Deep-littering with sawdust?

[Frans]

For the past few winters I’ve kept my ponies on a straw, deep-litter system which worked fantastically. The bed stayed dry and smell-free very quickly, there was very little waste and the ponies had a good thick warm bed to sleep on. This year I have had to change to sawdust and I’m not brave enough to try deep littering in the same way. Does it work as well as straw? Any tips?

 

[Mike007]

Sawdust as opposed to woodshavings? Sawdust can be heating and damage hooves.

 

[poiuytrewq]

How about wood pellets?

 

[Frans]

Sawdust as opposed to woodshavings? Sawdust can be heating and damage hooves.

Its bigger than sawdust and smaller than shavings. Its a mix of different woods and supposedly for horses. I'm on a learning curve having always used straw before!

 

[Frans]

How about wood pellets?

Do they work much better/differently?

 

[AFB]

I deep litter on fine shavings (can't remember what they're called) and works fine for me, I just dig out the wet patch (tends to wee in the same place) every so often when I can see it is wet and no longer absorbing to avoid it spreading around the bed too much.

 

[tristar]

would never use sawdust its an irritant to the lungs.

 

[Horsekaren]

Do they work much better/differently?

i am a new convert to pellets, i use to deep litter on shavings but by boy was so wet it would be soaked within a 4 days. He doeskin stick to one place so was working out so expensive.

I now deep litter on pellets, its amazing, really absorbent, i put 5 new bags down on the weekend at £4.00, its all still dry and i have banked it up again to air, hoping 2 more bags next weekend and once ive got it sussed it will work out cheaper

But as i said my boy is crazy wet! for a normal horse i recon after the initial outlay you prob will only need 1 -2 bags a week so much much cheaper

 

[poiuytrewq]

As above! Yeah I think they are pretty good for deep littering. I personally remove a forkful of wee each day as current horse on them is very wet but previously I've deep littered really successfully. You do need a good deep bed though I think for it to work.

 

[Horsekaren]

As above! Yeah I think they are pretty good for deep littering. I personally remove a forkful of wee each day as current horse on them is very wet but previously I've deep littered really successfully. You do need a good deep bed though I think for it to work.

When you remove the wee do you just take the top stuff off?
i go to remove the bottom as i expect it to have soaked through and its all still dry :/ im use to the wet being at the bottom but am i right in thinking its on the top?
im still getting to grips with it!

 

[Clodagh]

When I was a child all our horses, hunters included, were deep littered on sawdust from willow trees. It worked really well, take poo out every time you walk past and just rake a bit in from the banks to cover skanky bits, or take a bit of them out if you wish. Once a week put the bed up, take the wet out and then put down again later. I suppose that is not proper deep litter but it worked really well.

 

[poiuytrewq]

When you remove the wee do you just take the top stuff off?
i go to remove the bottom as i expect it to have soaked through and its all still dry :/ im use to the wet being at the bottom but am i right in thinking its on the top?
im still getting to grips with it!

I know exactly where it is so scrape back a bit on top and remove the wet (even then not all just literally a fork full) then replace bedding.
Recently I had a horse on box rest and deep littered completely because he needed a deep bed and wee'd in random places. He was in for 3 weeks along with a pony friend in the same box. No wet ever became visible and it was really weird to muck out. There was still a dry layer compacted on the base that the wet had yet to reach!