrote: Tree Dude,
The more variety the better. When you think about compost, all it is is an accumulated mass of microbe dung from 25,000 different species of microbes.

25,000 of Microbes species?! I guess it make sense for that many little crawlies. Otherwise, there will be dead stuff all over the place.


Tree Dude

[Tricky Grama]

Supposedly, llama manure is one of the best. Re: compost tea-remember having a kid's microscope & after leaving grass, some dirt, etc in water for a few days, looking at a drop or two under the microscope? It was sooo cool seeing all the 'critters'!
Patty

[Kathe Kitchens]

And just a bit more on rabbit manure,it's one of the few that can go right to the garden. It's so processed it breaks down right away.
Goat manure ain't bad, either. :wink:

However, even these animals can bring pathogens with their dung, so the safest thing is to hot compost like the Cap'n says.

Kathe :D

[Tree Dude]

So, can I use Black Kow, instead, since I don't have animals(at least not yet)?

Tree Dude

[CaptainCompostAL]

Yes.

[northwesterner]

Every year I have several batches of bunnies raised under the salvia in my front yard. The mother spends her days across the road in the woods, and comes back at night. I see her silhouette out in the moonlight some nights late. She sits up in the front yard and watches over the nest.

As you can guess, there are lots of pellets in the grass, and under the salvia. Only with the dry weather this year and the grass drying out have I been able to notice them in the lawn (it's so dry they haven't had a chance to turn to moosh in the rain). Mama bunny is doing me a favor, because they seem to be pretty evenly spread. And no wonder I never need to fertilize the stuff in that salvia bed! :D

(They did take out a rosemary, I think, chewing on it. That's the only thing I can figure that would kill that tough shrub.)

Northwesterner