of bones, boiled bones, bone grinders, etc...

Ridgerunner

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As I often do when an interesting topic shows up I google it. Fresh bone is made up of different things but mainly minerals (calcium and phosphorus) and proteins ( mostly collagen). Other things too of course.

This is me again, not what I read. I'd think bugs from microbe size on up will eat the soft stuff like the collagen fairly quickly, especially if it is buried in warm moist soil. If they are in an acidic soil I'd think the minerals would break down a lot faster than if they are in an alkaline soil. Moisture helps that chemical reaction to break down the minerals.

I don't deal with that many bones. All the bones in a chicken I butcher eventually wind up making broth except for the head, then the used bones go to the landfill. I'm not going to dig that many holes to bury them. The heads and certain softer stuff gets buried in the garden. I used to bury it in the orchard but one time something dug it up and made a mess so now it goes inside my fenced garden where dogs, coyotes, and such can't get to it.

Larger critters like raccoon, skunk, possum, and such get drug off where coyotes, vultures, squirrels, rats, flies, and such take care of them. That's less work than digging a hole.

Sometimes I bury critters in the bottom of my compost pile when I'm starting a new batch. If it's all the way in the bottom with a few layers over it nothing digs it out. It does not stink. A few years back I put three rabbits in the bottom of the compost pile for one batch. The small bones seem to disappear but I found a lot of the larger ones. I don't know how long the larger ones actually last but they go into the next batch, I'd think I've seen some a couple of years later.

If you grind the bones up it would probably make it a little easier for the bugs to break down that soft stuff, but they will get to that soft stuff anyway if there is enough moisture for the bugs to live and reproduce. I'd think grinding them up will make it a lot easier for the acid in the soil to break down the minerals into a form the plants can use just because it gives them a lot more surface area to work on.

I would not put ground up bone in a veggie garden because of the bacteria and other critters the soft stuff could attract. It would probably be OK in the compost but it might attract a few things you don't want. I put kitchen waste in my compost and it attracts things anyway. I don't know how much ground fresh bone would benefit your worms.

If it still has the soft stuff in it when you grind it up I think it would attract raccoons, possum, skunk, rats, and mice to your compost pile if you just dump it on top. I trap a lot of critters at my compost pile because of kitchen and garden wastes going down there. I'm up to 17 possum for this calendar year and will probably get more, let alone the other things. Almost all came from the compost area. If the bones are buried, ground or whole, so the smell does not get out, either deep in the compost pile or the ground, I'd expect you to not have a problem.
 

Beekissed

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I use bones from my chickens to make stock, then the bones go to the dogs and cats.

Big chew bones the dogs are done with go in one corner of the garden. I'll have to start burying them there to speed composting.
 

flowerbug

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there are specific soil creatures which will break down bones. it isn't just the mineral dissolving due to acids or the breakdown of the softer parts. that is why i think it is interesting to actually do it and then check on what is happening from time to time to see what animals are around the bones and which have taken up residence. :)

given the evidence i'd not even bother composting them, but that certainly does speed things up (i'm not in a hurry).

i have a book that describes how to compost large animals if needed. luckily i am not doing any of that! *whew* :)
 

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