Feeding Worms Horse Manure

Here is what you need to know about horse manure:

• It is about the best thing you can feed your worms

• The C:N ratio of horse manure is perfect. That means you don’t need to mix it with bedding. It is already both a nitrogen source and a carbon source.

• Don’t worry about dewormers. They don’t harm composting worms. In fact, studies have shown that composting worms prefer dewormed manure.

• The bigger issue with livestock manure is weed killer. Many hay fields are sprayed with persistent weed killers. These weed killers can persist in the soil for years. They do not break down in the animal, or in the worm bin. If the livestock has eaten hay sprayed with weed killers, the weed killers will be in your vermicompost.

• Another issue is heating. Fresh manure that is piled up will heat up. The solution is to either only use it in small amounts, pre-compost it past the heating stage, or only use it after it has aged several months.

• Lesser problems are salts in the animal’s urine and weed seeds. Pre-composting, done correctly, should eliminate those problems.

• If you feed aged manure, you don’t need to worry about heating. If you feed fresh manure in small amounts, you don’t need to worry about heating. So don’t cover your entire bin with more than a 1 inch layer of manure, and you should be fine. Or, to be on the safe side, cover half of the bin with each feeding.

• Now that you know all this, you are going to need a bigger bin.