Dung v. Manure
Dave115
Aberdour,FifePosts: 25
in Fruit & veg
I have recently discovered a free source of dung on a nearby farm .It contains very little other than faeces with a small amount of wood shavings mixed in.No straw.Is it as beneficial on my allotment as traditional manure ?
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probably as long as you know what sort of animal it comes from? Carnivore poo isn't a good idea in general, unless it's been very carefully screened for parasites. It needs to be 'well rotted', whatever animal it is from.
A lot depends on how fresh it is and what animal produced it. I used to have access to horse manure and I built an open tower out of small bales. It was filled with fresh stuff at the top and really good stuff came out of the bottom after a couple of months.
Trying to think of carnivorous UK farm animals... other than the farm dogs and cats
Many animals are bedded on woodshavings nowadays ... it sounds to me as if yours may be from horses? ... it's fine for your allotment or garden.. The shavings take a bit longer than straw to break down so usually benefits from being stacked and allowed to 'mature' a bit before using.
Last edited: 17 November 2017 11:24:56
You’ve just made my laugh of the day Dove... I couldn’t imagine a farmer picking up his dog poo and collecting a sackful, mind you, our local GC sells lion poo, they are carnivorous ?
Well, farmers are diversifying more and more Lyn ...........
If it’s very fresh and contains little organic matter it’s best mixed into the compost heap where it will speed up and enrich the compost making.
Redwing- yes that is what I would do, a friend of mine used to get this from a local stable hand he knew, who would seive out the wood shavings for him so he only had the lumps of poo. He found it was great as a compost activator.
Last edited: 17 November 2017 13:53:21
We get Zoo Poo in our local GC too
. Actually the main 'normal' farm animals to avoid are pigs and chickens. Not carnivores but they are omnivores, so in it's raw form, their manure can be a risk. You rarely get pig poo being sold and chickens is normally pelleted so you're less likely to accidentally eat it. But either if you just scraped it up off the barn floor and threw it on your garden could carry some harmful bugs and things
Although by nature pigs are omnivores and in the wild they will eat flesh it is totally illegal for pigs to be fed meat of any kind - below is an extract from a Food Standards Agency online publication
"Pigs
Pigs are omnivores, and in the past their diets included meat and meat products. However, this - and the feeding of catering waste as swill - is now prohibited because of the potential for spreading disease (particularly foot-and-mouth). Pig diets typically include cereal grains, oilseed meals, and other by-products of the human food industry. Pigs reared outdoors may also be fed root crops such as swedes, turnips and mangolds. There is more liquid feeding of pigs than other species of farmed livestock."
https://www.food.gov.uk/business-industry/farmingfood/animalfeed/what-farm-animals-eat
It is perfectly fine for pig manure to be used on the veg patch/allotment ... my family and many other people that I know have been doing it all our lives.
Anyone aware of anyone feeding pigs any meat of any type, cooked or raw or other animal matter should report it to DEFRA immediately.
DEFRA Helpline (03459 33 55 77) Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm.
Last edited: 17 November 2017 15:48:59
Does anyone remember when we had to put all food waste out for the ‘pig man’ it was collected every few days, we were issued with a bucket with a lid to collect it in.