vtdubb
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A Fertile Cocoon
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Horse Manure and newbie questions - 2008/12/02 12:38
I am starting a couple of OSCR bins for redworms. My parents own a horse farm and I have access to tons of horse manure. We use straw as bedding on dirt floors in the barns and there are 100+ horses in pastures.
Do I need to "process" the manure before I feed it to the worms?
I am also wondering about current market rates for worms. Retail vs. wholesale? Has anybody purchased bulk worms lately?
Thanks in advance!
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WistarWorms
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A Protected Species Earthworm
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Re:Horse Manure and newbie questions - 2008/12/02 13:28
You probably want to compost it for a while first to get some of the heat out. Aged about 4 weeks should do. You can use it sooner, but you need to be sure not to put it on too heavly or it may heat up the bin.
We Are WORM - Resistance Is Futile!
Buddy
Richmond, VA |
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wormwrangler
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A Juvenile Earthworm
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Re:Horse Manure and newbie questions - 2008/12/03 04:02
We use mostly horse manure for feed, and the worms love it. If it is dry put it in something that will drain water, and rehydrate the manure before feeding it to the worms. Let it drain before feeding it to the worms.
We put about a 3 inch layer across the bedding about once a week, or when it looks like they have eaten all of it down. The castings from horse manure are excellent, plants will thrive with this stuff.
One thing you want to watch out for is the dewormed manure. When they deworm make sure you compost that manure or it will kill the worms. I would compost it for a couple months or more to make sure.
Before you screen the castings you can catch alot of the worms by putting a 1/4" mesh screen with fresh feed on it, on top of the bedding. A couple days later, at night, go out and lift the screen, manure, and all the feeding worms, and dump it in a fresh bin.
Worm Wrangler |
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vtdubb
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A Fertile Cocoon
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Re:Horse Manure and newbie questions - 2008/12/03 08:13
Awesome. That makes me very happy to know that I have unlimited food. Thank you for the great information.
Both posters mentioned composting the manure before feeding, for moisture and de-wormer. Any suggestions for a good system for this? Based on my life-long relationship with horse dung, it would seem better to "pre" compost it to dry it down then rehydrate with a water hose (i.e.-with fresh water as opposed to urine). How long should I allow to get rid of the dewormer?
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wellsworms
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A Protected Species Earthworm
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Re:Horse Manure and newbie questions - 2008/12/03 13:28
one of the pervious replys has that info One thing you want to watch out for is the dewormed manure. When they deworm make sure you compost that manure or it will kill the worms. I would compost it for a couple months or more to make sure.
Post edited by: wellsworms, at: 2008/12/03 13:29
FEED IT TO THE WORMS
WELLS,vermont
jerry walker 2008 |
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Larry C
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A Mature Breeder Earthworm
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Re:Horse Manure and newbie questions - 2008/12/03 14:14
vtdubb,
I purchased 60lbs of redworms in Alabama from redwormcountry.com. For this quantity, I paid $17.50 per pound delivered & insured. Tom & Lorraine are a great source for answering your questions, and they encourage your questions. I did get a quote from Uncle Jim's worm farm of $16 per pound delivered, but I wasn't impressed with the sample pound that I ordered. A far cry from what Tom shipped me. How many pounds are you thinking of starting with?
I'm sure it has been discussed on this forum before, but on the subject of the danger of worming medication, from various sources I've been told it's a myth...that after it's digested, it's neutralized. I'm using rabbit manure so I don't have to worry about it anyway. Just thought I would throw this out there and see what responses there is.
Larry
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vtdubb
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A Fertile Cocoon
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Re:Horse Manure and newbie questions - 2008/12/03 15:45
I was planning on starting with 12 lbs per reactor in
3 reactors. I was looking at what my startup cost was going to be and what type of price I could anticipate once I am ready to sell worms.
I am intending to ramp up with a windrow system or industrial system as I have such a bountiful supply of horse manure. I have a 3 bin kitchen system now and have become interested in the potential as a sideline income. As I said before, I have access to good worm food and won't have to go out and look for it. I also have plenty of space and some old farm buildings that have beens sitting vacant for a while. so, i figured, why not?
As far as composting, I have the capability to worm
the horses at once and to quarantine the affected manure in a separate pile. I don't want to find out
the hard way with a bunch of dead worms.
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wormwrangler
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A Juvenile Earthworm
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Re:Horse Manure and newbie questions - 2008/12/09 14:30
We get all our manure from a riding stable that has a huge pile of manure...about the size of a 3 bedroom house. We wont run out any time soon LOL.
The manure is usually fairly dry and needs re-hydrated before feeding to the worms. We bought a bunch of big garbage cans with wheels on them, the ones like the cities give out.
We drilled some holes in the bottom so the water would run out. We fill these cans up with manure, then fill with fresh water and let them drain. The lid keeps the moisture in, so they also are used to store the manure until feeding time. We also kept 3 of the cans for castings storage, only no holes drilled in the bottom.
They work excellent at keeping the castings moist, and also keep out unwanted junk from getting into the castings. They are easily wheeled around, even full.
I wouldnt want to find out if the worms will die or not from dewormed horses either LOL
I have killed my fair share of worms learning the do's and dont's of raising earthworms that is fer sure. One thing I learned is that earthworms are amazing.
A few years ago I had thought one of my bins was empty, so no feed or water for a few months. Then one day I pulled the lid off the bin to find that everything had dried out, and all the worms were dead.
I left the lid off, but didnt do anything with it because winter was setting in. A few days later it rained for a few days. A couple months later I went to deal with that bin, and to my surprise it was full of little worms!
I can only guess why there were worms in there, and my guess is that there were egg capsules in there that hadnt hatched, and with the moisture from the rain, they began to hatch out. In a month or so after that the bin looked as if it had never died out LOL.
Good luck on your worming adventures!
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babalubird
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A Hatchling Earthworm
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Re:Horse Manure and newbie questions - 2008/12/14 18:49
Well, I don't know how you all succeeded with horse manure. My two bins were doing so well and I was about ready to divide them.
Well, for the first time I used my horses' manure in them, and boom! The worm population started dropping so fast I didn't know what to do until within a short time, there were no more worms.
I had tried to pick out piles of horse manure that looked aged. But yes, I worm my horses. However, it had been about two months since the last worming.
The other thing I wonder is I did use Fly-Ban on them, a pour-on fly control that is supposed to be absorbed into the skin and probably as a result the horse's entire system and poop.
Darn, I was just sick. I will admit I did not compost the stuff for several months as suggested, but how would that dispell chemical poisons anyway?
I am too gunshy to try again with horse droppings.
I have not thrown out my old soil out of the bins however. Maybe I should go put some moisture on it and see if there are any egg casings left at this point.
Connie
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wildcatt88
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A Juvenile Earthworm
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Re:Horse Manure and newbie questions - 2008/12/15 00:19
Good luck Connie, that sounds pretty devastating...
If you can find the eggs, you might move them to a new bin to protect them...
John
Frankfort, KY
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James Davis
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A Juvenile Earthworm
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Re:Horse Manure and newbie questions - 2009/01/23 08:06
The wood in horse poo will heat and kill worms.
wood-chips/sawdust ect.
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digger123
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A Mature Breeder Earthworm
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Re:Horse Manure and newbie questions - 2009/01/27 22:57
James I think the term would be could kill worms. I have outdoor bins with a mean temperature of 33 this time of year. If manure is managed properly it is a great tool. Last weekend I checked my bin temperatures and they ranged from 6o to 80 degrees using manure for the heat.
Who cares if manure heats up as long as your worms "always" have a safe place to run.
Darren
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