Guinea pig poos for fertilizer?

[Guineapigpro]

Can I use my guinea pig's poops as fertilizer alone? Would it matter if he's sick, or not?

I was thinking of beginning a vegetable garden. That would be a much cheaper option than some other cow manure compost fertilizer.

 

[madrae]

We have used it for two summers now all over the yard and it has been fabulous! Being vegans, piggy poo is a great fertilizer.

I've never come across anything about sick pig poo, but I bet it would be best to avoid using that.

When we started, I found this article to be a great help:
http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/manures/guinea-pig-manure.htm

Our soil is very hard and is pretty much clay. We till in all the waste - hay and poop. We add it to our compost bin, and in fall, we bury all the roses in hay and poop. We have made the manure tea in an old plastic coffee can. For tea, you do not want the hay, though, so you have to just collect the poops.

 

[pinky]

I'd compost it in a different area of your yard and use if after it breaks down. Guinea pig droppings have bacteria in it and you don't want to contaminate your food. I know the article said it's safe but the droppings do have bacteria in it. I wouldn't risk it without composting it.

 

[Inle_Rabbit]

You can use rabbit poo very successfully. I would look up articles and information on that and mimic it for guinea pigs.

 

[madrae]

The reason the article says it is safe is because of their vegan diet. Their droppings do not have the bacteria your dog or cat would have. Also because of their diet, and their dryness, guinea pig waste will not attract animals that you do not want (e.g. coyotes). Like rabbit pellets, their small size means they break down fast. You can BUY bags of rabbit pellets on eBay. Piggy poo is a gardner's gold.

You wash food coming out of your garden, it is a perfectly safe to use guinea pig poo directly in your garden.

My town has a Community Garden Project, with plots of gardens at the library, City Hall, parks and assorted empty lots. The program is run by Master Gardners, and we give them coffee cans of poo. They till it right into the dirt when the gardens are planted.

 

[pinky]

The reason the article says it is safe is because of their vegan diet. Their droppings do not have the bacteria your dog or cat would have. Also because of their diet, and their dryness, guinea pig waste will not attract animals that you do not want (e.g. coyotes). Like rabbit pellets, their small size means they break down fast. You can BUY bags of rabbit pellets on eBay. Piggy poo is a gardner's gold.

You wash food coming out of your garden, it is a perfectly safe to use guinea pig poo directly in your garden.

My town has a Community Garden Project, with plots of gardens at the library, City Hall, parks and assorted empty lots. The program is run by Master Gardners, and we give them coffee cans of poo. They till it right into the dirt when the gardens are planted.

I still wouldn't use it directly in my garden unless you soak your vegetables in something that will kill bacteria or parasites. Your guinea pig could have giardia or some other parasite that you're unaware of that can be transmitted to you. Washing your vegetables won't necessarily wash off the parasites. I adopted a guinea pig with giardia unknown to me and she transmitted it to the others via her droppings. I didn't even know she and the others had it until they had loose droppings. It can be transmitted to humans if you don't do thorough hand washing. I think you'd need to wash the vegetables in soapy water or something more than just water to be sure your food's not contaminated. Their droppings can also be urine soaked and if the guinea pig is sick, you might put yourself at risk. Buying dried rabbit pellets is different than adding fresh droppings. I always err on the side of caution.

 

[madrae]

We already addressed whether to use it if an animal is sick or not. Beyond that [MENTION=15081]pinky[/MENTION], I think you are alarming the OP unnecessarily. Both rabbit and guinea pig poo (because they have similar nitrogen/phosphorus content) can be used a number of ways - composted, a tea, tilled directly into ground.

To be afraid of droppings which dry out in what, a day? negates what millions of gardners choose to do - use animal droppings because they feel the it is far more beneficial than chemical fertilizers. And after all, you cannot keep ALL animal waste out of your garden. Believe me, the neighborhood pets, backyard wildlife, and birds are all adding their little contributions, and that is about as fresh as you can get.

If you are worried about how dried out and sanitary your pig poop is, you could always microwave it first.... HAHAHA

 

[Traysea]

The place where we used to board our horse gives away free horse manure by the bag full. They have very similar digestive systems. I don't think you have to worry.

Bacteria that lives in the gut would probably not survive in the garden. As for giardia and other protozoa I think it can be dormant for a year outside, but it seems to transfer more from direct fecal contact or via water supply (animals pooping in the water contaminates many different states water supplies) It would be pretty unlikely that it would transfer by ground contact and not very possible to go up the roots. Even still, it's much more likely the food would get contaminated by wild animals than piggy poop. Around here we have wild rabbits, mice, rats, raccoons, birds, and possum. But that is the nature of life.

 

[pinky]

We already addressed whether to use it if an animal is sick or not. Beyond that [MENTION=15081]pinky[/MENTION], I think you are alarming the OP unnecessarily. Both rabbit and guinea pig poo (because they have similar nitrogen/phosphorus content) can be used a number of ways - composted, a tea, tilled directly into ground.

To be afraid of droppings which dry out in what, a day? negates what millions of gardners choose to do - use animal droppings because they feel the it is far more beneficial than chemical fertilizers. And after all, you cannot keep ALL animal waste out of your garden. Believe me, the neighborhood pets, backyard wildlife, and birds are all adding their little contributions, and that is about as fresh as you can get.

If you are worried about how dried out and sanitary your pig poop is, you could always microwave it first.... HAHAHA

I don't think it would be funny if someone was infected with giardia. Soil can become contaminated with giardia and could be transmitted by eating vegetables grown in that soil. Soil is a perfect medium for it; especially when it's being watered to keep the plants hydrated. Composting heats up the soil which would kill it.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/kill-giardia-parasite-contaminated-soil-22952.html

I'm not suggesting people not recycle droppings by using it as fertilizer. I'm just saying be safe by composting it first. Of course, people can and probably do get sick from animal manure that gets in their garden but there's no reason to intentionally contaminate the soil when it's very easy to compost it first.

 

[beachgurl_1988]

I used to shake my bedding off into a flower bed. Last year we tilled the flower bed and grew some pretty GORGEOUS flowers. I credit the poop!

 

[pinky]

I used to shake my bedding off into a flower bed. Last year we tilled the flower bed and grew some pretty GORGEOUS flowers. I credit the poop!

My property is 130 x 130 and I don't have a lot of lawn. Most of it is flower gardens with a small section for vegetables. I shake my fleece into a few areas where I don't grow vegetables and the poop does aid the condition of the soil. If I use regular bedding, I have a specific spot where I compost it and use it later all around the gardens. The bedding makes a good soil conditioner, too.

 

[courtneylushae]

This is a pretty great idea lol... I usually throw my pig poo and hay out my window into the side yard cos nobody goes out there and i figured it would break down soon and the birds would carry off the hay (tons of birds btw) and it usually is gone soon.... so maybe i will take a barrel and start putting them in it.... and how do you compost... i have been curious of this...I havent been gardening too long... only a few years... but i grow a good tomato plant... use peat moss soil and water them in the morning and at night

 

[pinky]

This is a pretty great idea lol... I usually throw my pig poo and hay out my window into the side yard cos nobody goes out there and i figured it would break down soon and the birds would carry off the hay (tons of birds btw) and it usually is gone soon.... so maybe i will take a barrel and start putting them in it.... and how do you compost... i have been curious of this...I havent been gardening too long... only a few years... but i grow a good tomato plant... use peat moss soil and water them in the morning and at night

I had a large wooden composting bin but now mound it. I layer it with leaves, grass, bedding, coffee grounds, vegetable scraps but no meat products so that there are different materials in it. I keep it moist so it heats up and decomposes. I mound in places where it's not noticeable; usually in the back near the fence. Anytime I cut out grass that grows into my flower beds, I toss it in there. I don't add weeds. I turn the pile once in awhile to aerate it. I have two spots I compost. They're not particularly neat but hidden from view behind my plants. I have this large old, plastic water softener I cut and removed the bottom from so it's like a large plastic cylinder. I have it in a corner and toss things in there until it's full and don't even touch it until the next year. I don't even aerate it. When I'm ready to use it, I just lift it up and the compost stays behind. My parents are avid gardeners. They're 85 years old and still have about 1/4 of their property devoted to vegetable gardening. Over the years, they've given us lots of good tips on gardening.

 

[courtneylushae]

my nana got me into gardening when i was little... planting flowers.. and then my papaw got me into tomatoes and greens... i am so excited for my garden this year... i want to start strawberries... i love strawberry anything! anyone work with them and can give me tips... ive pinterested so much but havent found a whole lot

 

[PiggieWigglies]

my nana got me into gardening when i was little... planting flowers.. and then my papaw got me into tomatoes and greens... i am so excited for my garden this year... i want to start strawberries... i love strawberry anything! anyone work with them and can give me tips... ive pinterested so much but havent found a whole lot

With my own observations and what other people tell me, strawberries don't produce much the first year. But after that they are fruitful from what I've been told. You might wanna protect the plant with wire so deer or birds or other animals don't get them.

 

[courtneylushae]

okay... all id found was to keep them off the ground and a few ideas for planting them... there are deer in my area... but im not sure that they go in my yard... i have a very small yard.... i would be more concerned about squirrels or birds or snakes getting in it... or my fat dog floppin down in the middle of my garden bed... i plan on at least a few raised beds anyways.... so at least the one will have a raised section of wire

 

[Guinea pig Mama]

okay... all id found was to keep them off the ground and a few ideas for planting them... there are deer in my area... but im not sure that they go in my yard... i have a very small yard.... i would be more concerned about squirrels or birds or snakes getting in it... or my fat dog floppin down in the middle of my garden bed... i plan on at least a few raised beds anyways.... so at least the one will have a raised section of wire

Make sure you put hay around the bottom of your strawberry plants, you don't want your Berries to touch the ground. I think its called tolle , not sure ( it's wedding lace) over your plants and the small animals will stay clear of you strawberries.