I congratulate you on looking for "a more environmentally friendly way of managing the animal waste." Don't know if the patrons will care. Possibly use the results on roses or apple trees and once a year send the pet home with a purchased rose or apple and a note. Maybe good for advertising. It would get the chatter up and people talking about your pet service. Include on business cards. Give the rose to people in the morning and they will bring it to work. Free advertising.

By my calculations the size of vermicomposting setup needed to handle this quantity of poo is 500 square feet surface area and 50 pounds of worms to be up and fully running the very first day. That would be a windrow 10 feet by 50 feet. It will take a bit of time for the wood bedding to break down.

The math:

35 + 10 = ~50 times ~pound each.
A pound of worms can maybe go through a pound of poo in ten days. The pound of worms would require more than a square foot of space.

We're gonna need a better plan. Luckily there are many here way smarter than me who will shortly reply.

Now when the dogs and cats take a dump you will not have to send it "to the dump."

37 seconds you will never get back, don't say I didn't tell ya.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCG8CPmaVIc

Is the volume a 5 gallon pail a day? You want to work up to having an equal amount or more volume of worms.

A small test to see if this works well. One could ask the patrons to repatriate the waste in their back lots. Send it home in biodegradeable bags. :-) Not good for business.

This post was edited by equinoxequinox on Thu, Jan 2, 14 at 18:45

I would just aim for less poo like only the cats or something. We do have to think of one thing though. Is cat litter ok in a vermicomposting bin.i would just try to lessen your load by 25% I know how much animals poo that would still be an accomplishment. Then you could gradually increase over time. OR you could have 1 small scale worm farm for every 1 large dog or multiple small dogs. I am asking for others to chime in on this.

Welcome to the forum!

You can do it. Any animal waste can be vermicomposted.

Some random thoughts and questions.....
How much volume is produced daily?
Do you have space away from the neighbors and downwind with water available?
Do you have the patience to slowly accomplish your goal?
Do you have a free bedding source? Think high carbon stuff such as wood chips, hay or straw, leaves, ect..
Do you have a tractor with a bucket available? This would help with precomposting. If you do not precompost, it will take more space and time. Hot composting would be the safest way to speed things up and kill pathogens.

It can be done with worms!!!! Pete

This post was edited by mendopete on Fri, Jan 3, 14 at 2:28

1. Moderation.

2. Patience.

3. Diversity.

Chuckiebtoo

Thanks for the advice so far.

Mendopete; to answer your questions,

Approx 45 pounds of waste per day

No neighbours as on a 7 acre site, with a stream running approx. 1 hundred yards from the composting site

Yes

Bedding source could be the cat litter (minus the poo) just compressed wood pulp pellets

No tractor (yet)

No plans to do anything with the compost at this point, just looking at it from a waste management point of view so not worried about putting it on plants or flowers.

I guess reading the other comments, I need to see how to construct a windrow (what's one of those?)

Space is not an issue for me so 500 sq ft is not a problem

Great! You have the space and the resources. Does your community have a garden you could give the worm castings to them. OR better yet sell them at the farmers market to support the shelter!

A windrow is just a pile. It is a pile that is longer than it is tall or wide. Basically, you pile up the feedstock. The the next day, you pile more to the side of that. Then you pile more to the side of that. Your piles should be about 4 to 6 feet high and 4 to 6 feet wide at the base, and as long as necessary to contain everything. If you have enough space, by the time you finish building the windrow, the first section will be finished composting. You may want to build a second windrow and let the first one process.

But I would start small and let it grow slowly. That way, of you make any mistakes, you won't lose a huge investment. You will eventually need about 100 lb of worms. You don't want to risk that large an investment all at once.

As for giving the finished compost to a community garden, that is controversial. Some people argue that composted dog and cat feces should not be used on edible plants. But in some parts of the world composted human feces are used on edible plants. I would see if you can sell the finished product to someone who would use it on ornamentals.

This seems to be developing into a classic case of overreach.

For a newbie to start on such a scale is a little radical to me, but it's your time, money, effort, continued effort, disappointment, delusion, disgust, and finally desertion of the herd that hurts our cause.

Start slower. Make it work. I've seen this type situation play out too often.

Chuckiebtoo

To see if you even like vermicomposting try a system for a while on a micro scale.

Bokashi in the 5 gallon bucket might work. But a 5 gallon bucket of pickled dog poop I'm not ready for yet.

Where do the dogs do their business now? In a yard and it is picked up frequently? With a 7 acre sight perhaps the dogs could have several fenced areas to rotate through. Every week move to a new area and run chickens though the old area. The chickens will tear apart the deposits and the ground will gain fertility.

Safe guard the nearby water from the animal waste.

I needed about 300 sq.' of worm bed surface area to keep up with about 80lbs. of horse manure daily. You needs will vary, because not all manure is created equal.

To build a windrow, start making a pile at your selected site .Each time you add to the pile, cover it with ample amounts of bedding. Just keep adding on/ next to previous deposits. You may need to add water to maintain proper moisture levels.

You will need to cover the pile to help keep out critters, and keep in moisture and darkness. you can buy windrow covers, or recycle some old carpeting for the job. You may want to cover it with a tarp during the rainy season to protect the stream.

Start small, learn, and work your way up to accomplish your goals. You can do it! It is a bad thing to put dogwaste in the landfill.

Good luck, Pete

Sounds pretty straightforward to me. Motivation is high as the costs for disposing of commercial animal waste are very high here.
Plus I get a tick in the environmentally friendly box. Any compost is just an added benefit.
Poo is collected from individual kennel runs and also on the 5 acre field when dogs are exercised.
Woodchip bedding is in plentiful supply. Sounds like it should work well.
Thanks everyone for all the advice, much clearer on what I need to do now.
Once it stops raining, (this is England remember) I'll post some pictures of my windrow as it takes shape :)

Simon

Oh, England! Across the pond! Well, that changes everything, chap.

Firstly, English dogs and cats are much more civilized than are these creatures we endure here. Were it me, I'd not hesitate to begin in a smashing fashion with perhaps a worm population of upwards of several hundred, or perchance a thousand of the creatures...... which shan't cost you a quid more than a few paltry farthings, and not a farthing more.

Secondly, never take anything posted herewith by me at face value....even though I fail to comprehend exactly what "face value" actually refers to.

Good luck, mate, keep us up to snuff, and remember the Alamo.

Chuckiebtoo

Eloquently put Chuckiebtoo, I shall indeed have a spiffing time, and I may well admire my new windrow during tiffin while sipping a cup of rosy lea.

On a more serious note. As this time of year we have fewer animals (summer is our busiest time as it stops raining for almost 2 whole weeks) I will be starting slowly. So if I were to add, say a few pounds of worms, surely they will eventually breed and therefore increase in number? How long is the breeding cycle of the sh*t-eating worm?

Also, if any of our fine upstanding forum members choose to visit our soggy patch of the planet, I would strongly advise refraining from using the "traditional" language employed here. It will at best get you some funny looks, but much more likely a Chelsea smile or a Glasgow kiss, depending on whereabouts you may be at the time.

Alamo? Was that where some Americans got their asses whupped by some Spaniards? I dunno, my history is restricted only to important events ;)

Is hilltop kennels the name of the place because I googled it and I keep coming to some place in Texas

If you do things correctly, figure on doubling your worm biomass every three months. If you don't do things correctly, figure on halving your worm biomass every three months.

I don't mean to be the turd-in-the-punch-bowl at this party, but when you de-worm your dogs you will have to return the poo disposal the old way till you are certain the treatment has all been passed.

I read somewhere that adding de-wormer treated poo will nuke your entire bin of active worms in a single night.

You'll have to make special arangements to isolate the poo of de-worm medicated dogs.

Whoa Simon, there is a little more to it.

If you just put a couple pounds of bought worms in your freshly started windrow, you will not likely have success. You may or may not see them again...

You need to start a small worm system. That way you can learn and grow your own herd.The principles you learn managing a small system will apply to your larger endeavor and help make it a success.

You could build yourself a worm bin out of scrap wood. Maybe use some recycled fence posts like I did and check off another box. A simple wood frame sitting on the ground . Mine is 3'x5'x18" open bottom, and with a plywood hinged lid. This could be your breeder box for your windrow. It would also be your learning center. You could also add your kitchen waste..... another box!

When you buy worms, they are usually raised on a certain and regular feedstock. In this area, horse manure is widely used. When they arrive to the buyer, they are usually put in a environment and feedstock that is quite different, and they want to leave. It takes them awhile to settle into their new home. Buy local bed-run worms if you can find some. If you could source some local horse manure to start you herd in, and slowly transition them into eating aged dog poop, it would help you.

Doubling your herd every 3 months is a good rule of thumb. It can be faster if you provide a good environment with plenty of food and space to grow .If you do well you can seed your windrow next year.

I would not worry about de-wormers as long as you compost or age it first. You should do that anyway. Start your windrow now and let it slowly cold compost.

Best of luck, and let us know how it goes..... Pete

One poster here uses a water harvesting method. It is good to see words "Kept 70% moist, the system drips a leachate constantly, ensuring a damp environment for your herd." This gives his method of harvesting the goodness of vermicomposting even more strength.

This is totally different than rotting material dripping smelly moisture.