Biodegradation of Animal Waste by Lumbricus terrestris

The possibility of recycling animal waste through the common earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris was studied. Earthworms were raised in beds and fed only raw feces and water with lime added as a buffer. The conversion of kilograms of fecal dry matter to kilograms of live earthworms was 2:1. The excretio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of dairy science 1972-06, Vol.55 (6), p.870-872
Main Authors: Fosgate, O.T., Babb, M.R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Cats
Cattle
Dairying
earthworms
Feces
Oligochaeta
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Summary:The possibility of recycling animal waste through the common earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris was studied. Earthworms were raised in beds and fed only raw feces and water with lime added as a buffer. The conversion of kilograms of fecal dry matter to kilograms of live earthworms was 2:1. The excretion (castings) of the earthworm was a loose, friable humus type of soil containing 3.0% nitrogen. Earthworm meal dry matter analyzed 58% protein and 2.8% fat and proved to be verypalatable when fed to domestic cats. Worm dirt was equal to greenhouse potting soil for the production of flowering plants. An added advantage is that the worm dirt weighs only about 50% as much as normal potting soil.
ISSN:0022-0302
1525-3198
DOI:10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(72)85586-3