Composting question

Anonymous
Can you put hamster or guinea pig dirty bedding (wood chip, shredded paper stuff) in the compost bin? Does it depend on the bedding type?
Anonymous
I wouldn't because of the poop and pee. Though, hmm, maybe since they're vegetarian it doesn't matter?
Anonymous
I do, any kind of bedding. That said, I also don't use the compost on my vegetable garden but on my flowers, so I don't worry at all about contamination. I'm not a very diligent composter. If you test the heat of your pile and get it hot, you don't have to worry about pathogens. I have a cold pile, though, so just use it for the flowers.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't because of the poop and pee. Though, hmm, maybe since they're vegetarian it doesn't matter?

That’s what I was figuring- kinda like horse manure?
I might just plan to limit it to the flowers if I do compost the used bedding.
Anonymous
Yes, you absolutely can and the type of bedding does matter. Don't use the chemically treated bedding. I know lost of people who do this and it make amazing compost fast!
Anonymous
Good to know! I have been wondering the same thing, particularly how long it would take to break down. We have a pretty large guinea pig cage and have nearly a kitchen bag full of bedding to dispose of every week. We have one those barrel compost bins that you can rotate (new to composting. previous owner left it for us)
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Good to know! I have been wondering the same thing, particularly how long it would take to break down. We have a pretty large guinea pig cage and have nearly a kitchen bag full of bedding to dispose of every week. We have one those barrel compost bins that you can rotate (new to composting. previous owner left it for us)


DH said is sped up our pile significantly, like 3x faster.
Anonymous
You realize farmers use composted animal manure as fertilizer, don’t you? I absolutely use composted horse bedding and manure from my barn on my garden and it is terrific!

Wash your food.
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