My daughter has just a rabbit. I am looking at all the straw we are throwing
out mixed with droppings, does anyone know if we can compost this?

Phil & Diane Martin wrote:
My daughter has just a rabbit. I am looking at all the straw we are throwing
out mixed with droppings, does anyone know if we can compost this?


Yes, absolutely!

On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 14:51:03 GMT, Phil & Diane Martin wrote:

My daughter has just a rabbit. I am looking at all the straw we are throwing
out mixed with droppings, does anyone know if we can compost this?

It's like mini-horse manure. Grass already half rotted. Great.
--
Tim.

If the human brain were simple enough that we could understand it, we would
be so simple that we couldn't.

"Phil & Diane Martin" wrote in
:

My daughter has just a rabbit. I am looking at all the straw we are
throwing out mixed with droppings, does anyone know if we can compost
this?

Yes, you can, although the straw can take a while to break down if there
is a lot of it and it's still quite dry. Mixing with layers of damp
grass cuttings will help.

Most rabbits have 'toilet habits' - if they have enough space, they
choose one or two areas as a toilet and (mostly) use that. If you
provide a tray or newspaper, or just keep that spot clear of straw, you
can cut down a lot on the amount of cleaning out you need to do, and end
up with a pile of droppings you can stick straight on a flowerbed as a
mulch. Or worms will love it if you have a wormery.

I only clean out my bunnies' bedroom a few times a year, usually if it's
been raining and they've been outside then come in all wet and made
their bedding soggy. I clean out just their toilet area a couple of
times a week: it takes a couple of minutes and my roses are very
appreciative!

If the rabbit has chosen what you thought was supposed to be her bedroom
as the loo, there's no point in sticking lots of straw in the she
won't sleep in it. Give her a cardboard box or something to sleep in
and accept that the bedroom is now the bathroom!

If your daughter's rabbit doesn't do this and lives in an ordinary
hutch, it's possible that he/she doesn't have enough space to move
around, and might be happier and healthier in more spacious
accommodation.

(Many hutches sold as 'rabbit hutches' by petshops are more suitable as
sleeping boxes for rabbits that spend the day outside or as
houserabbits.)


Victoria

Tim Challenger "timothy(dot)challenger(at)apk(dot)at" wrote in
s.com:

On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 14:51:03 GMT, Phil & Diane Martin wrote:

My daughter has just a rabbit. I am looking at all the straw we are
throwing out mixed with droppings, does anyone know if we can compost
this?

It's like mini-horse manure. Grass already half rotted. Great.

Not if you are cleaning out your rabbits reasonably regularly! Straw is
tough stuff, is not particularly absorbent, and you usually end up with a
lot more straw than dropping.

It does take time to break down in the compost heap, believe me.

Victoria
--
gardening on a north-facing hill
in South-East Cornwall
--

On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 15:57:24 +0000, Victoria Clare wrote:

Tim Challenger "timothy(dot)challenger(at)apk(dot)at" wrote in
s.com:

On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 14:51:03 GMT, Phil & Diane Martin wrote:

My daughter has just a rabbit. I am looking at all the straw we are
throwing out mixed with droppings, does anyone know if we can compost
this?

It's like mini-horse manure. Grass already half rotted. Great.

Not if you are cleaning out your rabbits reasonably regularly! Straw is
tough stuff, is not particularly absorbent, and you usually end up with a
lot more straw than dropping.

It does take time to break down in the compost heap, believe me.


I meant the droppings. I wasn't very clear, was I?

--
Tim.

If the human brain were simple enough that we could understand it, we would
be so simple that we couldn't.