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Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
I have a 3 garden plots that are roughly 20x20 each. The soil here in Hawaii is clay. I amended 2 of the plots with about 40 cubic feet of cow manure. However, the 3rd plot has really bad soil. It's been neglected for a long time and will require a lot of compost.
I have a friend that works at the Honolulu Zoo and she said that I can have as much Elephant, Giraffe and Rhino dung as I want. I assume that their manure would be fine once composted but wanted to double check. Anybody ever try the exotic dung? |
Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
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Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
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Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
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Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
Elephants, giraffes and rhinos are, like horses and cows, pure herbivores and their manure is probably
comparable, i.e., likely reasonably mild as compared to swine and chickens. You did not ask about hippos, which also diet exclusively on plant matter, but they prefer to use it for bathing in it :) This is not a picture shot in an overcrowded zoo, but one taken in the “free and wild” of Africa. About the filthiest animals I have seen in their natural environment. Unfortunately there was no way to document the stench emanating from that pond |
Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
I hear there's a waiting line for elephant poop at the local zoo... but you know California.
For all I know they might be shipping it out to Washington DC to compliment the chicken & bull poop that's so prevalent out there. :bananas_b Quote:
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Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
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An excellent article, Tony, delightfully presented. :) |
Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
Judging from the articles, which Tony posted, you have hit the jackpot. So start hauling the stuff in. But
since your soil is mostly clay (Not silt? The two are often confused), consider adding also some sand, if it is indeed clay. Just make sure it is not from the seashore, as that would contain too much salt. |
Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
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You're lucky to get it! |
Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
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They have several large piles at various stages. Each pile is turned by a front loader once a week and they use the compost for all the plants at the zoo. Not only is it elephant, giraffe and rhino poo but it also contains plant clippings, old hay and poop from hippos and other creatures. The grounds keeper that loaded it up for me said that plants grow like crazy with this compost. It didn't take long to load it in my pickup but took me 2.5 hours to unload haha My new beds have a nice 6-8" layer of compost added today. |
Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
It's available from the LA zoo as well. I picked up a load once. It was a little strong smelling like urine. That could have been from real wild animals peeing on the mound though.
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I can relate to the job of unloading, but from the looks of your treasure it is worth the chore. Is it wrong that I should envy you?:) |
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My next trip out to HI, i know what my seabag is getting filled with for the return trip. ;)
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:nanadrink: The "Harbor Seafood Restaurant" down outside of New Orleans (north of the airport) has about a 5 acre parking lot that's at least 3'-4' higher than the surrounding territory. It's where they dump the oyster shells from the restaurant. It gets a tad ripe in the summer!!! |
Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
I think the general rule with manure is that it's ok as long as it's from an herbivore. Omnivorous and carnivorous animals tend to have "hot" manure that could potentially burn plants. Of course, after you have let it sit for a while and compost, a great deal of the nitrogen has volatilized. At the student gardens at UF we had trouble with some of the Chinese lessees using night soil which is human waste.
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:0519: |
Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
I breed parrots and and periodically I apply their droppings to my soil and everything takes off! lol - No pun intended. I'm going to try it on my bananas.
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Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
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Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
My Local Craig's List has Alpaca Manure for $1 per 13gal bag, I was considering it....
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Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
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Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
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I would try one bag first and check on the quality of that stuff. I recently bought some "bovine manure", which was so diluted, that I wonder if a cow was even nearby, when it was "created". :) But nevertheless, at that price it appears a steal. Good luck. Olaf |
Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
Olaf,
I had the same deal happen w/ local store bought steer manure. It appears they mix topsoil with a little a very little bit of manure. It was only a dollar something a bag so I guess you get what you pay for. |
Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
I work at a zoo, and we compost herbivore manure, elephant makes up the vast majority of the stuff that goes into the pile. Not all herbivore manures are created equal, but when I sent out the elephant dung to the Extension agency for testing our composting "recipe" they said it was essentially perfect with nothing added. All that was in the sample was elephant dung and smidgeon of straw (less than 1% I would estimate).
We make it by the long ton here and man the stuff is excellent. We sell out all the time, by the truckload, the 5 gallon container and even the quart. Keith |
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It would be harder to hide a "mix" with Alpaca. |
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Keith |
Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
True- but I don't know if this is "composted" since they make the claim that "alpaca manure doesn't need composting"
One bag for $1 probably won't hurt either way... |
Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
ANY manure that is not composted will still have live weed seeds in the mix. The compost pile should have an internal temperature high enough to kill any weed seed in it. From time to time it needs to be turned so that the stuff on the outside gets a chance to be heated up too. If you are doing it right, when you dig into the center, it should probably be hot enough to steam. A little moistening to aid in the decomposition combined with heat from the sun should raise the internal temps enough to eliminate the seeds.
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Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
I figured all composted turds are good except ours for the most part.. I doubt a big mac does any good for plants. Most folks out there probably feed their dogs better than they eat. :^)
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Re: Is Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino manure good?
Another Claim of Alpaca is "no weed seeds"
Don't know how or why... Alpaca Manure Compost – How Do I Use Alpaca Manure As Fertilizer |
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