Who has the straight poop on Rabbit Manure and Growing Cannabis?

[Douglas.Curtis]

So... I picked up a few rabbits and I'm loving what their urine and manure is doing for all my plants, cannabis included. I am looking for info on how to use it more effectively with cannabis than I am now.

Currently using roots 707 or generic soils, glomus intraradices(sp?), and 4ppm water. I've been adding manure to the weak generic soils and watering occasionally with diluted urine. The flavors are amazing, though I did notice one plant smelling like bunny urine for nearly 2 weeks. Only faintly but definitely there. Smells like strong berry smoothie right now. Wow these are some tasty plants. lol

What supplemental needs does the plant have which are not met by rabbit manure/urine, and at which stages of flower?

(Edit: 6/26/23 I've posted the process I use to make my teas here.)

 

[Cvh]

 

[goingrey]

With the prices of chemical fertilizers skyrocketing we better all start keeping rabbits then.

NPK values for rabbit manure stated online are 2.4-1.6-0.6 which doesn't seem great for flowering.

But one idea could be to burn it and use the ash as a PK booster, works for chicken manure: https://nutriman.net/farmer-platform/technology/id_399

Or maybe we should just go with chickens. Manure NPK seems very good (1.1-1.4-0.6). And fresh eggs too! Not as cuddly.

 

[Cvh]

Knowing you D.C. I know you have already done some research.

But here's some basic I info I found on Google about general use of rabbit manure. This might be interesting for everyone on the forum here.

https://deepgreenpermaculture.com/2020/07/15/is-rabbit-manure-good-to-use-in-the-garden/

Is Rabbit Manure Good to Use in the Garden?

Can you use rabbit manure as a fertiliser in the garden?
Rabbit manure is an excellent manure to use in the garden. It can be used fresh, has higher nutrient levels than other manures, and does not burn plant roots. It’s an ideal soil conditioner that’s suitable to use in any garden.

The Benefits of Using Rabbit Manure

Nutrient-rich – rabbit manure is very nutrient-rich, it has four times more nutrients than cow or horse manure and is twice as rich as chicken manure.

Can be used fresh – rabbit manure can be applied to the garden directly, it doesn’t need to be composted first, but it still can be if you prefer. Other manures, such as cow, horse and chicken manure need to be composted first, because they’re considered to be ‘hot’ and will burn plant roots if used fresh. They usually need to sit for approximately three months till they are well-rotted before they’re suitable for use in the garden.

Easy to work with – rabbit manure It is not as smelly as other manures, is drier than poultry manure, and because it’s naturally in the form of little round pellets, it’s easy to handle and apply to the garden.

Versatile – manure pellets can be used as a fertiliser in vegetable gardens, ornamental gardens and flower beds. They can also be used to top-dress lawns, and as a nitrogen source for composting to get a compost pile going.

No weed seeds – rabbit manure is most often collected from pet rabbits, from under their hutches where they’re kept, and these rabbits aren’t fed food containing viable weed seeds, so the manure won’t produce weeds when used in the garden, unlike sheep manure, which tends to be very weedy. It’s important to note that the rabbit bedding material does fall into the rabbit manure below the hutch, so it’s best to use bedding material that does not contain weed seeds.

Rabbit Manure as a Fertiliser

Fertilisers provide plants with the essential nutrient which they need to grow.

The following nutrients are termed macronutrients, they’re the most important, and required in greater quantities:

Nitrogen (N) for leafy green vegetative growth
Phosphorus (P) for root formation, stem growth, and fruiting
Potassium (K) for flowering and fruit ripening, plant immunity/disease resistance

We’ve already mentioned that rabbit manure has four times more nutrients than cow or horse manure and twice as much as chicken manure. More specifically, rabbit manure contains higher levels of nitrogen and phosphorus than cow, sheep, chicken, horse and goat manure.

The nutrient levels of various manures are shown in the table, with rabbit manure as the first entry for comparison.

Comparison of Nutrient Levels of Various Manures – percentage of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K)

Rabbit: 3-4.8 %N, 1.5-2.8 %P, 1-1.3 %K, medium release speed

Cattle: 0.5-1.5 %N, 0.2-0.7 %P, 0.5-2 %K, medium release speed

Cattle (dairy): 0.5–2 %N, 0.3-0.5 %P, 0.4-1.5 %K, medium release speed

Horse: 0.7-1.5 %N, 0.2-0.7 %P, 0.6-0.8 %K, medium release speed

Sheep: 2.2-3.6 %N, 0.3-0.6 %P, 0.7-1.7 %K, medium release speed

Poultry (75% water): 1.5 %N, 1 %P, 0.5 %K,

Poultry (50% water): 1.5-2 %N, 1.8 – 2 %P, 1 %K, medium to fast release speed

Poultry (30% water): 3–4 %N, 2.5 %P, 1.5 %K,medium to fast release speed.

Poultry (15% water): 6 %N, 4 %P, 3 %K, medium to fast release speed

Worm Castings: 1.5 %N, 2.5 %P, 1 %K

Poultry manure is listed in the above table with various percentages of water because fresh poultry manure is wet, but when dried it reduces in volume and increases in nutrient concentration.

Note that rabbit manure analysis varies, and some sources state lower nutrient levels of approximately 1.3 % N, 0.9 % P, 1.0 % K, but these are still high nutrient levels for a manure.

Rabbit Manure as a Soil Conditioner

Rabbit manure is an excellent soil conditioner, as it’s a source of organic matter, which when dug into the soil improves poor soil structure, drainage and moisture retention. Since it contains nutrients, it also beneficial to soil microorganisms, and earthworms also love rabbit manure.

Rabbit Manure as a Sustainable Source of Fertiliser

In permaculture we aim to work with nature, and one way we do that is by utilising biological resources.

Home gardeners usually have to bring in manures from external sources to feed their gardens, but an organic gardener with a larger property can easily produce their own fertiliser by keeping rabbits.

According to the Mississippi State University Extension Service, “Fifteen does, two bucks, and their litters will produce approximately one ton of manure a year.” That’s a decent amount of manure for a small farm.

Combining Vermicomposting Systems with Rabbit Raising

The New Mexico State University Extension Service recommend starting a vermicomposting system (worm farm) under rabbit cages.

All you need to do is obtain some compost worms, they’re available from garden centres for use worm farms, and apparently in the US you can buy compost worms from fish bait stores where they’re sold as ‘red wigglers’. Release the compost worms into a pile or bin of bedding under the rabbit cage. That’s it!

A vermicomposting system located beneath a rabbit hutch will provide gardeners with an excellent source of manure and worm castings, which are both very valuable fertilisers, and also a good supply of compost worms.

References:

Oregon State University Extension Service – Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium Values of Organic Fertilizers, Ross Penhallegon, 2003
Mississippi State University Extension Service – Commercial Rabbit Production, Publication 1384, Tom W. Smith
New Mexico State University, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences – Rabbit pellet soil conditioner, Issue: December 16, 2000
Michigan State University Extension – Bunny honey: Using rabbit manure as a fertilizer, Dixie Sandborn, September 1, 2016

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

lol ty so much

Yes, I have done some research and finding scraps of interesting things which only increase my desire to use it more. I have difficulties with the whole npk thing anyway, and I have noticed the urine and manure change quite a bit depending on diet.

Cannabis is high in calcium, so they get limited amounts or their urine gets thick and calcium rich. So calcium content definitely changes easily. How can I tailor their feed to cater more to cannabis? Without being unhealthy to the rabbit of course. What needs are missing in flower? What needs will absolutely need to be supplemented?

How would a reduction in peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase benefit terpene and cannabinoid production and retention? In lettuce it means reduced/slower browning rates.

https://www.researchgate.net/public...ettuce/link/5fdbbef292851c13fe958f53/download

How does the addition of organically grown herb materials change bacterial and enzymatic activity in the manure? Most rabbits only get pellets and one type of hay, nothing like what they can really eat.

I'm likely using the wrong keywords as I now have more questions than answers. heheheh

 

[CannaRed]

I always thought it was weird that other manures were too "hot" and need to be composted but they all have lower npk levels than rabbit.
something going on there

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

I too would like a better explanation of it. Apparently you can transplant the clones of many plants directly to fresh 100% rabbit pellets without issues. 4X the levels of cow, and 2X vs chicken. Some powerful shit indeed.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

This is a plant growing in a plain greenhouse peat based soil, amended with extra perlite and bunny poop, and also watered every 3rd watering with 8ml manure/urine tea per gallon. The one end of my bat is touching the hood, the other end is a half inch from the small leaf tip under it. That is a Mars Hydro TSW-2000 300w LED...

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

The photo sucks, those are nice and healthy green leaves without any insect damage like the earlier leaves. Once I started the 8ml/gal and the plant fully greened up, it seems like the bugs have no chance.

 

[Wuachuma]

Rabbit manure is kinda hot. Not as hot as chicken manure, though.
You smelling urine from your plants is a sign theres too much NH4
So, it would behoove you to compost your manure and urine first so it converts to nitrite/nitrate.

Alpacca manure is prolly theee best for cannabis. Ive seen a couple farms in Emerald Triangle make it to the top of Emerald Cup by simply feeding raw al pacca manure.

If I had rabbits, what I would do is make a compost pile of spent soil, all the rabbit stuff, and a bunch of leaves. Id turn the pile every once in a while for a few months, then I would add rock dusts to balance it.
You can sequester some minimally-composted rabbit stuffs to feed during veg, then use the fully composted stuff when approaching flower.

Instead of tailoring your chicken feed to match the needs of cannabis, feed the rabbits what they need for their own peak health, then supplement their compost with gypsum, dolomite, and rock phos.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Smelling urine from my plants when fed too much manure/urine tea is perfectly normal. This doea not happen with manure amended soil.

Rabbit manure is NOT hot. Does it have a LOT of nitrogen? Yes it does. Can you use straight rabbit manure to amend a plant? Yes you can, and can use at least 40% uncomposted in your soil mix for cannabis without burning. (yes, even sativas which is 99% of what I grow)

Separate the urine and manure first. Urine soaked manure IS too hot and definitely needs composting or made into a tea. The type of nitrogen determines how hot it is, and bunny manure by itself is not an issue.

Alpaca manure sounds very similar, and curious if their thiol content is higher than rabbit. Think terpene precursors.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

I always thought it was weird that other manures were too "hot" and need to be composted but they all have lower npk levels than rabbit.
something going on there

Less than 0.001% nitrates is probably why.
I had it tested, and of the total nitrogen content almost 3/4ths is ammonium nitrogen with the rest being organic nitrogen.

 

[goingrey]

Less than 0.001% nitrates is probably why.
I had it tested, and of the total nitrogen content almost 3/4ths is ammonium nitrogen with the rest being organic nitrogen.

I think it's also the case of some pathogens in the other manures that get killed as it's composted, not just the NPK?

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

That... and rabbit manure is human pathogen free.

 

[bigtacofarmer]

 

[ojd]

Im hearing alot of good things about rabbit poop lately, any good sources of it in the UK ?

 

[xet]

The main benefit of rabbit manure is it is a cold manure meaning it does not need to be composted like chicken manure would - slurry into water and apply directly to plants (unless your soil is already chock full of crap and even applying only water will burn your plants.)

We raised hundreds on wire, feeding them Alfalfa, when I was a kid and the amount of crap they drop is unbelievable.

Something similar to this but larger.

In the winter we stuffed the thing with hay up to the roof and they would build elaborate tunnels through the hay and stay nice and cozy all winter.

If SHTF you have excellent fertilizer and a sustainable source of meat.

 

[Lotto]

After decades of use I can assure you that rabbit manure is not hot. It is on par with fresh horse manure. You have control over what rabbits eat, with horses, pasture fed with some supplemental is best. No chemical applications on the pasture.
All manures are not created equal. Pig, cow and chicken to name a few, can easily burn your plants. I've always viewed rabbit and horse manure as an ammendment rather than a fertilizer.

 

[Lotto]

Nothing man made goes into my gardens. That being said, an animal is what it eats, to some degree. Supplemental food for a rabbit will vary. So it stands to reason that nutrient analysis of the manure will differ.

My many years of using manure applies only to outdoor grows. In using manure, I'm only building soils. Manures, cover crops and mainly leaves bring the worms. The worms provide the fertilizer.

In answer to the question, what additional needs does a plant have at different flowering stages. Just my opinion, nothing. Manures along with other soil building practices are all you need. It doesn't happen overnight but once soil fertility is met through natural practices a blind person could grow weed. Plant, walk away and let things take care of themselves. My weed is never perfect, will never make a cover photo but I know what goes through my lungs is as healthful as can be.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Good stuff, ty

I fell down the live soils rabbit hole a couple weeks ago and completely agree. Everything needed is already in the soil and air, it's allowing the biology to thrive and consume it which makes the difference.