49 replies to this topic

[destroy_erase_improve]

my friend found a horse ranch semi close to her house. she can get some horse poo from them, but has no outdoor spot to spread it out to allow it to let the sun leech the amonia etc (whatever else has to get leeched). is there any way to take fresh/semi fresh horse poo and leech it indoors? (sounds pretty gross to me). like put it in a tub or something with lime? i dunno, im just tossing thoughts.

[destroy_erase_improve]

btw, she knows how to pasturize it in the oven or in jars in the pc already. but she needs to figure out a way to get it to that level of amonia free (leeched etc) first.

[max]

You should be making a big pile of it mixed with straw and turned every couple days. This is how you make high-test compost, possible the best substrate there is.

[destroy_erase_improve]

thx captn
what if she already has a compost mix she likes. but has some horse nuggets. not enough for a big pile. just enough for one bin. how would she prep those fresh/semi fresh nuggets to add to her existing compost?

[max]

I've just had better results from composted rather than fresh, thats all. Esp. with some straw and kelp mixed in, it ends up like a high-test black soil.

I don't mind the smell of fresh farm poo either, it doesn't stink like that human crap!

[sleepwalker]

does she have an air purifier she can stick in a closet with the dookie for ahwile so it doesnt stink so bad....maybe use a tote air purifier in a closet till it dries and all...who knows...peace...

[altered_states]

I never thought that I would be saying this...
I plan on dedicating an entire day to horse shit.

If I'm going to be collecting horse shit all day,
I want to know exactly what I'm looking for so I don't have to do it again.
I believe this to be the rational course of action.

At the moment, collecting horse dookie is actually near the top of my priority list.
Historically, it has been a priority to avoid all types of shit.
I'm no longer certain that my priorities are in order.
Now isn't the time to prioritize.
I'll do that after I collect a ton of shit.

Are there any special tactics to be used in the collection of horse poop?

Can I simply buy horse manure and let it dry?
If so, is this as effective as hand picked shit?

Can it be bought in the condition that I need?
I assume that it can not.

What qualities and characteristics should I be looking for in the nuggets?

I'm thinking about asking a boarder if I can do some collecting.
My only concern is that I would be told, "no", due to liability concerns such as a horse kick to the head.

I been riding horseback beginning at age 7.
I received free lessons from my friend's Mom, who owns stables and boards horses, before she would let my friend and I ride without her tagging along.
Good deal, huh?
Anyway, my point is that I know how to handle a horse.

That being said, and assuming that the type I can buy isn't the kind I want...
Covert operation?

I hate stealing, even if it's just horse shit.
But I will if I have to.
My area's economic mainstay is agriculture.
There are plenty of places that no one would ever notice me collecting shit...
As a youngster I had rock salt fired at me. I never got hit, but I've seen firsthand how much it hurts...
And rock salt sounds exactly the same as lead shot.

I don't intend for this to happen to me again as an adult.

What exactly am I looking for?

A high resolution close-up of a proper pie would be wonderful.

I have just been informed that my headlights are turned on.
Damn, gotta go.

Thanks, Peace
AS

[Hippie3]

lol
nice timing on this thread
i've been in negotiation for a ton of horse shit
for a couple weeks now,
hopefully the deal happens soon.

[Soliver1]

The best way to get great substrate is to find out what they do with the straw they
put in the horse stalls. There's usually a pile of it somewhere near the stables.
The horses shit in the straw and they clean it out every week, more or less depending
on the stable.

The straw / poo pile is a perfect union of straw and shit, dig down a bit and get the
old stuff on the bottom. Looks like rich brown dirt with peices of straw in it.

I too like the smell of ruminant dung - grew up on a farm, so it brings me back :)
Random hand-warmers left in the field will work well too, but won't have the same
consistency, as it's difficult to discern the age of the individual pile.

Find that stable pile and you'll hit pay-dirt, if you'll pardon the expression.
In my experience, stable owners are more than happy to let you dig around in their
shit and will let you cart off as much as you want so long as you don't mess around
near the horses.

It also REALLY helps if you look clean and sober when you show up.
Save the colorful shirts and ratty shorts for home, tell 'em you're starting an
organic garden, tell 'em your wife is pregnant and crazy, and insists on using horse
dung in her garden (that one works for a lot of stuff IME :) ) just don't mention
fungus of any sort and you'll be AOK...

[altered_states]

Thank you guys sooo much.

And Sol...

Last night I got my first haircut since June '04

[destroy_erase_improve]

im sort of confused.
are people looking to collect white colored nuggets? i thought that was a poo nugget that had everything sapped out of it. is the consistancy of the nugget supposed to be britle and crumbly?

i thought you looked for brown nugs, and let them dry out. do these nuggets dry out to be the white ones, or are the white ones too far gone?

god, who thought this shit could be so difficult
someone get me a laxative
:)

oh one more question. as mentioned earlier, am i correct in saying that just letting horse poo sit in a container or on the floor will allow it to leech. and eventually be useable? like say in a few weeks. doesnt the person have to add lime or something?

lets say that my friend has a pillowcase full of poo nugs some are fresh from that day and others are a few days old. none are white. she can just lay them out on paper in her basement, and allow them to dry out and amonia out? and she will know they are ready to use by the lack of smell and texture being crumbly?

[max]

Solivers got it on the nail...most farms have a big pile behind the barn and will let you help yourself. Don't worry, it's not odd to want it, gardeners love it and those big piles have the real good stuff in the middle and bottom. You can also try your local racetrack. Gathering it paddy by paddy....that'll take a while!

[destroy_erase_improve]

middle and bottom. points noted!

[tempest2003]

is it normal for my poop to be moldy?......... or is it okay for my poo to be a little moldy, some white fuzz on it, its been in a 5 gallon buckett for months and months. can i still pasturize it? just normal temp? help me out guys, thanks!

[carp]

I found a local source of horse poo that I would like to try. The add says this:

Free aged horse manure (wood chips used in stalls) - you must load and haul.
No restriction on amount. Easy to access.

This is obviously from stalls and not from a field. This means it will contain wood shavings and urine. Do you think that this will be OK or should I ask them to let me pick up some chips from the field?

Can I use it straight or should I pasteurize it first. I will be spawning from popcorn and casing with verm/coir.

-carp

[Hippie3]

i'd leach the fresh poo from stalls to rinse out some of the urine
then pasturize it.