RABBIT MANURE SOLAR OVEN TEST - UPDATE FROM PAPA-PEPPER

I hate wasting resources, so I try to get creative and make the most of what I have.

On our homestead, we have quite a few rabbits. We really enjoy watching them grow from tiny little baby bunnies into mature adults. I share more about the rabbits in this video.

ANIMALS ON THE HOMESTEAD : RABBITS

THE REASON FOR MY EXPERIMENT

To help reduce the cost of raising the rabbits and also provide the healthiest life for them, we have been transitioning their diet to include a good amount of wild edibles and pasture grasses. Sometimes we keep them in rabbit tractors, but even when they are in more traditional cages, we offer them these fresh plants.

When the rabbits are in the rabbit tractors, they have greater access to these greens, but we cannot collect the rabbit manure. As many a gardener will testify, rabbit manure is amazing for growing plants, and since it is a cold manure, it does not need to be composted first.

The problem with feeding them wild edibles and grasses and then collecting the manure is that the seeds from the plants can wind up in the manure. This can pose a particular threat to your garden. Seeds from invasive plants like Bermuda Grass can end up in this precious manure, and there is no way that I want to introduce such a plant to my garden site.

Since seeds need to remain cool, dry, and dark to remain usable, I decided to make a type of "rabbit manure solar oven" to make them wet, hot, and expose them to a lot of sun. The goal was that this process would prevent the seeds from ever germinating while still allowing us to use the rabbit manure.

When you have such incredible quantities of this extremely beneficial manure on hand, it would be a lot to waste. Here is my video where I explain the process of using my rabbit manure solar ovens.

RABBIT MANURE SOLAR OVEN VIDEO

THE BASIC PROCESS

I gave the "ovens" about a month to work their magic. During that time I closed off the ovens to prevent insects and pests from invading the manure and it also gave a chance for any larva or flies already in the buckets to get cooked by the sun.

With the colder time of year arriving, I hoped that there was enough time for this experiment to be successful. I'd like to be able to use this manure when I plant my dormant trees and when the spring arrives and we get into more gardening. If the experiment was unsuccessful, I'd just be filling my garden with grass seed in the spring.

For my test to see if the solar ovens had worked, I added some of the "processed" manure to some five gallon buckets that I have some seedlings planted in. If the experiment worked, then no grasses would be found sprouting in the buckets. If it didn't, then I would know, and I would be able to deal with the invasive grasses in a closed environment where they would be contained. This would prevent me from creating a disaster in our new garden area.

RABBIT MANURE SOLAR OVEN TEST UPDATE VIDEO

So far, it looks likes my experiment has been a success. Technically, there is no reason why my plan shouldn't work, but I wanted to test the results before creating more problems or issues for me to deal with. Some days, I already have enough to do! Here is my update video. Enjoy it!

Hopefully someone else can find this information valuable. I know that it has already helped us, and I am glad that I got the chance to use some creative problem-solving skills.