Comments on: Pet Waste Composting

By: Niel

Niel — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 11:25:29 +0000

I refill my cat’s litterbox every day with sand on our plot. then in the morning empty it out and refill . I usually empty it (sand and waste) in one heap. What I want to know is, if i empty it in a spot where there is a lot of sunlight during the day will i be able to use the same sand again in the litter box at a later stage. Should i perhaps spread the sand out a bit or mix it so that the sun can affect the waste more adequately. I am afraid of using the same sand again and that it might still have some diseases from the old waste in it, causing illness for the cats and me.

By: Melissa Amlin

Melissa Amlin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:19:50 +0000

In regards to Teri’s question and your reply – yes, your ferrets are carnivores, or at least they should be, they are actually supposed to be MORE carnivorous than cats. While the pelleted food (aka kibble) probably has a lot of grain/crap/filler in it, as do the many cat & dog food kibbles out there, the diet is supposed to be meat based. I can imagine that the same reasons for concern about using the feces of dogs & cats also applies to ferrets in this case. In fact, if the ferret or dog or cat was fed a purely raw meat diet, their feces would probably decompose and dissolve much easier and quicker and would probably not even need the worms’ help, it’s all the fillers in the kibble that slows things down and makes it more unpleasant to handle.
Anyhoo, so yes ferrets should be included in the probably don’t want to put on your food garden plants.
But I would still like to know about my question about the included bedding???

By: teri

teri — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:58:34 +0000

I don’t quite understand, I have a vermicomposting bin I use the castings for vegetable garden. I wanted to compost ferret poo and newspaper bedding but unsure about it. he eats only dry ferret pellet type food. so I dont know if he would be considered a carnivore i guess I should look at food ingredients? I don’t know can his poopoo go on my veggie garden? his poopoo that worms have eaten and poopooed into castings? It seems like such a “waste” ha ha. can I put it in?? Thank You

By: Melissa Amlin

Melissa Amlin — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:45:09 +0000

I want to compost my pet’s waste (2 cats, 2 ferrets & 1 dog) in a seperate composting area – I’m wondering about the “bedding materials” – will I have to add extra bedding materials like cardboard, newspaper, etc. if the cat & ferret wastes are including their litter materials (presently the ferrets use “yesterdays news” and the cats use “swheat scoop”, but if you recommend a better cat litter to use (like the corn ones or something) I could switch them) The yesterday’s news is broken down newspaper already, so would that mostly take care of the bedding needs itself? Would it be too much bedding? Should I be adding some food scraps to this composter as well, or just purely pet waste? How can I deal with the fresh “loads” every day if they need to sit for a while before being introduced to the worms? Please give me some guidance, as I hate the fact that I’m using “enviromentally friendly” litter only to pickle it in plastic in a landfill!!

By: Robin

Robin — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:58:08 +0000

Could you elaborate on the ‘buffer zone’ ? I’ve recently set up one of the green plastic worm farms (separately) for pet waste as my house is on a hill and I’m not comfortable with setting up a digester pit. I set it up with 1 yr old leaf bedding. I’m unsure of the proper layering etc. Also, one article mentioned the ideal temp to kill pathogens for pet waste compost was 164F? I’m assuming the artice was referring to a non vermiculture compost pile. Are there any emzymes etc that could be added to the resulting vermicast to neutralize the pathogens?

By: Peter Ritchie

Peter Ritchie — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:20:18 +0000

I tried one of the commercially available plastic sump affairs to which you add water and a composter liquid. The concept is that it should have stones and drainage around it by way of a pit so that the poo dissolves and drains away. It worked for a bit but blocked up after a relatively short time and is therefore useless. Sounds like you need a lot of space for yours to keep it away from everything, not to mention the smell. I would love to find a solution. Currently I have a bucket with water to which I add the poo and empty it down the culvert in the road – not my favourite job and prone to someone objecting ( I do wash it away well). There must be a better way.

Peter

By: Satori

Satori — Sun, 18 May 2008 16:21:58 +0000

Although you were just joking when talking about composting "YOUR" poop, it actually is possible.

By: Simon

Simon — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:08:24 +0000

Although I’ve not started doing this myself yet I have recently taken part in a similar discussion with one extra being add a layer of Bokashi bran every now and then so that the EM’s can get to work on the stuff as well, thereby helping to neutralise the smell as well speeding up the composting process as well.

Well, that’s the theory…