How to Use Rabbit Manure as Fertilizer

A small wild rabbit eating garden plants.
What You'll Need
Rabbit pellets
Dry container (for storage)
Bucket
Water
Fertilizer spreader
Small tub
Lid
Carbon-rich material
What You'll Need
Rabbit pellets
Dry container (for storage)
Bucket
Water
Fertilizer spreader
Small tub
Lid
Carbon-rich material

While wild rabbits can be considered pests, gardeners worldwide consider rabbit manure to be one of God’s gifts to mankind. It is an easy-to-use fertilizer which constitutes 2.4 percent nitrogen, 1.4 percent phosphoric acid, and 0.6 percent potash. It's also natural and promotes recycling waste in productive ways. If you have never used it in your own garden, read on for more information about how you can start.

Bunny Poop as Fertilizer

Raw Pellets

Unlike other manures, it is not necessary to age rabbit pellets prior to application. You can collect them and directly apply them around plants while they are still fresh. Rabbit excrement is not harmful in its natural state.

You might not always have an immediate use for fresh manure. In this case, save it for later by storing it in a clean, dry container.

Pellet Tea

Pellet tea is another form in which rabbit manure can be applied. Simply soak the pellets in a bucket of water for some time. Then, pour this manure solution around your plants. If you usually use a spreader to apply fertilizers, then use it to split up the pellets well under water pressure.

Pellet tea can also be used as organic matter in a compost heap. Periodically add the liquid mixture to the heap and allow it to blend in with the other components for a more nutrient-rich material.

Rabbit Manure as Food for Worms

Rabbit manure isn't only useful as fertilizer in a garden. You can also use it as feeding and bedding material for worms to indirectly benefit your plants. However, do not use fresh manure for this purpose. It has a high percentage of nitrogen and, when combined with the rabbit urine that get mixed with the pellets, it can be poisonous to the worms. Therefore, you will need prep the manure well before using it for this purpose.

Start by exposing the pellets to a temperature between 130 and 150 degrees Fahrenheit for a few days. Fill a test tube with soil in the meantime so you can test the condition of your manure. When you're ready to test, transfer some of the prepared excrement to the tub and introduce a few worms into it. Put a lid on it and leave it undisturbed for at least 15 minutes. After the time has passed, lift the lid and check if the worms are sticking on to the walls of the tub. If they are, then you know that the manure has to age some more before it can be introduced to the worm beds.

Since rabbit manure has a greater proportion of nitrogen than carbon, it is also vital that you balance out the this ratio by mixing it with materials high in carbon content, such as wood chips and straw, as it sits. Additionally, you will need to remove excess salts in the manure by passing water through it before you can use it.

When you finally have a workable mixture, add thin layers over worm beds along with the carbon-rich materials and allow the compost to work its magic.