straw as beding - how long does it last - how much do you use?

[johannapage]

as title says -

just researching bits

how much straw do u use to make a nice bed, and how long does it last? less time than shavings??

sorry for all the q's 2nite!!

xx x

 

[MizElz]

I have a 12x12 stable, and it took me 4 little bales to start the bed off, followed by another one the next day once it had all settled. I now get through 2-3 bales a week, dependent on weather - when it's damp, I use more straw than when it's dry or frosty, as the bed is certainly affected by weather conditions!

Deffo cheaper than shavings, and a far nicer bed IMO

 

[_unregistered_]

Hi, I think it depends on what type of straw you buy, one of my horses was ok on straw, the other who is extremely wet and dirty was not, I was getting through 10 bales per week between 2 of them and it was hard work mucking out each day.

I've changed to bliss - best thing I ever done.

 

[Lordy100]

I use one big round bale for two horses every fortnight. I put load in on Sunday and don't refill until following weekend. My beds are quite deep and my stables big 14x14 and I am pretty sure that when bored both of mine eat the straw.

 

[CVSHotShot]

We use round bale straw and every night add a tiny bit more just to keep on top of it...we've only used one bale since start of sept for two horses (One who is rather disgusting in his bed)! lol

I love straw...think its very cosy!

x

 

[johannapage]

hmmm - may change him then as there is a straw man who lives round the corner fro, me!

how much do u usually pay for straw compared to shavuings?

shavings are about£8 by us

 

[sea_view]

What is the dung heap like tho, is it not massive compared to a shavings heap?

X

 

[laura05]

We use 1 big bale a week between 5. They were started up with big thick beds then just top up with a little every day
We get round bales delivered for £10 .When i used shavings i was using 2 a week at £7 each !!

 

[0]

I get through 1 small bale a day, but because good quality straw is hard to come by, you should prepare to pay the extra for good stuff. Buying the larger bales saves a few pennies but if you dont have a place to store it then I wouldnt recommned.
Price of straw is about £70 per tonne, delivered

 

[LOZHUG]

We get the massive bales which are about £30 but they last us ages. I put a builders yard sack half full or sometimes full every few days depending how dirty my lad has been.

Mess wise - Poo and wet go in diff areas and wet gets burnt so only a poo heap.

 

[LindaW]

I use a large square barley straw between 4 in 8/9 days, thats with huge fluffy beds, costs £12.50 per bale, and a fiver for delivery so we order 4 at a time.

 

[LankyDoodle]

You need a really good thick bed to start with. I experimented at first. I have sealed mats down and so I tried half bed, full bed quite thin because he is so wet and was box walking as he wasn't settled, then settled for a thick bed in most of the box, just leaving nothing around the door and his water. He poos in tis area, conveniently, so it's brill (but he always did poo in this area - he just always walked it round before).

I deep litter. I take out the poo and visible/very bad wet daily, leaving a layer of wet to rot down under a very thick, dry top layer.

I buy a big bale from a farmer friend for £12. It is good straw and I put in one wheelbarrow a day (very big wheelbarrow). The bale has about 10 bales in it and it lasts anything from 4 weeks up, depending how wet he has been and if I have taken the deep litter out like I did last week.

Quite economical I think!

 

[Swift08]

I had half ton straw bales and went through one about every 2 months and he is quite dirty. I put in about a section every 3 days and it cost £10 to buy. I have no choice about keeping him on straw as he gets very itchy on shaving and goes bald

 

[Chex]

I used to use a wee bale a fortnight, but that was chopped and mucked out meticulously. Now its about a bale a week.

 

[sarahhelen1977]

I use about 1/2 bale per day for my boy that is in about 22hrs a day, a bit less for the other chap who is out 8am-4pm - our small bales cost £1.50 now

 

[dieseldog]

I use a flap a night so a bale lasts about 10 days. Last year it was £1 a bale, this year it has gone up to £2.50

 

[johannapage]

thanks guys - yet again you have all been very helpful!

have my big bale arriving 2moro along with my hay (my ex is farmer and we still get on great!!)

see how this goes!

 

[LankyDoodle]

Any chance your ex could become your current interest? That could be quite handy

 

[moneypit1]

Our muck heap is quite large but I have it removed at the end of winter by local farmer. We have 5 horses mind you. The farmers round here will take straw but not keen on shavings as it takes longer to rot down, the straw muck they use on the stubble fields. Straw is definately cheaper, I get a large bale (equivalent of 10 small bales) for £17.00 and this lasts a week.

 

[jesterfaerie]

I get 1/2 of a big bale every 3 weeks or so at £15. Which works out at about 7-8 small bales.
He is very wet and dirty and gets one section every 3 days or so but the bed is still very big and deep.
I think I used 1/4 of a big bale initially.

 

[Persephone]

I pay £ 2.80 for a small bale of barley straw. My stable is 15 x 15 so I started it off with six bales. I have huge banks and I would say that 13 x 15 of the box is bedded at roughly 1 foot deep . I generally do a full muck out each day and put back in 1 maybe 2 bales per week.

 

[Vicki1986]

im a shavings fan - but switched to straw as pony prefers it far more and its cheaper. we use the huge bales think they are called hessians?! but in small bales i prob go through 1-2 a week on an already established bed - thats deep with big banks. YM takes 1 large wheelbarrow out a day, and at the weekend i take out 3 small ones on saturday (incl bank dig out) then 1-1.5 wheelbarrows on the sunday.
i find it takes me longer to do than a shavings bed, bcos my mare is SO clean on shavings.
it does smell more so i give the matting a good Jeyes scrub every now and then, and when i can afford it i buy a tub of the antibacterial nice smelling powder [sorry name gone out of my head] which is about 20-25 and sprinkl that down, tub lasts about month or two using sporadically and does make a difference.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

Straw is used on our yard, it is a cheap option, straw being about £1.40 a bale against around £7 a bale for shavings. We tried it but it didn't suit us & we're back on shavings. The one thing to be prepared for is you will have a massive muck heap using straw.

 

[SunSmile]

My pony is in a 10x10 box on straw, i started the bed off with 2 bales and add one a week. She is deep littered throughout the week and then on my day off it all comes out and i add a new bale. Seems to work quite well as she isnt too dirty.

 

[eoe]

I have 12x14 stables and it takes 2 bales of Barley Straw I don't use banks anymore, to start a bed off and then one horse uses 1 bale a week top up and the other uses 2 bales per week as he is dirty boy. With Barley Straw if you pick up the poo it falls off the straw and is a lot easier and less wasteful to muck out, I tried Wheat straw once, never again, any my boys don't eat the Barley straw. I have been using it for over 30 years. I only pay £1.80 a bale for my straw.

 

[sammiea]

i'm very luckly that hubby is a farmer so we bale our own straw and it is uber cheap

how much to start a bed will depend on what straw it is and the quality (and the chop of it) our combine is older and make lovely straw the newer ones tend to break the straw up more.
I only need 2 standard small bales to make a big bed in a 12 x 12 with banks and then i used a bale on a weekend when i take wet out. During will i'll prob use 2 sections every other day to cover up wet.