I'll ask another question.

I see on this site that some foks put dog poo in the compost. Is this a common practice with all ?
thanks in advance.

No, I think most people avoid using carnivore's manure. But who would dare refuse THAT character, he/she probably goes where he wants.

I wonder if the issue is more about food crops' safety, and maybe it's okay for ornamental garden plants ? I don't know.

That dog looks familiar...

I would only use dog poo compost on ornamental plants. Would it be safe to include use this compost if I did?

My sweet old girl Jenny usually does get what ever she wants . I posted her photo on the thread about how we came up with our i d names. She is a doll.

I think that composting dog poo is not common, as it frequently shows up on do not compost lists...

but I compost dog poo anyway.

Some people will compost dog poo in a seperate pile used only for ornamentals.

Other people will use an under ground digester for pet waste (similar to a mini-septic tank).

And whenever someone asks about composting poo, I think about Joseph Jenkins the author of the humanure handbook, who has composted his families waste and used it on their gardens for years.

http://www.weblife.org/humanure/default.html

I've read doggie (and kitty) poo can contain pathogens the compost might not heat up enough to kill. Of course, the very suggestion that Her Majesty Brigid the Lovely, Empress of All She Surveys, might produce pathogens is ridiculous, if not downright treachery.

I'M PUTTING IT IN! thanks for the reply.

Yes I compost dog and cat in my compost pile. But most is composted in my lawn with wonderful results. Just look at the dark green patch over there. Why do people worry about pathogens that are present on everything they touch, often eat, and sleep in. Just cause someone says thay "can" contain pathogens is no reason to shun them. Our Immunes systems fight deadly bugs every day and we continue to survive. Bacteria are present by the millions on every inch of our skin and many of those that arrive there are pathogenic. Use you dog poop and heres what I have started doing is using Alfalfa meal for my kittys box, instead of clay and then dumping the waste on my compost pile. Wow just thing of that nitrogen source!

One reason that I do not worry about composting my pet waste is that I know what my pets have been eating. They are fed premium clean food, vaccinated, and dewormed. Their potential for carrying parasites or viruses is very low.

I probably would not compost the waste from a pet that is allowed to wander that can catch and kill wild birds and animals. Thus introducing unknowns into the pets digestive system that I would not want potential exposure.

Plus, if we weren't constantly exposed to the evil pathogens, how would we ever develop an immunity to them?

Soferdig, even as I've sort of gotten to know you here on DG, I'm going to trust you compost dog and cat poo in your pile, not dogs and cats. ;p

I have heard of people composting their deceased pets, so it would not surpise me if sofer did...

Maybe we should have a word with his wife...

If you noticed both my Sophie and Moose have their "own" beds. LOL.

Yes, under that beautiful elderberry, I think

Hey, I also "heard" it attracts Norway rats. Fact or fiction?

We only have packrats here in Montana and they hate living near any Jack Russells. Norway is a long swim and hike to get to us. LOL

"it" attracts Norway rats ... not sure what "it" is ... "pet waste", deceased pets or elderberries?

I don't think pet waste or deceased pets would attract rodents... I can see elderberries having the potential to attract rodents.

Rodents are everywhere you just see their activity in the compost. A good cat and a good dog (ratter) and no problems. the rats and mice remain few in number.

In urban areas that have rat problems, you might want to minimize the amount of kitchen waste in an open pile or use a tumbler or other closed bin.

Rodents exist - and could potentially be attracted to a compost pile, depending upon how it is managed.

I keep my compost covered with a heavy layer of browns (shredded paper, leaves) and I have not seen any evidence of rodents in my pile. I used to have a jack russel terrier and she was great at keeping rodents at pay. She is no longer with us though (god rest her soul). So I have been noticing moles in the yard and mice in the garage lately.

My biggest problem with mice is keeping them out of my bird seed and dog food. I keep the seed and food in the garage. Mice chewed a hole through the plastic bins that I kept seed in. I switched to a metal garbage can. If they gnaw through metal, I will surrender.

An occasional vole will get into my compost and I don't mind them so much. But a rat--I'd be really skeeved.

However has mankind survived all these centuries without the preaching of FEAR about everything imaginable? Good grief, my parents and many generations before them used the outhouse cleanings, barn cleanings, etc. to fertilize any soil they wanted to produce good crops. That included their gardens. Millions of people all over the world are still using human as well as animal excretions for fertilizers and do fine. Actually better than many who live in terror of pathogens. I refuse to live in fear. You can be fearful or faithfilled. I'll take faithfilled anyday. So much more peace of mind.

We need pathogenic challenge to our immune systems to provide the proper response to infection. The reason we have so many allergic hypersensitivites is due to the lack of proper immune challenge as children. this has been documented in studies of why so many children are haveing so much problems with asthma, imflammatory bowell, and other manisfestations of allergies. Man has been immersed in a soup of bacteria all through our hunter gatherer history. Today we disinfect every thing that our babies touch.

You are so on the money, Soferdig! How in the world can anyone develop an immunity if there is no exposure? We're full of e. coli -- and that's what keeps us from dying from it! Of course, being inundated by a huge amount would make anyone sick, but bits here and there are what keep us healthy.

Here's to the kids who still eat dirt! And to the parents who let them!

Sooo....based on reading this whole thread start to finish I should: bury my dead pets under the elderberry bush, spread my family and pet waste all over the yard and garden, and serve up a big platter of dirt for dinner. Okayyyy, we are all going to the looney bin.

hee hee - worm boy.

And don't forget to strain your water through gym socks.

I'm just trying to get gardeners in shape for the next biologic extermination. Just think that the only survivors would be gardeners. Eat your dirt and inhale the compost you will survive the next extermination.

You guys had me chuckling quite often here. And the eating dirt comment brought back a long ago memory - we used to enjoy eating sand - right out of the sand box on the farm! It had such a satisfying crunch and grind to it!! LOL

Steve where do you get the alfalfa meal for cat litter - I have a huge bag of alfalfa but I am pretty sure it's pelletized (got at a feed store where I got my straw) - pet store carry it or would the feed store or would Wally World carry?

I was a neat freak for years, slowly through a GROWING addiction I got over it.

My canary died when I was a kid, planted tulips over his grave, been a habit ever since.

It comes bagged at the nursery. Green sand would work also, I just want more nitrogen in my compost. 20# bags of Alfalfa meal 14 bucks.

Change types of litter slowly! Trust me. You don't want to know the story.

Very true brigidlily the cat pee can appear on you pillow very quickly. My cats are used to all substrates cause I change them all the time.

I wish I had. I'm just sticking with the worst of the clumping kind now, until and unless I can get them to become outside cats. Miss Louisa Mae Alcat will go out at every opportunity but won't stay long. Miss Magnolia will go out once in a while, but scampers right back in for the most part. I can carry Angus out; as soon as he sees fresh air he panics and scrambles back inside. That's what I get for having lived in (shudder) a townhouse. Angus was two days old when I rescued him, so not only am I his true mama, he's NEVER had access to real outdoors before.

babbling. sorry.

We're using the clumping corn litter "World's Best Cat Litter". Lady Loki, Empress of the Universe, Queen of ALL Cardboard, has informed us that this is her preferred choice. She's a Somali mix and has a look of disdain that brings instant obedience. We used a clumping clay litter when we brought her home from the Humane Society and she got badly constipated from that. The corn stuff controls the odors VERY well, which is probably why they like it. We scoop the boxes several times a day, so it's not like they are neglected. We tried the one made from wheat but they kept tossing it out of the box as unacceptable. I'll try sprinkling some alfalfa meal in a small corner of the box and see what they do.

Lady Loki is the only one of our three rescue kitties that is willing to go outside at this point. I walk her around the complex with a harness and leash. Actually, she walks me. I'm just there to follow her around as hand maiden. Loki was a stray before she was turned in to the shelter, so she has experience with the "wild".

I can relate to what you are experiencing with Angus. We tried taking Dumbledore, our 20 pound Wegie (Norwegian Forest Cat) for a walk with his foster mom. As soon as he sees open sky he yowls in panic, shakes and buries his head in my shoulder. We adopted him as an 8 week old kitten and he's lived indoors his entire life. He's also 95% deaf and narcoleptic, which probably makes the outdoors more frightening for him.

Our most recent addition is a feral that we trapped and rehabilitated. It took about two months of daily work to get him handleable. We had to teach him how to use a litter box (garden soil as top layer over the litter so it would seem familar) but now he doesn't really care what litter we use so he'd proably accept alfalfa.

one babble deserves another.

Mine are outdoor cats so alfalfa was no problem. I used ever so slight amount of cat nip in it the first week. Not too much or they roll in it. Alfalfa all over the mud room.

Does "alfalfa all over the mud room" mean you are storing it there, or is does the mud room serve as a giant litter box?

It is an area to have the cats track off their feet after using the LOO. It isn't much of a problem now but was when I had the catnip in the start up of alfalfa meal which I use for my cats litter box. This allows me to compost all of this wonderful nitrogen in my pile.

Catnip in the litter. Your cats are going to have some issues, Sofer. (Need I say nudge nudge wink wink.)

Beautiful kitties, mermaid. I need to post a pic of mine -- some real similarities there. You don't have a small, spoiled, rescued pekingese, do you? That would just be spooky.

Anyway... composting... Soferdig, do you empty it ALL into the pile?

My mom had a small spoiled rescued Westie for 15 years. Miss Bonnie Highland regrettably needed to be put down last year. She had a spoiled happy life while she was with us, including matching "designer" luggage to carry her food, water, coats and pooper scooper bags.

My mom now has a rescued 9 yr old long haired chihauhau. Violet is about the size of a squirrel with all of four teeth. Does that count for spooky?

I'm a large dog person as I like to wrestle with them and take them hiking. As soon as we get a house again we'll be adopting another golden retriever. Mine passed away after 14 years.

Yes All of it. The feces and alfalfa are what I am short of in my compost. No critters bug my compost at all and the bacterias in the feces, parasites and other concerns are almost non-concequential.

After all, bears do s#!* in the woods.