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Post by cristina on May 23, 2009 11:31:01 GMT -5
I know this is a weird and maybe gross question but has anyone heard or used ferret feces for fertilizer? or even can it be used for this? I am a big advocate of natural/organic fertilizers for plants and I have 3 ferrets so lots of poop  and if I can put it to good use then why not!  |
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Post by weloveourweasels on May 23, 2009 11:33:57 GMT -5
You cannot use carnivore poop for fertilizer only herbivore poop. sorry.
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Post by cristina on May 23, 2009 11:45:26 GMT -5
ahh too bad oh well, thought it was worth it to ask!  Im just curious, why is it that you cannot use carnivore feces as fertilizer? |
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Post by Jaycee on May 23, 2009 11:48:39 GMT -5
It is because of the bacteria found in the raw meat. It would make the ground....sort of toxic.
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Post by novemberkris on May 24, 2009 8:57:25 GMT -5
Yeah, I wouldn't use it for fertilizer. I might consider putting some around the garden to deter rabbits if that is a problem. They will recognize the carnivore poo and be more likely to stay away. (Organic rabbit/deer repellents are often made with carnivore feces and the like).
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Post by animalsgetrevenge on May 24, 2009 12:28:25 GMT -5
I just poop in a pet poop composter in my yard, it is the same idea as a "Doggy Dooley". Even though the pet waste can't be made into something useful, at least you don't have to put the poop into the landfill, and I am not wasting/tossing 10+ plastic bags of ferret, dog, and cat poop each week.
It was easy to make if you have a yard and a little bit of space. Here is what I did:
Took an old plastic trash can (free from my dad), cut out the bottom and poked holes all over on the lower 2/3 of the can, probably 20-30 total. Tony dug a hole in our yard the size of the trash can so it could sit with the lid at ground level. Then we filled the bottom with gravel for drainage, just a few inches, we just found rocks in our yard and threw them in. Thats it! Done!
Now we just toss in the poo with some septic tank powder, which safely breaks down the poop and bacteria and drains it into the soil. So far, we have about an inch of poop and haven't put any powder in it, so I don't know how quickly it will break down. You can find more info about it by searching on line.
Overall, everything to make my own homemade doggy dooley was free, except the septic powder with was about $5. It is in the back corner of my yard and so far doesn't smell at all. I should never have to worry about emptying it because the older poo will break down before the level gets high.
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Post by suds on May 25, 2009 12:13:20 GMT -5
I just poop in a pet poop composter in my yard, . What visual bet the nieghbors love ya haha but thats a great ideal first time i ever heard of of it . I imagine lime would also help break it down aswell and help keep the oders down too . |
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Post by animalsgetrevenge on May 25, 2009 17:12:42 GMT -5
Hahaha! That is the BEST TYPO EVER! HAHAHA!
Actually, I am vegan, so my poop should be safe for fertilizer in my garden since I am a true herbivore! People sell their horse, cow, chicken, and rabbit droppings as fertilizer/manure, I should really start thinking of marketing my own feces. I wouldn't make too much, being a 5'2" 100lbs. female, but my man is vegan and about 170lbs, so he should be able to rake in some extra dough for us!
Hahaha. Sorry for the.... inappropriate topic change.
But really, the doggy dooley idea had been working great for us. I recently heard that plastic grocery bags take approximately 500 YEARS to break down in the landfill, and we were throwing away about 10 of those each week after cleaning up dog and cat poo in the yard and cleaning out our ferret litter boxes. That just made me sick to think about.
Also, we use wood stove pellets or other more natural wheat based litter in out ferret boxes, and when I change them completely, I toss the used pellets into the our back yard poo bin. I figure it should break down just fine in there.
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Post by sherrylynne on May 25, 2009 19:39:35 GMT -5
I just poop in a pet poop composter in my yard, . What visual bet the nieghbors love ya haha I was thinking if it, but thought "nah". Thank you Frank! |
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Post by cristina on Jun 4, 2009 9:28:54 GMT -5
Now I am interested in something else haha, now that we got on the subject of plastic bags and how they dont break down for a while (which is pretty gross), now I am curious of more natural/earth friendly solutions to plastic bags and such. I am in the process of becoming more "natural" and enviornmental concious so Im wondering if what others do especially with clean up (like trash bags) and if there are alternatives.  Oh and another weird question lol, I use newspaper in their litter instead of litter pellets, and I usually throw them away after they are soiled...can you still recycle newspaper when its soiled (with ferret excrement)? |
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Post by Heather on Jun 4, 2009 23:54:56 GMT -5
You can't up here..
ciao
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Lynna
Going Natural
Posts: 106
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Post by Lynna on Jun 15, 2009 21:34:20 GMT -5
Now I am interested in something else haha, now that we got on the subject of plastic bags and how they dont break down for a while (which is pretty gross), now I am curious of more natural/earth friendly solutions to plastic bags and such. I am in the process of becoming more "natural" and enviornmental concious so Im wondering if what others do especially with clean up (like trash bags) and if there are alternatives.
I keep a plastic grocery bag for recycleables including styrofoam (polystyrene or EPS). It fills up quickly and has to be taken out atleast once a week. You can find local recycle centers at earth911.com/ . Since I started I noticed it takes longer to build up trash to "throw away". It took roughly two weeks to fill up the bag. Most of my waste is around 60% plastics and 20% paper/cardboard 20% food waste. Eventually I want to get an indoor composter when I can start a garden. Though I kinda have a black thumb 
A company called biobag makes composable bags too.
Online coupon for this site that sells biodegradable bags
letsgogreen.biz/pages/plastic/trash.html
coupon code: friend"
printable coupon for ecosafe bags
www.ecosafeplastics.com/ |
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Lynna
Going Natural
Posts: 106
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Post by Lynna on Jun 15, 2009 21:38:53 GMT -5
I'm not yet green when it comes to getting rid of ferret doo-doo yet. I do like the breaking down idea though.
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Lynna
Going Natural
Posts: 106
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Post by Lynna on Dec 5, 2009 15:21:27 GMT -5
OK so I know this thread is kind of old but I found a way that I'm thinking about implementing for my ferret/cat/home food waste. Its a system called "bokashi", it's used in several countries like japan for food waste. It involves using an airtight container (any old bucket with or with out a spigot) and putting in a medium (usually wheat or rice bran or even wood chips) that has molasses, water and innoculent (EM-1 Effective Microorganisms) in it. It pickles the organic matter, and it will look the same afterward. The bucket, medium mixture, and innoculant can be made or bought online. Best of all em-1 has tons of uses and the bran mix can be used as animal feed too. Then after that, the pickled result is buried in soil, thrown into a composter or given to worms and breaks down into nutrients a lot faster than using a compost alone. There is a liquid that results too that can be used to feed plants if your bucket has a spigot. Bones, dairy and meat can be used in it unlike composting and it's done inside for the most part. I heard there is a smell when opening the bucket but that it's vinegarish, and you only dump things in once a day so i think it would be tolerable. I've read several people say you shouldn't use the poop on plants that you intend to eat since the animal could be sick and intern make you sick too but that it's perfect for plants not meant for consumption. I'll probably try a 4 bin system once i get the hang of it. 2 for rotating food waste to feed to my eventual "crop". the other two will be for pet waste to give to all other plants. here's some links for more information. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokashi_composting
www.bokashicycle.com/blog/?cat=1 (i thought part 2 was very interesting includes pictures)
make ur own bucket on the cheap; usually cost 60$ including the mix
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFlh5yPGJJo&NR=1
www.youtube.com/watch?v=si_vHNMwi5U
innoculate & mixture;
www.emamerica.com/ (uses for em-1)
www.emamerica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=215(how to make em-1 with bought em-1)
www.wildlifegardeners.org/forum/fertilizing-soil-amendments/1292-extreme-bokashi-make-your-own-innoculant.html(experiments to create microbes from milk and rice water)
www.compostguy.com/bokashi/making-bokashi/ (making the wheat bran mix) |
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Post by Heather on Dec 5, 2009 17:30:40 GMT -5
This is fascinating. I'm thinking of trying it (as long as I can create these little organisms  Just to add to this. I was talking to an elderly lady who had the most gorgeous roses I've ever seen. She's won awards and prizes for not only her roses but her beautiful gardens (her landscaping is amazing). I had to ask her for her secret....which she then pointed to two yappy little poms. She doesn't drive and hasn't driven in years, she has screens set up in her garage where she dries their poop and uses it for her gardens. Now, my understanding is she doesn't use this for her veggie gardens but if that is indeed the case then perhaps we're underutilizing our furkids  I know everyone says not to use dog, cat poop as it will burn the plants but, if you use fresh horse, cow or sheep manure it will burn the plants too. Interesting, considering the amount of poop comes out of our little fuzzbutts ciao |
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