Canine and feline waste product

[bonsai]

Hello again guys...

I have a question that I can never find a good answer for...

Is there any useful purpose for pet waste such as dog and cat poo?

I've discovered that rabbit poo can be utilised for excellent natural compost, but I have an abundance of other manure that I would like to use but dont know how to correctly treat it before garden application. I would like a method that is preferably odourless, but isolation is possible so that odour isnt really an issue..

Thanks!

[eco4560]

Compost it in a hot system. A good compost system smells loverly.... If you are using litter then make sure you buy one you can compost.
Or worm farm. So long as you don't worm your animals....

[bonsai]

So dog poo is okay to put into a composting system? Awesome!!!!

Not using litter for the cat, she goes outside but the dogs try to devour it as soon as she's finished so I'm being proactive and trying to eradicate that problem whilst creating some quality compost for the vegies :) thankyou for your response

[eco4560]

Any manure is fine for composting, don't waste it!

[bonsai]

Is it okay to use on food crops, or only ornamentals?

[eco4560]

Absolutely. So long as you aren't eating the raw compost straight from the pile....

[Grahame]

I would suggest that if you use commercial worming medications that you don't use the poo for any purpose for a couple of weeks, it is especially damaging to worm farms and can wipe them out in one go.

You could have a dedicate worm farm for eating through the pet poo. I think they even sell worm farms under the name of pet poo converter...

[bonsai]

I like the look of those Japanese composters for the pet poo idea... 'Bokashi' I think they are called.

I think you can pretty much put ANYTHING organic in there and it will become bacteria tucker.

[GJ384]

I've been using a worm farm for a while now, solely for processing our two cocker spaniels' "deposits." It took a while for the worms to settle in and get going, but now they race through it!

The only disaster I've had is when my fiancee wormed the dogs and forgot to tell me - the worm poison in the poo following that was enough to completely wipe out the worm population, and I had to start again. We had some issues with odour around that time too, particularly coming from the liquid. I spent a lot of my time at waste treatment plants (for work) and I couldn't handle the odour we were getting from the worm farms... I think that was a pretty good indication that it was rather bad! But we've had no odour (or very little, anyway) since then.

The worm farm was previously located in the shade of a few pomegranate trees, but I've since removed those, and accordingly moved the worm farm into the shed to avoid the direct sunlight - also for hopefully better control over temperatures and moisture.

I'm told that if you use a worm farm for dog or cat poo, you can't feed them anything else (eg vegie scraps etc), or they'll get picky and stop eating the poo!

[Fernando Pessoa]

You have been told a furphy,compost worms eat the bacteria and fungi that are breaking down your food .
Think of your worm bin as a bacterial and fungal incubator the best ambient temperature for it is between 18-24(meso phylic range) degrees Celsius with a relative moisture content of about 80-85%,if you have leechate coming out of your bin it's too wet.
Leechate contains minerals but no biology,wet systems promote anaerobic conditions which slow down decomposition and also the breeding ability of the worms.
If you do have leechate use it very quickly as it to can go anaerobic,and possibly breed bad bacteria etc.I have met quite a few commercial worm farmers in my time and they all believe that "mincing or breaking the worm feedstock down into smaller pieces will accelerate this process.
What is probably occurring in this anecdotal evidence is that the dog turds are left large and the bacteria is able to break down the less recalcitrant and smaller materials faster,thus giving the impression that the turds are not as nice,we all know that bacteria loves to eat turds so if you increase the surface are of the turd by mincing you create a greater habitat for the bacteria to live..
If you would like an excellent worm house or just to copy the design the "Worm Swag" is the best home system available,I have tried every system you can name.
Here are some suppliers the first are the creators of the Swag,the second is a man with a real expertise in worm farming and compost making,I will go out on a limb and say he is the Best in Australia
.www.impactworm.com.au/ <,------ .wormswag
www.wormtec.com.au <------------- worm extracts compost teas all things worms.
Best wishes
Justin
Best wishes Fernando