Hi humblegyrl,

Last fall I got an entire pickup load of rabbit manure for free and an invitation to take as much as I wanted anytime.
Five dollars a bucket seems really pricey.

I searched for rabbit breeders "insert town and state name here" on google and found some contact emails. The first 2 responses were positive. This might be worth a try in your area as well.

I've heard rabbit manure can be used straight but I composted mine. It composted pretty fast though. I then spread this about an inch thick over some of my garden and will turn it in this spring. I'm also going to get a couple more loads of manure from Marge the rabbit breeder.

Good Luck

My kids just adopted two lops and I am wondering how to use their manure; does anyone know, does it need to be composted or is it okay to mix in soil directly? I don't compost (yet), so I'm trying to figure out if it can be used in raised veg beds or better to use just on flowers, etc. until I get composting up. Appreciate your help!

-Lisa

Here is a link that might be useful: gardening journal

Rabbit manure is fine, mixed directly into the soil. But if it has urine in it, set it out until that urine has filtered out, or else compost it before use. Rabbit urine is really strong and will kill plants. I once tried an experiment, mixing a teaspoon of rabbit urine into a pint of water and watering a potted pepper plant. The plant died practically overnight.

I agree that $5 a bucket is steep. But congratulations to the little entrepreneur! If I have it I'll put nearly 2 gallons of the stuff under a single hill of squash (mixed in with the soil). It's WONDERFUL!

For those who have rabbits and might accumulate some manure, it's good for raising red worms. They enrich the compost further and can be raised practically in straight rabbit manure, though I'd try to have at least a little corner of regular earth in the box, so they can retreat if they find the mix to rich.

George
Tahlequah, OK

Carlsbad,
If the hutch is raised, figure out a way to put a wagon or even pieces of cardboard under it. Then pull out the manure that falls through and compost it every few weeks.

$5 a bucket is steep, but how much is it worth to support a kid who's raising rabbits instead of playing video games? Perhaps a fine investment indeed. I'd spring for two buckets on principle.

Here is a link that might be useful: my website

I raised rabbits for years. But I got sick of the frozen water in the winter and gave it up. I still get a steady supply of poop from a neighbor.

2 buckets is not likely enough for "a pretty good sized piece of land." It is a fairly well balanced and mild fertilizer. I usually mix in 1 gallon or so per tomato or pepper plant - right into the hole that I am using. Half that for cukes, twice that for melons. There was a time when I had enough to actually mulch a 10x30 foot garden with it. That was when I about 15 breeders.

I've never had a problem with urine burning anything. But then, I prefer to shovel the dry stuff becuase it is lighter, so I occasionally rake the stuff away from their favorite corner so that it is dry by the time I need it.

One year my MIL came over every 3 or 4 days for months, taking "just a bucket or two." More often than not, she didn't return the 5 gallon buckets. I didn't mind an awfull lot becuase I know how sandy and barren her soil is, so I figured my loam did not need as much, even tho' I didn't get a single bucket of it that year. Then I found out she was giving it away as gifts! Birthday gifts, anniversary gifts, just becuase gifts. I actually had one woman, a comlete stranger until that day, tell me how generous my MIL was for giving her my poop! And yes, she knew it was mine, but it was my MIL who was the generous one. Then mom got huffy with me when I asked her to stop giving it away....Sheesh. I just wanted a little.
Kay.

We adopted 2 bunnies from the shelter 2 years ago, by far best thing I ever did for my garden. Bunnies can be litterbox trained, and pick up on it far faster than kittens. We toss in 1/2 inch of yesterday's news litter (recycled newspapers) and just bury the contents of the "bunny box" weekly in the garden. Bunnies also will happily dispose of most peelings, lettuce cores, strawberry trimmings for you (cucumber skins are the big item here, with pea vines a close second).
I would definatly support bunny girl by buying a few buckets, and since you don't need to compost it, you can use it straight.

I must say rabbits are an organic gardeners best friend! We have 3 right now, and they are little poop machines lol! We feed them veggies scraps, weeds, etc, so basically free to feed. Their manure doesn't make your garden all weedy like horse manure can if it's not rotted thoroughly. It doesn't smell as strong either! Plus they rabbits are very low maintenance and make great little pets. We're actually going to be adding a couple more this spring, as you can never have enough poo lol.

Wow, thanks for all the feedback! I got in touch with a local breeder that was so excited to get rid of the manure that she offered her friend's number in case we needed more right away. lol. I'd like to raise rabbits, but all my fiance can think about is EATING THEM. =\

I have another question about manure tea. Would I do ok to not add add dish soap (ivory in particular) and epsom salts? What purpose does the dish soap serve? I found a popular recipe that calls for both, but I'm not sure they are necessary for all of my vegetables. Would it hurt my transplants if I used the tea (either soaking the roots before or spraying the foliage after)?

Do you dilute the tea or use it straight? How long do I let it sit before use and can I use the one batch all season? Lots of questions...sorry! lol

Hi again humblegyrl,

Dish soap breaks bonds between water molecules and makes water "wetter". You know how water beads up with a surface tension? These bonds are broken by the soap so the water will spread evenly throughout soil and onto the leaves of plants.

As for epsom salts they are magnesium sulfate. Magnesium and sulfur are both nutrients plants use. Here's the wikipedia entry on Epsom salts:

Here is a link that might be useful: Wikipedia entry for epsom salts