Buried compost vs. piled compost?

[Dace]

I have a simple question about composting, as I am new to it and would like some input.

We have a bunny and her littler box contains shredded newspaper, Timothy hay and of course, poo.

For about a week or two I would pull aside some soil and dump the littler box then cover the litter up with soil. Then I decided to just start a normal compost pile.

Well the area that I was burying the litter it seems to have already composted. Is that possible, it was only about 2-3 mos ago.

So my big question is do things compost faster if buried? I am planning some new beds and I wonder if I should start burying the litter in them rather than put it in the compost pile?

 

[patandchickens]

The speed of composting is from the amount of soil contact (the soil provides ready-to-go microbes and microinvertebrates, all ready to start breaking down your stuff) and from the way it helps hold a consistant and desirable level of moisture.

What you're doing works well for small quantities, but if you ever wanted to do it with a whole big lot o' stuff at once, it would work better to spread it out in a thinnish layer covered by soil than to just dig a deep pit.

If you want to nudge your official compost pile along a bit faster, you can throw shovelsful of soil in as you add stuff, and make sure it's kept moist but not wet. Won't go as fast as small quantities of stuff underground, but it'll go faster than not doing it

Have fun,

Pat

 

[aquarose]

We used to have a bunny, and when my DH would clean out the cage, I would have him put the poopy litter in a new bed (or an old bed, not in current use). Very fertile beds result. Giving them 2-3 months sounds perfect.

 

[Dace]

Thanks for the input... I think I will go at it from two angles.

1) Keep adding to my compost pile, it is breaking down but seems slow so I will occasionally toss some garden soil on top

2) I will also dig in some bunny litter here and there in my future bed sites.

 

[sht4luck]

i do not have bunny's but in the book Gaia's Garden a guide to home scale permaculture, it talks about putting a rabbit hutch above a worm bin. You put the worm litter in the bottom. the manure urine and food scapes will fall in. once this bin is full, ad 1-300 hundred worms and cover it. move that one aside and start a new one. this make's a excellent compost. again i don't have rabbits, but someday.....

 

[Tutter]

To put a rabbit hutch over the worm bin, assumably the little pellets will fall through? Be sure, if there's not going to be bedding for the pellets to get caught in, to make one little solid corner, so that the rabbits can ingest some of them. It's something they need for their health.

 

[Dace]

Here is a link...this is what we plan to build!

http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2003/01/10/2957/

The bin is not under the litter pan, I believe the eating area is simply wire and the poop alone falls right thru to the bin, the rest of the cage is nicely carpeted.

I have worms, sometimes they get the bunny poo and sometimes the compost pile does I try to be fair...LOL!

 

[Nifty]

i do not have bunny's but in the book Gaia's Garden a guide to home scale permaculture, it talks about putting a rabbit hutch above a worm bin. You put the worm litter in the bottom. the manure urine and food scapes will fall in. once this bin is full, ad 1-300 hundred worms and cover it. move that one aside and start a new one. this make's a excellent compost. again i don't have rabbits, but someday.....

I'm falling in love with the Black Soldier Fly Larvae and think they would be a great thing to have eating up your rabbit pellets under your hutch.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=11556

Oh and the chickens REALLY love them:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/03/050309135653.htm

But I digress!

If you have the right moisture, browns, greens, temp, and a shot of microorganisms and worms / larvae to help you out, you can do some amazingly fast composting above ground. Above ground is quite a bit more work than a simple pit... unless you have to dig the pit. Then in that case Pat is right (like always).

 

[Dodgegal79]

I just wanted to add about the above post of rabbits eating there dropping. They don't eat the ones you see, they actually cycle their digestive through themselves twice. First time it comes out it is very gooy and runny, they actually lick it off there private area. It then goes back through and come out in the little pellets we see. They can't absorb all the nutrients unless they do this. This is also a good way to tell if your rabbit is not feeling well, they will have a very dirty behind.