Tuesday, September 4th, 2007

Time	Event
8:09a	Bunny Poo! THE RABBIT FERTILIZER (MANURE) INDUSTRY INTRODUCTION It often comes as a surprise to the new grower to learn that rabbit manure can very quickly pile up! Just because the rabbit is a small animal and the droppings are neatly and naturally pelletized, manure removal is an on-going fact of life. Experienced growers have been known to claim "for every ton of feed I buy, I get three tons of manure back!" Although this may be an exaggeration, it really isn't that far from the truth. Rabbits are perfected manure machines. Even the single pet bunny owner will lament the fact that the rabbit cannot take three hops without leaving a trail of droppings. Much to their dismay, the rabbit has very little control of the anal muscles and litter-box training is limited to urine control in the majority of cases. For the grower with the larger herds, the manure can be either a profitable asset, or a problem. The days of "creating a pile behind the barn" may soon be non-existent as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) strengthens restrictions on the storage of manures, and rabbit manure is no exception. In the U.S.A., the EPA concerns are mostly concentrated on potential metal contamination, while in Europe, nitrogen contents are creating problems with manures stored in direct contact with the ground and contaminating ground water. Growers will need to pay attention to proper manure storage for avoiding potential future problems as the rules continue to change. Methods of manure removal range from shovel-and-wheelbarrow to ingenious mechanized conveyor belts underneath the rabbit cages. Storage ranges from the "pile behind the barn" to special manure pits as used by cattle and hog farmers. Likewise, the uses of the rabbit manure will also vary. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USES FOR RABBIT MANURE Rabbit manure used as a plant fertilizer is superior to other manures due to its unique composition. Often referred to as "super fertilizer" or "Bunny Gold," gardeners revel in the fast and abundant growth of their crops, plants, gardens and produce. When the manure has been aged and air-dried, rabbit manure will not "burn" the plants when applied directly to the plants. "Fresh" manure, however, is extremely high in acid content from the urine and should not be used. Composting with rabbit manure is also popular and rabbit manure ranks among the finest of all manures to use for this purpose. Worm farming (Vermiculture) has additional benefits as the worms thrive in properly maintained worm beds and rabbit manure is the favorite manure to use for raising worms. Although not recommended to keep worm beds underneath the cages in a fully-enclosed facility due to the need for a higher humidity in keeping the worm beds moist, the raising of worms under cages can be used to eliminate odor in the barns. Open-ventilated barns are ideal for this venture. Worm farming also provides additional income by selling the worms for bait or composting, and the worm "castings" as potting soil. Occasional, even the urine can be used, such as "scent" for masking human smells for hunters. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SELLING RABBIT MANURE This is where this industry starts to get a bit tricky. As with just about everything else, each state will vary to some degree in its requirements. Overall, however, most of the states are quite similar and standard when it comes to the selling of animal manures for fertilizer. It will be essential for each grower to check with their state's Department of Agriculture (usually the Pesticide Division) for the current regulations for selling manure as fertilizer. The majority of rabbit growers will sell bags and even truck loads of manure directly to the individual customer. The customer may be a farmer, gardener, worm farmer, or someone wanting fertilizer for a flower garden. Many rabbit breeders with the smaller herds will gladly give away the manure, just to be able to get rid of it. Prices vary according to who loads the manure... the provider, or the customer. It is not uncommon for customers to willingly collect the manure from beneath the cages and saving the grower the effort of cleaning. So long as the manure is "un-manipulated," the growers can sell it directly to the customer. "Un- manipulated" means nothing done to the manure before selling it. Even shredding it is a form of manipulation! The manure needs to be exactly as it came from the animal. Problems arise as soon as the grower either attempts to enhance the manure, or wishes to professionally bag it to sell to stores for resale purposes, and this is the reason why rabbit manure fertilizer is not generally found on retail shelves. Some of the requirements for marketing fertilizer for resale purposes entails the requirements of nutrient analysis and a proper metals analysis, obtaining a Unified Business Identification (UBI) Master License as a manufacturer, and registering the fertilizer (a separate annual permit). Likewise, the label must be very specific in the information it contains. Copies of both of the analysis reports must be submitted in order to register, so it's not just a matter of copying general information. Likewise, nutrient analysis may vary from herd to herd depending upon the type of feed and/or supplements used. Fertilizer manufacturers are subjected to an annual inspection of the manufacturing facilities and procedure. Stores carrying fertilizer products are also inspected to ensure proper labeling for that state and includes products brought in from other states. There are no ways of "getting around" these requirements for wholesaling fertilizer for resale purposes. Manure is manure, regardless if it is called "potting soil" or "a soil enhancement." If it improves the growth of plants, then it is a legitimate fertilizer and subject to all regulations. Few rabbit growers are able to produce the quantities needed to make the expense of professionally manufacturing rabbit fertilizer worthwhile and profitable. It is highly unlikely that a small operation for catering to local stores, only, would cover the overall expense of manufacturing rabbit fertilizer. © Copyrighted 2004 Pat Lamar All rights reserved. Current Mood: amused (Comment on this)
8:26a	Sick Bun Bun http://www.woollydesigns.com/s_tales/bunny2.htm Hi, I just read your sheep and rabbit stories. I feel I should add mine because it could save some unlucky bunny from the stew pot! Honey Bun, a French Angora, had always had weepy eyes, and when about 2 years old developed an eye infection. After antibiotics and a "tear duct opening" Bun stopped eating. We humans can eat yogurt to reestablish the intestinal bacteria we need, but rabbits don't have a diet based on milk products. A visit to the health food store revealed many varieties of "lacto-bacillus" but nothing of cellulose. Bun's "hutch-mom" had been away for a few weeks and could not be consulted, books were no help (they recommended culling unhealthy rabbits from the herd, Bun IS my herd!). When "hutch-mom" returned from her visit to a friend's Montana sheep ranch, she mentioned that when the lambs were first let out of the barn they would head for rotten wood and eat it. We found some clean rotting wood and offered it to Bun. He thought it was a special treat and wanted MORE. Within a couple days (still snacking on his wood treats) he had started eating again and within a month he had put on the weight he had lost and was back to normal. The bacteria which fosters the rotting process was evidently the bacteria he needed to be able to digest his hay and pellet food. Bun is a house pet, sleeps and eats in his cage, and has the run of the house during the day. He has two litter boxes, one in a corner of the living room, and one near his cage. I don't like clay cat litter (it turns to mud when he pees!), so we use Yesterday's News (recycled newspapers formed into very absorbent pellets), Critter Country (wheat chaff compressed into pellets) or Feline Pine (also pellets). These are all biodegradable and since bunny poop is good fertilizer, these pellets can also be mixed into the soil. So, Bun blesses us three ways, he is a good pet (traveling with us in our trailer in the summer), he is my fleece factory, and a good fertilizer producer! Rita Wiegand Thank you Rita. Antibiotics in sheep will also destroy the "friendly" bacteria that they need to digest their food, especially in the young lambs. Jean often helps the lambs get "re-started" with "live culture" yogurt so that they can digest their milk. Once in the past, Jean was given a tiny, newborn lamb, who's mother had not survived the birth. This tiny creature could not even digest milk, and was going down hill fast, when Jean hit on the solution. "Tansy" lived and grew for the first 3 weeks of her life on nothing but live culture yogurt thinned with enough water to go through a bottle nipple. In time she became a normal sheep and gave us many years of enjoyment. Current Mood: productive (Comment on this)
8:44a	Funny Bunny Poo ...........This is a short little story contributed by Gaybeth Phelps after she read "Sheep Tales" #4 'Stupid?' ..........There is a link at the bottom of the page to go back to the previous tales. Yeah SHEEP STORIES! And in return I will share a STUPID BUNNY STORY with you . . . Your "Stupid?" Sheep tale made me think of it- Sometimes it is the humans who have a hard time catching on with these little critters. That is of course until we learn how to understand them and they are usually patient with us until we catch on. I experienced this with a little English Angora bunny rabbit who we had adopted last May. Springer Softail came to live with us when he was just three months old. Every evening when we would come home from work and allow him to come out of his cage for a "romp", he would leave us coa coa puffs on the sofa in the living room. "No, no, no" we would say and quickly pick him up and toss him back into the cage so that he would learn coa coa puffs were not acceptable on the living room furniture. After a while the coa coa puff game began to get exciting. Springer would wait for mom and dad to leave, quickly deposit coa coa puffs randomly on the sofa and run away before they could catch us in the act. Dad would get up to turn off a light and upon return - poof . . . another coa coa puff right on the center of the cushion! When they would come in the room with the reliable whisk broom and dispose of them we would quickly return and redeposit the little coa coa puffs so that there was always at least one to remind them that that is where the coa coa puffs go . . . NOT in the cage! After a few weeks of this, Springer's Grandma, a very wise lady, said, "Why don't you get Springer a litter box? He may like that better. He probably doesn't want poo poos in his cage. (Why didn't we think of that?!?) We made the investment. A $1.29 for a dish pan and .89 cents for the Kitty Litter. We carefully selected a secluded spot in the kitchen. The next evening we watched carefully . . .. Hubby was quick to intervene and quickly grabbed bunny and the coa coa puffs and threw both gently and simultaneously in to the litter box. We have never had a problem since and bunny happily uses the new accommodations to her hearts content! (Except for the day mom substituted cedar chips for litter - they were too precious and we would not poop on them! Now we're back to kitty litter again and all is well.) DID I JUST SAY HER ? ? ? That's right! Springer was deposited at the Veterinarian's to be neutered. It turn's out that a complete hysterectomy was in her future! I bet she has a good many other secrets that she wishes we would catch on to . . . Humans are SOOOOO STUPID! Thank you Gaybeth Phelps Angora Rabbit fur is incredibly soft, is often blended with other fibers and can be spun into yarns of exquisite loft and feel. Rabbits are not shorn, but the soft fur is 'plucked' as the rabbit sits quietly on a grooming stand. We have known of instances where the rabbit would turn and lightly nip the spinner for getting a little too rough when 'plucking'. Current Mood: happy (Comment on this)

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