# Composting rabbit poop question



## Treewhisper (Nov 24, 2010)

I have a layered pile at the far end of my greehouse composed of rabbit manure, straw, leaves, & cardboard that grew a white fuzz over it. The fuzz has spread underneath the surface too and formed a hard cap that the whole thing has turned into a a congealed white block like hardened chocolate chip ice cream. My rabbits are in the other end of the greenhouse and it does get a bit humid. Would this block of mold pose a health problem to the bunnies? 

Whats the end result of letting all this mold run its course in the compost pile......black gold vs toxic mold making everybody sick?


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## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

The high humidity is probably part of the cause of the mold. Rabbit poop will mold if kept damp. The fact you are layering instead of turning will also cause more problems. With turning the mold will get mixed in and the middle cooks all mold and bacteria. I'm not sure the best way to fix it. It's probably not great for the rabbits but so long as your ventilation is correct and you don't have a sealed up building I have seen rabbits healthy in far worse situations with far more moldy rabbit poop directly under and around them. The end result of the compost should be just fine but after getting it to soil stage I would turn the mold in and let it dry before use. Then be careful over watering so you don't give the mold a chance to take hold in the garden before it dies off completely.

Others might have better solutions for eliminating it now but I've always kept my composting simple and outdoors.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

You can actually use rabbit droppings raw on plants without composting. They don't burn plants.


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## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

If you want to use all the browns though you need a green (rabbit manure) to get it to compost well. Otherwise all the straw, leaves, and cardboard will not make good compost or useful soil. It would waste half the material if no other use can be found.

You may find lasagna gardening useful though. Rather than composting in layers you just garden in layers. Cardboard, manure, straw, kitchen/garden scraps/clippings, leaves, manure... etc... and plant right down on top of it with no composting. It can be done with rabbit manure since the layers of manure will not harm the plants.
http://organicgardening.about.com/od/startinganorganicgarden/a/lasagnagarden.htm


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## Haven (Aug 16, 2010)

The poop under my pens always grows a white fuzz on it too. My pens are all outside with 100% air circulation and a good 3 feet of space from the ground up to the bottom of the pens. I suppose the shade from sitting on the north side of a building contributes to the mold.


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## Treewhisper (Nov 24, 2010)

Akane/Haven
Our temps are down in the low teens and it will be down to 5 degrees tonight with -9 wind chill so the greenhouse is sealed. The humidity gets up there but at least it stays around 35-45 degrees so their water bottles dont freeze and i have two does ready to give birth tonight.....so its a trade off. I've pitchforked out most of the white chunks and made a separate compost pile outside and turned the rest over in the greenhouse so we'll see what happens.


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