Manure Clean Up

One of the reasons for keeping large livestock is for their valuable manure. Both the sheep/goat and donkey manure gets used in the garden as fertilizer, with much of it being processed via composting. But how does it get from the pasture? 

I don't maintain very many large animals, currently just a small flock of sheep (10), one donkey, and 6 goats. While they have access to several areas, they tend to spend much of their time in one area. It's a favorite lounging and sleeping area, thus also a popular pooping spot. That makes gathering the manure a tad easier for me.

So, the poop has to be gathered in some fashion. While there are manure forks sized for horses, the tines are a tad far apart for picking up smaller donkey "balls". And forget using a fork in sheep & goat manure, they tend to pass nuggets the size of raisins. 

So, what to do? Hand pick up? That's backbreaking and slow. So I opt to use a pooper scooper, like what's made for dogs. But since they aren't available locally, I have my own version. 

Ace Hardware sells a brush rake in the gardening section and a dust pan on a stick in the household area. Put the two together and I have a pasture pooper scooper. No bending over. The rake gets the little nuggets. The dust pan holds just the right amount without getting to heavy. 

While I could use a five gallon bucket to hold the manure, I opt to use old feed sacks. They work fine for me. Plus they are easy to drag behind me as I clean up. No heavy bucket to carry. 

Herbicide Carryover

I've been using some imported grass hay to feed my sheep when I'm away from home for a few days. For security and safety reasons, they go into the secure inner dry lot for the duration. The hay looks absolutely gorgeous....too gorgeous. It made me a bit suspicious. I'm wondering if a broadleaf herbicide has been used on the hay field. Some of those herbicides, notably Grazon, persist in the hay. What's worse, it also passes in the animals' manure and can persist for 2-3 years in the soil or manure. If it gets near my garden, the soil is unusable for food production for years. 

So I can do two things to protect my gardens. 

1) don't use a grass hay. Use only alfalfa. 

2) test the hay for Grazon contamination. 

3) stop using the manure (this ain't gonna happen!)

I found that using alfalfa hay for the sheep to be a problem. Even with feeders, the sheep tend to waste a lot of hay. At $40 a bale, losing half is a serious loss. Since sheep need long fibers, using pellets is not a healthy option. I tried cubes for the sheep once, but had two develop choke on it. So long stemmed hay it is. 

When I use grass hay, the sheep usually have very little to no waste. Much more economical. But there's the danger of Grazon. I get around the danger by testing each bale of hay. It takes a couple of weeks but I believe it's worth it. It just means that I have to store the hay a few  weeks before using it, waiting for the test results. 

How I test: 

In an area where I wouldn't care about Grazon contamination....actually the edge of my driveway.... I fill at least 6 pots with soil. Each pot is then seeded with 6 bean seeds. 

(Above, I'm going to use these sprouting bean plants that I planted for a germination test.)

Next, I fill half of a 5 gallon bucket or two with the hay to be tested.

Then I  fill the bucket with water, and allow it to soak overnight (I don't fish out the hay but let it stay there until all the water is used up, then make another bucketful).

The hay floats to the top, so I push it down a couple of times to mix it well with the water.

The water turns brown, but that's ok. I now use this test water to water 3 of the pots. I use clean water to water the other 3 pots. And I take care to keep the 3 and 3 pots separate so that any water draining from the test 3 cannot reach the non-test 3. Now it's a case of waiting for the beans to grow. Over the next 3-4 weeks I'll observe the bean plants. If there is leaf curling or stunting in the 3 test pots and normal plants in the 3 non-test pots, then the hay is contaminated. If all the pots are normal, then the hay is safe to use. 

So far I've had clean hay. No Grazon. Great! But I can't assume that will continue to be the case. The farmers are probably using a herbacide, but at least it isn't residual. And since I can't guarantee that the hay is coming from the same source every time, I need to test every bale of hay. 

What would I do if the hay proved positive for Grazon? I surely would not throw it away. That hay represents a chunk of money. I would feed the hay to the sheep but only in the dry lot paddock where the donkey/horse could not access the hay nor the little grass that grows in that paddock. I do use the equine manure in the gardens and wish to keep it free of Grazon. I would just be mindful not to harvest any sheep manure. 

I would also register a complaint with the feed store. That may not make a difference, but possibly it would. Buying organic certified hay is another option, but a very expensive one I don't wish to do. And heck, I don't even know if organic hay is available on the island. I can't see much of a demand for it here. 

So what herbacides do I need to watch out for? 

• Picloram - sold as Tordon, Access, Surmount, Grazon, and Pathway.
• Clopyralid - sold as Curtail, Confront, Clopyr AG, Lontrel, Stinger, Millennium Ultra, Millenium Ultra Plus, Reclaim, Redeem, Transline.
• Aminopyralid - sold as Milestone, Forefront, Pharaoh, Banish

If I accidently contaminated a garden area, I could still grow things in the grass family. Corn. Wheat. Barley. Rice. Probably sorghum, too. I'd just have to wait 2-3 years for the contamination to dissipate in order to grow broadleaf veggies, which by the way, is just about everything else. 

Using Manure

Manure = animal digestive waste. Poo. Poop. Crap. Do-do.  Fecal material. Excrement. Droppings. Muck. Dung. Scat. Turds. Sh*t. Then there's species specific: horse apples, cow pies, buffalo chips. Hubbies favorite term for it all.....toxic waste.

Most farming peoples around the world know that manure improves garden yields. Various animal manures are used, including human. Yes, there can be a danger when using manure, especially human, but much of the danger (pathogens) can be eliminated via hot composting or via isolation for an extended period of time (one example : storing moist manure/sawdust mix in a drum for two years). 

What benefit is there in manure? The first that comes to mind is nitrogen. But most manures also contain an assortment of minerals and other nutrients that are beneficial, and often fiber that serves as a soil conditioner. 

What are the cons associated with manure? Foremost would be pathogens that carry disease and parasites that could be transmitted to humans. (The main danger is with commercial farms where raw manure is applied to the land, manure that comes from already contaminated commercial livestock farms.) Excessive amounts of manure could result in too much nitrogen for the plants being grown, or too much water holding capabilities in poorly drained soils. Over application or improper application could result in noxious odors and pests (especially flies), and could lead to run off or water pollution. And some manures could contain unacceptable levels of questionable chemicals, such as deworming agents, antibiotics, medications, etc. And lastly, it isn't vegan. 

Pros on using manure...

...a significant source of nitrogen

...a source of other plant nutrients

...beneficial soil minerals

...beneficial microbes

...a soil conditioner

...to improve soil moisture capacity

...to support worms and soldier fly colonies

Cons on using manure...

...psychological ick factor

...possible disease pathogens

...possible parasite vectors

...potential for odor 

...potential to draw flies and other vermin

...possible noxious chemicals unnaturally found in the manure (antibiotics, medications, deworming agents, chemicals consumed via food and water) 

...potential for water contamination

What manures do I use on my own homestead? Depending upon the situation, any except human. I don't have a set up yet to deal with human manure safely for use in a food garden. Am I repulsed by human manure? No. Would I be willing to use it? Perhaps someday but not yet. I would want to set up a hot composting system capable of rendering pathogens null before I'd be willing to incorporate it into my system. Having said that, I admit that I do have a field latrine set up down in the orchard in spots where I plan to plant a tree in the future. The latrine hole is filled in via Iayers of horse manure, grass clippings, soil, and human waste. When it is filled to one foot of the surface, it then gets completed with soil and a young tree is planted. I have already done this multiple times and have planted several trees. Since the hole is filled via hot composting (though not monitored nor controlled) and is not subject to being dug up for many years, plus is not in a flood area, I feel that it is a safe way to utilize human waste this way. 

Basically I handle all manures this way.....

...Hot composting for manures that are used in food gardens, except tree foods. 

...No composting for manures used on trees or placed below the surface where they will not be subjected to digging up or flooding for two years. Often non-composted manure, especially horse manure, has sat in a pile and been aged for several months before I use it. 

...Hot composting for areas that have been known to flood, such as some of the taro beds. 

Horse manure. Experience has shown this to be a good soil conditioner and source of nitrogen. In general, I find it to be an overall great fertilizer and soil conditioner. I use it as a major component in my hot compost piles because it gives good heat while not compacting. Once aged or composted, it does not seem to burn plants. 

Rabbit manure. This is my favorite for the food gardens. It is easy to incorporate and doesn't burn the crops. Nor does it need to be hot composted. The worms seem to like areas where I've incorporated rabbit manure. Rabbit manure is considered a safe manure to use around food gardens. 

Chicken manure. A little goes a long way when it comes to chicken manure. It is considered to be a "hot" manure, so I apply it sparingly. Leafy crops respond favorably to chicken manure. I always hot compost it for a minimum of 3 weeks (I will compost it far longer if I have the time) before using because of it's tendency to cause burning. Once composted it seems safer to use, but I still apply it sparingly. 

Other:

   Cow. I don't have a cow and don't bother to go out and collect it. But I believe cow manure, handled as I would horse manure, would be good for gardens. 

   Sheep and goat. I leave these manures out in the field to benefit the pastures. 

   Pig. The pigs root up their pen, thus burying their manure in the process. I never see it unless I happen to be there when the event happens. If perchance my pig confinement pens in the future were set up for manure collection, then I would indeed use pig manure. I'd handle it as I would chicken manure. 

   Cat and dog. I add these to my biotrash pits (a.k.a.- hugel pits). These pits will not be dug up in my lifetime, thus posing no danger. 

    Fish mulm. Mulm is the sludge from the bottom of my ponds.  It consists of fish poo and decaying vegetation. I occasionally scoop some out and till it into the garden soil. My ponds don't generate very much. 

My manure use is self-sustaining in that I do not go out and bring manure back to the farm. I only use manures generated on the homestead. There are two main reasons I do this.

1) It takes too much time to go out a gather manure from other people's pastures. 

2) I won't accidently introduce unwanted pathogens that other people's animals may harbor. 

Horse Manure

Yoshi, my homestead horse. 

Meet Yoshi, superintendent in charge of manure production. Often referred to as the mobile lawn ornament, this retired ranch horse is an important farm employee. She works 365 days a year, demands minimal benefits, never takes a vacation, and doesn't belong to a union. She helps keep the pastures under control, keep my land taxes low, and produces all the horse manure I need.

Having on-site manure production is a farm requirement for my homestead. Years ago I use to go out a gather manure from others' pastures, but often the timing was wrong. Other gardeners beat me to the close piles, so I had to hand carry buckets a distance. Trudging around unimproved pastures dragging five gallons buckets was work! Manure gathering was time consuming. Plus I never knew when medications and dewormers were being used on the horses. I didn't want manure with unwanted chemicals in it.

Having always enjoyed horses, I wanted one of my own for the farm. While just the fact that it would produce horse manure was plus, I wanted a safe horse that wouldn't intentionally hurt me. If I were able to ride, that would be a bonus, but it wasn't mandatory. I initially purchased two horses with the fantasy idea that hubby and I would go riding together. That never happened, so my hubby's horse was sold. That left Yoshi as the farm horse.

Horse manure is one of the ingredients of my compost. It's a very important source of fertilizer on the farm. Using compost really works well for me, helping this homestead to be reasonably self reliant. No need to purchase commercial fertilizer for the gardens.