[3759allen]

hi all. looking for peoples views on how rabbit manure with a high content of saw dust will work?

my usual supplier of manure has been using more and more wood shavings (i guess as straw gets in short supply and more expensive), the last couple of loads i've had are now mainly saw dust and droppings.

just wondered if anyone has views how/ if i could still use it as a mulch (not rotted down)?

i do have the space to rot some or most of it down to use as rotted manure. how long will it take to rot the dust down? will that amount of rotted wood do any harm to the soil (if well rotted)?

thanks for any comments.

[Fairy Plotmother]

I chuck it all in the compost bin. It's a great brown layer and works a treat. I only wish I could get my hands on more.

[Goneterseed]

We have a bulk delivery of manure from local stables each year and within about three months of it being spread on the beds it has all but disappeared into the soil. Last year it had a very high content of wood shavings which are still sitting on the surface. A lot of our members have suffered very poor potato yields this year.
I don't know if it was caused by the wood shavings drawing nitrogen out of the soil or just the weather conditions but we wont be taking another delivery from the same source.

[3759allen]

i get a high volume of the stuff, i do trickle some into the compost but too much to put it all in.

i have found that the wood shavings do seem to affect the crops when mulching with manure that has a high wood content. when i first made the content there was more straw than shavings but i guess as the price of straw is getting higher (now a local power station is burning it for a renewable fuel source) it is more viable to use wood as bedding.

i now rot the manure down partially or fully before adding to the soil to stop the reduction of nitrogen.

does anyone have any idea if saw dust rots down slower that wood shavings? i guess larger surface area that may speed the process up, but also less air (which in compost air speeds the process) so not quite sure.

i don't really want to give up the contact but at the same time don't want to be left with useless or even worse harmful waste that i will need to get rid of.

[Ema]

Wood shavings are not so popular as a pet bedding because they can cause respiratory problems. I wouldn't mulch plants with it because the urine its probably absorbed will be too strong for the plants. Id use it as a brown layer in compost.

[3759allen]

i don't find the urine effects the plants unless they are young or in an enclosed area (tried it in the poly tunnel with the doors shut over night and they shrivelled). to be on the safe side i spread it on an spare piece of ground for a few days to vent the urine then no problem.

the main question is more with saw DUST than wood shavings. i've never dealt with rotting down dust before so wondered if anyone has had any experience with it.

[Ema]

It will rot down quickly provided it's kept wet a good layer of grass will help balance the nitrogen levels. I would think if you had a bin of just dust and grass kept it wet and turned it every month it would be ready in 6 months. Just try not to breath wood dust in

[3759allen]

that sounds hopeful.

i have restricted the drainage of the area i store the manure in to rot down with a tarp. i found this is better with shavings as they dry out too quickly and don't break down, so similar technique. once it's started rotting down the worms do a pretty good job of turning it over, they seem to love it.

i don't have a lot of surplus grass cuttings at the moment as the only lawn i have has not been at it's best so far, but will be doing this in future.

i'll just carry on as usual and hope for the same results.

i can see a lot of animal bedding containing more and more wood as time goes on. i can see there being more and more power stations burning it as it's renewable, and this must push the price of straw up. just worth a think if you use animal manure, especially if you pay for it.

[Dave NE]

I started an experiment November 2014 using sawdust and urine, a few months ago I added some horse muck and coffee grounds + compost worms, its not quite finished but getting there, Dave

[Tenhens]

Mrs Tenhens does holiday boarding for small furies , rabbits, guinea pigs etc and some customers bring saw dust for their bedding.  This usually goes in the 'green' bin for collection along with any garden waste that doesn't  go on  the compost.  I did try composting it down a few years ago and gave up. By choice we use a rape seed by product that composts down ok , I bucket it up and  soak for a couple of days before adding to the compost.

We used to get people bring us their bags of shavings waste but due to the composting issue we stopped taking it.