Improving the nutrient content of sheep bedding compost by adding cattle manure

Abstract

Abstract Sheep bedding has favorable characteristics for composting, such as providing readily assimilable carbon and facilitating aeration, which are essential for the growth of composting microorganisms. However, when composted alone, it may have disadvantages related to the time of composting and to the fertilizer value of the compost produced, due to its high lignocellulosic content. To investigate whether cattle manure could improve composting of sheep bedding as well as the agronomic quality of the compost produced, we mixed cattle manure with sheep bedding in varying proportions (0–100%) and evaluated several parameters of the composting process and of the final compost, such as changes in temperature, macronutrients, and carbon content before and after the composting process. The addition of ≥50% cattle manure to the mixture increased composting efficiency, resulting in a more stable compost with higher nutrient content. The high content of rice husk in sheep bedding limited the addition of higher proportions of this component to the composting mixture. We identified an efficient way to improve the quality of compost generated during waste management of sheep manure and bedding.