Bunny Garden Question
- Thread starter ArdenBunny
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Well, two thoughts about that:
First, the printing ink. Although really toxic ingredients got faded out '93-'96 (in Europe, read up about your legislation on that) to print newspapers, it's still not healthy stuff, I think about 2000mg/kg ink/body weight start to show health symptoms. You can print a LOT of newspaper with that, and almost everything stays in the soil anyway, so it will definitly not cause any acute problem, on the other hand, it's imho not really food rated.
That would be a great question to mail to the producer of the litter, to newspapers, and producers of the ink - would be interesting if the answers differ.
Second, doesn't composting cellulose, which would happen, use up quite a lot of nitrogen, canceling out some of the fertilizing effect of the poop? I'm not sure if this is relevant, since the poop works pretty much instantly, celllulose takes quite some time to compost. It might even be beneficial by absorbing excess nitrogen that way - there are better gardeners out there than Brown-Thumb-Preitler
I use wood stove pellets with a layer of long strand hay on top, I can separate poop and hay pretty easily.
First, the printing ink. Although really toxic ingredients got faded out '93-'96 (in Europe, read up about your legislation on that) to print newspapers, it's still not healthy stuff, I think about 2000mg/kg ink/body weight start to show health symptoms. You can print a LOT of newspaper with that, and almost everything stays in the soil anyway, so it will definitly not cause any acute problem, on the other hand, it's imho not really food rated.
That would be a great question to mail to the producer of the litter, to newspapers, and producers of the ink - would be interesting if the answers differ.
Second, doesn't composting cellulose, which would happen, use up quite a lot of nitrogen, canceling out some of the fertilizing effect of the poop? I'm not sure if this is relevant, since the poop works pretty much instantly, celllulose takes quite some time to compost. It might even be beneficial by absorbing excess nitrogen that way - there are better gardeners out there than Brown-Thumb-Preitler
I use wood stove pellets with a layer of long strand hay on top, I can separate poop and hay pretty easily.
Last edited:
Janie Hall
Member
I'm no expert but I think it would be fine. I use the horse pellets for my liter box and I dump entire thing in my garden as the pellets break down with rain and I don't have any problems. Hope this helps
Sunshine's Fine
Active Member
Well, two thoughts about that:
First, the printing ink. Although really toxic ingredients got faded out '93-'96 (in Europe, read up about your legislation on that) to print newspapers, it's still not healthy stuff, I think about 2000mg/kg ink/body weight start to show health symptoms. You can print a LOT of newspaper with that, and almost everything stays in the soil anyway, so it will definitly not cause any acute problem, on the other hand, it's imho not really food rated.
That would be a great question to mail to the producer of the litter, to newspapers, and producers of the ink - would be interesting if the answers differ.
Second, doesn't composting cellulose, which would happen, use up quite a lot of nitrogen, canceling out some of the fertilizing effect of the poop? I'm not sure if this is relevant, since the poop works pretty much instantly, celllulose takes quite some time to compost. It might even be beneficial by absorbing excess nitrogen that way - there are better gardeners out there than Brown-Thumb-Preitler
I use wood stove pellets with a layer of long strand hay on top, I can separate poop and hay pretty easily.
I'm not much of a gardener, so I will admit my ignorance there, but I wouldn't be using a litter I thought was not safe for my rabbits. The whole purpose of buying this brand is for #1) the safety & comfort of my buns, #2) veterinarian recommended, and #3) it's safe for the environment. Below, I've copied what the Purina website says. Granted, they are the producer, but if someone can tell me any of what they're saying isn't true, I will definitely write/call them, and even go to the facility when this whole Covid-19 thing is over. Thanks for your comments.
"Benefits
- Veterinarian recommended
- Designed for low-tracking with no small particles
- Creates a virtually dust-free environment
- Absorbs 3x the moisture by volume than traditional clay-based litter, which may reduce the total amount of litter an average cat requires on an annual basis and extend the life of one bag of product
- Contains no harmful chemicals making it a safe, non-toxic product that won't harm cats if they happen to ingest the product.
Concerned about the inks? Don't be. Today, most publishers print using harmless organic inks and/or soy-based inks. The process used to make Yesterday's News neutralizes these inks so there will be no residue left on your cat's paws or fur."
The following is from the indianahrs.org site:
"Use a bunny safe litter. No clay cat litter! Rabbits are nibblers and clay litter can cause blockages in bunny’s tummy if she eats it. Also avoid corn, wheat, alfalfa and oat based litters as bunny too commonly ingests them. A cat litterbox works great. Choose a size big enough for your bunny and a pile of hay; many like to lounge in the cozy box, too, so a little extra room is preferred. The box won’t have to be cleaned quite as often if it is larger.
Safe bunny litters include Carefresh (without baking soda), Yesterday’s News (uinscented), WoodyPet or Feline or Equine Pine compressed wood pellets, aspen shavings (no pine or cedar shavings!), newspaper, and plain old hay. Newspaper and bulk hay are the most inexpensive choice, but they aren’t as absorbent as other litters so must be changed frequently. You can also use compressed wood stove pellets as litter, often sold during heating season at feed stores."
I would like to try wood stove pellets, but because I now live in the city, they are harder to find, they only stock them in the winter, and they come in such large, heavy bags I can't lift them and don't have room for them in my apartment.
Sunshine's Fine
Active Member
Thanks, it does!
The only thing with newspaper is the amount of carbon that is produced as it decomposes. There may be too much carbon for the amount of nitrogen the poop and pee produce. I'm just looking at how to make a good compost where a balance is required between nitrogen producing products and carbon producing products like newspaper. Maybe try to remove some of the newspaper.
Sam_
Well-Known Member
A rabbit's poop from their litter box makes great fertilizer!
