Deep litter help

tankgirl1

tankgirl1

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Hi

Mac is currently on a deep litter shavings bed, concrete underneath, no rubber matting.

We remove all poo daily, and any really wet bits - the problem is that all the wet seems to pool in the centre of the stable, and it becomes squelchy underfoot. No matter how much fresh we add on top of this by morning its all squelchy and wet again!

Today we've completely dug out the middle and added loads of fresh easibed, but it's gonna cost a bomb to take out and replace all the wet everyday, plus we were wanting deep litter to help keep him warm.

What are we doing wrong? :(

I've heard you can get powder to sprinkle on bed to help absorb the moisture - has anyone used it, and is there a certain brand you recommend, and also is it economical?

Sorry for the essay

Custard creams and a nice cup of tea on offer :D
 
I use bliss bedding. Much more absorbant than shavings and less smelly and breaks down on muck heap quicker.

I would pull bed from edges and fill in middle and stamp down. I only pick up wet that comes to the top of the bed. Try leaving wet for a day or three and it will pack down. I think maybe you are being too keen to take out the wet.

He obviously wees there every time.

Thanks for the wine!
 
Janah said:
I use bliss bedding. Much more absorbant than shavings and less smelly and breaks down on muck heap quicker.

I would pull bed from edges and fill in middle and stamp down. I only pick up wet that comes to the top of the bed. Try leaving wet for a day or three and it will pack down. I think maybe you are being too keen to take out the wet.

He obviously wees there every time.

Thanks for the wine!
Click to expand...

You are welcome - hope its going down nicely lol!

Yes thats what weve been doing pulling the dry from the sides into the middle then adding a scattering of fresh over the top of everything, but as soon as he stands on it its all wet thru again, and by morning its a right mess.... :(
 
I find taking out the really 'squelshy' parts and then replacing with drier 'existing' bed before adding fresh straw on top works...I also add slightly more fresh to the area where he wee's regularly! X
 
If you want to deep litter, I'd maybe think about using something other than shavings...

I have mine on deep litter now as he wees for england and I was spending a fortune on bedding... I started by putting in the occasional bale of megazorb or rape/miscanthus, and have now migrated to wood pellets with the occasional bale of rape thrown in.

It really has to be something that is quite absorbent I've found... I really rate megazorb, and with my previous lad, used to have a shavings bed, and put megazorb in the wee patch. Whatever bedding I have down, if I'm 'deep littering', I take out the wet either once a week, or when it reaches the top of the bed. And as the name implies it must be deep or it just becomes a widdly mess! When I've turned the bed or put a lot of new bedding in, I bribe someone to help me walk all over the bed and compact it down :D
 
Thankyou - we are to moving to easi bed - does anyone have any experience of deep littering with that? It seems more absorbent than shavings but only just started using it...
 
Put dry wood pellets in the wet area and cover with a thin layer of shavings, they will absorb all the wee alot better.

Does the floor slope one way or another and if it does then maybe make a channel out of the wall to allow the wee to run away outside if that is possible.
 
Mrs_Wishkabibble said:
Put dry wood pellets in the wet area and cover with a thin layer of shavings, they will absorb all the wee alot better.

Does the floor slope one way or another and if it does then maybe make a channel out of the wall to allow the wee to run away outside if that is possible.
Click to expand...

I think there is a bit of a 'well' in the lay of the concrete where it gets so wet. There is no slope or drainage :(

Wood pellets is something we hadn't considered and sounds like it may help
 
I've never got on with deep litter on shavings. It's almost like they are too absorbent so the clean shavings suck the wet from the shavings below them....hence always a bit squelchy :(

On a concrete floor I find the best deep litter is a thin layer of shavings with straw on top. The wet tends to drain through the straw.
 
glamourpuss said:
I've never got on with deep litter on shavings. It's almost like they are too absorbent so the clean shavings suck the wet from the shavings below them....hence always a bit squelchy :(

On a concrete floor I find the best deep litter is a thin layer of shavings with straw on top. The wet tends to drain through the straw.
Click to expand...

Yeah that seems to be what's happening - new shavings getting wet as soon as he stands on them...

We are thinking about getting some megazorb tomorrow
 
We deep litter on shavings. We find putting more bedding down less often helps. So we put two bags in a week on say a Saturday. Rather than a bag in on Saturday and one on Wednesday. It seems to work better that way.
 
I deep litter easi bed and find it much better than shavings. It stays put better so your top layer keeps separate from the wet underneath as long as you keep topped up.
 
I find deep littering on straw easy, shavings aren't so easy unless you've got a relatively clean beastie. Just wondering if he wees while you are in the stable with him, if so its always worth catching what you can if you can!:eek:
 
Hi I've got a really messy mare who was costing a fortune in shavings, I am a bit anal about a clean looking bed. I now deep litter with wood pellets (aqua max ) and put shavings in top . I put s bale of shavings in on a Sunday & top up the wood pellets as required usually a bag every 2 weeks . I love it it smells clean, the deep littered bit is really comfy & doesn't move so she doesn't end up on the concrete. X
 
Have deep littered for years - straw mainly, also paper, and when we had sawdust available from joiner, used that to great effect. Would never think of any other system! In fact we now barn all horses , and the 'extras' live in small indoor school [woodchips]
My tip would be to get it really deep- if you can start with a layer of cheap sawdust do so, then either shavings or something else on top. drainage does sound to be against you , so perhaps fill in hollows and get a proper fall on the bed next summer?
 
I semi deep litter with all my beds from straw to shavings and everything in between, I'm using SafeMix and Allpro at the moment as it was on offer.

The trick is a really really deep bed to begin with and don't be tempted to move the wet until the weekend at least, pack the wet stuff down and throw more bedding on top during the week.

I have a couple of seriously wet ponies and both are fine on really deep beds, minimum 6 inches to be honest. Megazorb is IMO the top bedding to use underneath any other bedding for deep litter and if I can get it cheap I grab some bags and use it just in the pee areas.
 
Mrs_Wishkabibble said:
Put dry wood pellets in the wet area and cover with a thin layer of shavings, they will absorb all the wee alot better.

Does the floor slope one way or another and if it does then maybe make a channel out of the wall to allow the wee to run away outside if that is possible.
Click to expand...

This is what i do. i did litter on shavings and any regular weeing spots get wood pellets put on/in them as they work just like cat litter - brilliant!
 
The bed isn't deep enough.

I deep litter and they have a base about 2 inches thick and then 5 inches of clean shavings on top, with banks. Most days I just skip out poop and fluff up bed but a few times a week bed goes up on banks and I take out any humps in the base, on of them likes to wee in the same patch and it can get humpy. With that I will only use two/three bales a month each.
 
Thankyou everyone for your experience and suggestions!

Once you have the deep litter slightly bouncy solid base down, how thick do you have the top layer?

Should we disturb the deep litter so we can mix it up with the new? Or should we leave it be, squelchy or not?

We would have to be adding 3-4 bales a week to keep a nice deep top layer!

This really is important to Mac and us, as the people we are buying off are concerned about his bed, and on those grounds are thinking about backing out of the sale,,,,,,,
 
I don't disturb the base layer - only when it gets dug out bi-annually and the whole stable scrubbed and disinfected. Sometimes I scrape off the top (moveable) bit if it gets rancid and then replace with three fresh bales to keep it nice. I also skip out everytime I see a poo which helps.

The base layer in both at the moment is about 4" deep with about 6" of clean dry bed ontop. You wouldn't know they were deep littered unless you dug into them as they don't smell and are dry.

I've never experience a "squelchy" base layer? I'd scrape the squelchy bit off without disturbing the solid base - a snow shovel is better than a fork for this as it causes less disturbance.
 
I use Easibed the trick is to start off with a deep bed, mine is about 6 inches deep maybe more. I just pick the poo out every day, and dig down to get the worst if the wet out every fortnight, and add 1 to 2 bags then. I don't usually add anything in between as I poo pick using gloves so I don't take any bedding out at all, friends who use shaving forks to muck out tend to take out bits of bedding so generally use more of it than me.

I have used lay-eze in the past, which is also a woodchip bedding and I preferred that as it was more absorbent but there are no stockists near me and I have no storage so can't buy any bedding in bulk.
 
I was wondering that.
Of all the things to be concerned about when selling your horse I would put the bed fairly low on
the list.
 
ribbons said:
I was wondering that.
Of all the things to be concerned about when selling your horse I would put the bed fairly low on
the list.
Click to expand...

As would I but it seems to be of paramount importance to them :confused:

We have been trying very hard to do everything right by the big man, and have researched and asked advice before making any changes, so can't think of anything else we have done/not done which would cause them to want to back out. We are having lessons with a BHSI and are in the process of organising back man, saddle fitter and dentist, which he has not had in the last 6 years.
 
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