Help with straw please!

[NellRosk]

So 2 winters ago I kept my two on straw and vowed to NEVER, EVER bed down on it again. Every night I was taking a wheelbarrow of wee sodden, poo trodden straw out of each stable and it just took me forever.

Anyway, I now find myself at a yard where I can buy a huge round bale very cheap and it will save me so much money if I use straw again. So does anyone have any tips? Does anyone deep litter/ semi deep litter? I need help please as I am dreading them coming in.. Both stables are rubber matted if that helps too!

TIA

 

[paulineh]

I always put a layer of shavings or such then the straw. The two will mix once they are stabled but it does help

 

[NellRosk]

I always put a layer of shavings or such then the straw. The two will mix once they are stabled but it does help

That's a good idea, to soak the wee up?

 

[shannonandtay]

yes and it does make a difference, this is what I did when mine was on straw, you don't need to use loads of shavings either and I didn't buy the most expensive brand as it was only to soak wee up underneath.

 

[SuperH]

I bed on straw, no shavings, no mats. I put down a very deep bed. Then the poo all falls through and is contained in nice neat piles even if they have a party in the stable. I take all the poo out every day, it doesn't take long you soon get the hang of finding it. I do two and it takes me 15 mins max for both. I fill one regular sized barrow between them. The wet drains away as the floors slope, generally I leave it alone and then take all the wet out once a week. Last winter I experimented with leaving the wet longer, upto 4 weeks. Worked quite well as long as you keep putting fresh straw on top to keep the bed deep. You can still lay in it after that time without feeling any damp or any smell. Only issue is taking it out is a bigger job, I get my husband to do it with a forklift!

If you skimp on the straw I find I have to take out a huge amount more, I have one that always tramples her bed to death so deep beds work best for her.

 

[NellRosk]

Ahh thanks SuperH, very helpful. Do you not find with really deep beds that you have to go 'digging' for the poo? Or does it all drop down easily enough when you flick the clean straw up?

 

[Janovich]

I bed on straw, no shavings, no mats. I put down a very deep bed. Then the poo all falls through and is contained in nice neat piles even if they have a party in the stable. I take all the poo out every day, it doesn't take long you soon get the hang of finding it. I do two and it takes me 15 mins max for both. I fill one regular sized barrow between them. The wet drains away as the floors slope, generally I leave it alone and then take all the wet out once a week. Last winter I experimented with leaving the wet longer, upto 4 weeks. Worked quite well as long as you keep putting fresh straw on top to keep the bed deep. You can still lay in it after that time without feeling any damp or any smell. Only issue is taking it out is a bigger job, I get my husband to do it with a forklift!

If you skimp on the straw I find I have to take out a huge amount more, I have one that always tramples her bed to death so deep beds work best for her.

This is pretty much exactly how I used to keep my last horse on a straw bed... and huge big bankings too that were pretty solid and I could walk on them to keep them in situ...but still be comfy enough to do their job!

Oh I really miss having a big straw bed, but unfortunately my little man can't go onto straw as he's a traddy cob with oodles of feather and the straw/harvest mites drive him mad and gives him the itchy's!

 

[NellRosk]

This is pretty much exactly how I used to keep my last horse on a straw bed... and huge big bankings too that were pretty solid and I could walk on them to keep them in situ...but still be comfy enough to do their job!

Oh I really miss having a big straw bed, but unfortunately my little man can't go onto straw as he's a traddy cob with oodles of feather and the straw/harvest mites drive him mad and gives him the itchy's!

I'll give this a go then! Hmm straw beds do look really cosy and inviting but I am actually dreading the prospect! Also my fat horse loves eating his bed so would love some tips on how to prevent this?! Someone once told me to mix the wee-ey straw with clean to deter him but to be honest I don't want a horse stinking of wee all winter. If he does really blow up from eating all his bed I will have to swap him to shavings!

 

[PolarSkye]

I have a messy horse (on straw) and have found that the only way to manage his bed is to make sure it is deep enough . . . the poo falls very easily between the prongs of a straw fork and you soon get to know where they "go" . . . on a shallow straw bed, Kali turns it to soup, but on a nice deep bed it stays clean and fluffy (by deep I mean about a foot). As for eating it, straw is much less calorific than hay - could you not cut his hay ration down a little to compensate? If you really don't want him eating it, try misting it with diluted Jeyes' fluid - it's supposed to make it unpalatable . . .

Lastly, Kali certainly doesn't stink of wee (because his bed is deep enough to keep him off the wet), I don't "do" smelly horses .

P

 

[NellRosk]

Thanks PS, I'll definitely try with a massive bed then! My huge round bale of straw has already been dropped off in front of my stable and R is already taking chunks out of it as he walks past... such a greedy boy! I was going to ration his hay anyway and soak it if it wasn't too much hassle and bother. And I think if I put Jeyes on then Rosk would probably see that as 'seasoning' and continue to eat it!

 

[Janovich]

Yep, definitely agree with the 'massively deep' bed,.. it may look HUGE initially, but it will soon bed down and find it's feet... Just keep topping it up!

As regards the 'eating of said bootifully big bed'... echo the spraying of Jeyes fluid, ..or even something like Tea Tree Oil made up into a spray,..or Lavender...just another couple of options for you there.

You may also like to try hanging him a small net of Straw up beside his own haynet to perhaps deter him from munching on his bed?? This has worked for me in the past!

 

[JillA]

A lot depends on whether your stable drains well or the wee pools under the bed. If it drains well straw will work fine, if not use a layer of absorbent bedding underneath and keep it as a base layer, just mucking out the straw layer. Wood pellets, chopped rape straw or miscanthus work well, mine is still there from last year, it becomes a good solid base in time, and for me, is an important part of each stable.

 

[Tnavas]

A well made deep litter bed is so time saving and cheap but you must do the job properly at the start.
First - cover the floor with a generous layer of garden lime, this neutralises ammonia, stopping the urine smell.

Next - a deep layer of sawdust, packed down well, this absorbs the urine and spreads it out deep down where it dries out.

Finally a deep bed of straw. Straw helps to stabilise the bed, looks nice and neatly holds droppings.

Care of deep litter. DO NOT DIG INTO IT remove droppings and tidy the straw, do not be tempted to dig out the wet, leave the real muck out to the end of winter. If you disturb the lower bed it will smell as urine exposed to air will develop the ammonia smell. Just remove droppings, and sprinkle a little fresh straw over the top.

One yard I worked in kept every horse on deep litter through the winter. Saved us a lot of time as the mucking out doubled through winter.

I know of some people who leave their beds in deep litter permanently.

 

[NellRosk]

Yep, definitely agree with the 'massively deep' bed,.. it may look HUGE initially, but it will soon bed down and find it's feet... Just keep topping it up!

As regards the 'eating of said bootifully big bed'... echo the spraying of Jeyes fluid, ..or even something like Tea Tree Oil made up into a spray,..or Lavender...just another couple of options for you there.

You may also like to try hanging him a small net of Straw up beside his own haynet to perhaps deter him from munching on his bed?? This has worked for me in the past!

Thanks Janovich, really good idea about the net of straw.. That might distract the fatty! Also like the idea of lavender and tea tree oils, should make him smell nice and fragrant if nothing else.

A lot depends on whether your stable drains well or the wee pools under the bed. If it drains well straw will work fine, if not use a layer of absorbent bedding underneath and keep it as a base layer, just mucking out the straw layer. Wood pellets, chopped rape straw or miscanthus work well, mine is still there from last year, it becomes a good solid base in time, and for me, is an important part of each stable.

They're in an old barn with a natural earth floor which would have done a fantastic job of soaking up wee but I rubber matted so it will probably just pool on top of the matts now so yes will put an absorbent layer down!

A well made deep litter bed is so time saving and cheap but you must do the job properly at the start.
First - cover the floor with a generous layer of garden lime, this neutralises ammonia, stopping the urine smell.

Next - a deep layer of sawdust, packed down well, this absorbs the urine and spreads it out deep down where it dries out.

Finally a deep bed of straw. Straw helps to stabilise the bed, looks nice and neatly holds droppings.

Care of deep litter. DO NOT DIG INTO IT remove droppings and tidy the straw, do not be tempted to dig out the wet, leave the real muck out to the end of winter. If you disturb the lower bed it will smell as urine exposed to air will develop the ammonia smell. Just remove droppings, and sprinkle a little fresh straw over the top.

One yard I worked in kept every horse on deep litter through the winter. Saved us a lot of time as the mucking out doubled through winter.

I know of some people who leave their beds in deep litter permanently.

Thanks Tnavas, I deep littered last year with hemp and I either didn't put enough down or the hemp wasn't very absorbent because by the end of winter it was all one big smelly mess! Silly question but how do I get the poos without digging? My gelding has an annoying habit of burying all his droppings so will have to go searching a bit!

 

[Tnavas]

Thanks Tnavas, I deep littered last year with hemp and I either didn't put enough down or the hemp wasn't very absorbent because by the end of winter it was all one big smelly mess! Silly question but how do I get the poos without digging? My gelding has an annoying habit of burying all his droppings so will have to go searching a bit!

Rather than point the fork downwards into the straw just slide it under the dropping and lift. We used to muck out the deep litter boxes with rubber gloves and a skip (bucket) just lift the dropping with a little straw around it, tip the dropping and dirty straw in the bucket and return the clean straw to the bed - was very quick to do.

 

[NellRosk]

Rather than point the fork downwards into the straw just slide it under the dropping and lift. We used to muck out the deep litter boxes with rubber gloves and a skip (bucket) just lift the dropping with a little straw around it, tip the dropping and dirty straw in the bucket and return the clean straw to the bed - was very quick to do.

Ahh thanks, will deffos try this!

 

[Queenbee]

So 2 winters ago I kept my two on straw and vowed to NEVER, EVER bed down on it again. Every night I was taking a wheelbarrow of wee sodden, poo trodden straw out of each stable and it just took me forever.

Anyway, I now find myself at a yard where I can buy a huge round bale very cheap and it will save me so much money if I use straw again. So does anyone have any tips? Does anyone deep litter/ semi deep litter? I need help please as I am dreading them coming in.. Both stables are rubber matted if that helps too!

TIA

Dont under do the bed, straw is fab, but a smaller bed does not a cleaner horse make, ben has just got thrush because he was on a fairly sizeable summer bed, but not content with his hay rations (one large haylage net) was topping his munchies off with his bed! as a result he was standing on wet and got thrush. Ive now popped his bed up to epic winter proportions and there is no difference between mucking out. I personally dont use shavings or pellets underneath, but have considered it in the past, however the straw we have this winter is lovely and there is a lot of chaff in it - looks a bit like that happy jack bedding, so i give it a good shake up and the chaff falls to the bottom of the bed and makes an excellent base to soak up any wet. over the years I have tried many approaches to straw bedding and still find that the best, cleanest and most time effective is a full daily muck out.

 

[SuperH]

I get the poos out with a shovel, just flick the top straw away and 'jump' the poo onto the shovel. No base layer disturbed. I let mine eat the bed, if I think they are eating too much I cut the hay ration down a bit, generally they just regulate themselves (and these are porky natives). I would rather they munched on straw all night than ate their hay in the first two hours and stood with nothing. Sometimes I mix the hay in with the straw banks, keeps them entertained for a while.

 

[NellRosk]

Thanks for the tips everyone!!