Weekly deep littering - best/cheapest bedding to use?

[Fifty Bales of Hay]

I am considering changing my routine to deep littering, daily poo picking and mucking out to the bottom once a week, but unsure what is the best bedding to use.

It must be very absorbent as my horse is very wet, he's also a bit of a "stirrer" of beddings, so want something that will stay pretty stable, but not too much to lift or break up when I do the weekly muck out to the bottom.

Currently use wood pellets, which are great for the wet, but I am putting in 3 x bags (10KG) every week - maybe this is normal?

Economy obviously comes into play too, so don't want to be adding too much new each week.

How deep does the bed have to be, and how many bales/bags will I need to start off a 12 x 12 stable?

 

[Irishbabygirl]

Can you try this routine on your current bedding as you've already put it down - I will try this once mine start coming in, but I'm lucky enough to still have them out as stacks of grass, space, no mud, dry field and natural shelter as surrounded by woods. I'm on miscanthas so will try it with that...

 

[npage123]

I've recently started using Eco Comfybed, instead of shavings, (on top of rubber matting). My horse is very wet and drags his feet in the stable. I don't like using a deep litter shavings bed, and a thinner shavings bed (where most of the bed is removed every day) was too expensive and didn't stay dry enough on top.

With Comfybed (providing you start and keep the bed thick enough) the top surface stays nice and dry. I initially put down 7 bags (of 25kg each) on top of the matting in his 12 x 12 stable, and this created a massive, deep bed, including banks.

After a 'big' weekly muck out (where you scrape off the drier bedding and take out the very dark and soaked bedding at the bottom), I can get away with adding less than 1 new bag.

The daily pooh-removal does take some getting used to, as the bedding is heavier than shavings, and you are better off using a shavings fork with small gaps between the prongs.

The Comfybed definitely provides a much firmer, heavier bed in all. To stand on, it does feel like a firm mattress underneath your feet. My horse hasn't yet managed to get 'holes' in his bed during the night! If I didn't have rubber matting, I would still definitely stick to Comfybed, because it really provides nice cushioning.

It's worth a try, as it's cheaper than shavings, so you won't loose any money by giving it a go.

http://www.ecocomfybed.co.uk/using_comfybed.html

 

[CBFan]

I really like the rape staw beddings - rapport or bedsoft BUT I have just gone back to doing a full muck out daily, having tried semi-deep litter with my boy who is quite a big piddler!! he's 17.2hh in a 12 x 12 stable so it is no wonder he doesn't always keep his bed particularly tidy, but it was getting really smelly and horid on a deep litter system which I really hated, so have gone back to a slightly thinner bed and full muck out daily. Much better!

 

[Bojingles]

Ever since I had a proper filthy mucky mare I've done what you're proposing; I call it Deep Litter Lite .

After much experimenting I've come up with the following. I also have a 12x12 stable:

- decent rubber matting to cover the whole stable
- 3 bales of decent shavings to start the bed off
- make high banks
- skip out every day, (removing any visible wet as well as droppings) scoop some fresh shavings from the banks for a fresh topping
- dig the wet out once a week

Doing it this way my girl always has a clean, comfy, warm bed and I only buy a bale of shavings once a fortnight; that's all you need if you make the banks high enough in the first place, and the bedding needn't be so deep cos of the rubber matting.

 

[Fifty Bales of Hay]

Thanks for the replies, I will look into whether I can use the wood pellets I've already got as a base, with maybe another layer of a "non-moving" upper layer of another type of bedding. I have had him on shavings before and he just buried and turned it all over making a right mess and an hour to muck out. So not sure on putting him back on shavings.

I have rubber matting on the floor. The comfybed or oil rape straw might work on the top. Is the comfybed like easi-bed? I used that before but not absorbent enough, but it didn't move much, so might be worth trying a bag or two.

Must phone feed suppliers see what they are currently stocking, as I'll not be wanting to order a pallet full just a few bags to trial it.

 

[scarymare]

I had this dilema with last foaling.

I built a 24 x 15 box which eventually I ended up putting down on hardcore (long story). Rubber matting is hopeless foaling, just gets really slippy with all the goo. What I did was deep litter straw. I'd never heard of it before but looked up on google and got referred to posts on here. Basically you just put in a deep straw bed and take out the surface poo only, the rest compacts and forms a base which rots down and provides heat in winter. You need to put enough straw down to make surface nice and dry but at £10 per big bale this is pretty easy. I don't know if this would work on mats though. What I found was

Good things

1. Incredibly cheap (£40 for a whole winter)
2. Very good in winter
3. Two very good foalings
4. Uber quick to muck out
5. Looks so cosy you want to get in there too.

Bad things

1. Not so great in summer, seem to get lots of flies
2. Base builds up and one of my mares is really tall
3. When you do muck out the base its a b**** nightmare. (some people never muck out though)

However, if I had a decent size hayshed and could store big bale straw I think I would go for this. I'm about to build a new yard and intend to make sure I can muck out with a tractor for this reason!!!

 

[ihatework]

To be honest, the best thing I've found for horses that stir up the bed is straw.

I used to have a very dirty horse who I used the wood pellets as a base with straw on top.

I'd skip the straw out daily and add a couple of slices a day. Then at the weekend, lift the bed, shovel out the sodden wood pellets put down a new bag and 1/2-1 bale of fresh straw.

It took me lot's of trial and error to get to that, but worked best for that particular horse.

 

[CBFan]

Ever since I had a proper filthy mucky mare I've done what you're proposing; I call it Deep Litter Lite .

After much experimenting I've come up with the following. I also have a 12x12 stable:

- decent rubber matting to cover the whole stable
- 3 bales of decent shavings to start the bed off
- make high banks
- skip out every day, (removing any visible wet as well as droppings) scoop some fresh shavings from the banks for a fresh topping
- dig the wet out once a week

Doing it this way my girl always has a clean, comfy, warm bed and I only buy a bale of shavings once a fortnight; that's all you need if you make the banks high enough in the first place, and the bedding needn't be so deep cos of the rubber matting.

A lot of the above REALLY depends on the individual horse...your mare sounds pretty clean to me. PLEASE tell me how you managed to make a bed with big banks with just 3 bales of shavings though??? I use 5 or 6 bales of shavings / any bedding in the banks alone...

 

[MillionDollar]

Flax is amazing, only needed one bale per week per horse, but then the price went up to around £9 Shame as it really was fab!

We now use straw pellets under shavings. Use half a bag of straw pellets and half a bale of shavings per horse per week, so works out at around £5. I use this for two that are in 24/7 and five that are in for 18 hours, some are really wet and dirty.

 

[Bojingles]

A lot of the above REALLY depends on the individual horse...your mare sounds pretty clean to me. PLEASE tell me how you managed to make a bed with big banks with just 3 bales of shavings though??? I use 5 or 6 bales of shavings / any bedding in the banks alone...

Um, I could maybe take some pics? . Maybe my idea of big banks also differs from yours?

 

[angel7]

I too found straw the best for deep littering a messy bed digger.
This was the way most horses were kept years ago.
Unbelievably cheap compared to other types of bedding, I found 2 X £15 big bales lasted 8 weeks for 16.2h heavywight mare in 24/7.
I started with about half the bale and unrolled it straight onto the bed without shaking it all out and layered it up to about 1.5 feet deep. I put the rest of the bale in as enormous banks up to about my chest height. When I stuck my fork in hard it didn't touch the floor.
Sprinkled liberally with bicarbonate of soda (for smell) and a little curry powder to stop her eating it.
Skipped out daily lifted out the poo by hand by lifting the straw and tipping the poo into the barrow without disturbing the base at all. Added some from the banks onto the base everyday and from a new bale after about 3 weeks so banks stayed replenished.
Lasted 6 weeks before I noticed a bit of a squelch underfoot so I ran the bed down by not putting anymore in and did full muckout after 2 further weeks. (mare drank 55 litres a day!!)
Bed was warm dry and cosy, did not appears dusty or smelly and horse stayed clean too.

 

[BWa]

I miss my deep litter straw! I found the best way was a layer of easibed or even shavings at the bottom to start the soak up and then just keep adding the straw. I only picked up the poo and probably put down half a thin flap from a big bale a day once it was fairly deep. It was amazing, solid, warm and dry. I gave up when the beast developed a cough and went to rubber mats and shavings which, in hindsight, is no less dusty and far more of a faff.
A bit of a bugger to muck out in spring, I was glad of the loader to save me pushing a million barrows.

 

[xRobyn]

Eco Comfybed. I lay 6 bags to begin with, take out the wet every 5th day (I don't always have the same days off work) and replace with a new bag. It doesn't move and is as deep as it looks (unlike shavings/straw which I find may look deep but as soon as you step on them they compress!)

 

[Venevidivici]

We use (after trying quite a few others) Bliss bedding. It was the next best thing to Aubiose,which went up to over £11 a bale from our suppliers .Bliss is very similar to Aubiose(even better than Hemcore,which we were told was identical!) and is £6.50 a bake (in bulk) from our suppliers. We'd probably put about 8 bales in a 12x12 stable to start a bed(I like big beds) or mix it with whatever u have down now(paper,shavings,whatever). We take the wet out once a week and put one new bale in per wk,when wet taken out. The 2dirtiest/wettest/messiest horses sometimes needs 1 extra bale in every 3 or 4weeks (on top of the regular weekly one). Staff&liveries like it. V minimal odour,easy to work,not heavy,poo stays 'on top', doesn't sink down like with shavings. We use the Bliss Basic. (The citronella and other type were more expensive and they all tried to eat the citronella one-weird horses!)

 

[NooNoo59]

I would have thought shavings. I have moved back to straw for the winter, but put rubber mats down in the summer so have now found that the mats have got all squelchy dont dry out like the floor use to when i had no mats last winter, so it is going to get smelly!! Thinking I might put a base layer of shavings on the wet patch and top with straw, pain to muck out though!

 

[Venevidivici]

Oops,forgot to say,we have rubber mats over the whole of the stable too.

 

[Amaranta]

I really like the rape staw beddings - rapport or bedsoft BUT I have just gone back to doing a full muck out daily, having tried semi-deep litter with my boy who is quite a big piddler!! he's 17.2hh in a 12 x 12 stable so it is no wonder he doesn't always keep his bed particularly tidy, but it was getting really smelly and horid on a deep litter system which I really hated, so have gone back to a slightly thinner bed and full muck out daily. Much better!

Me too, all of mine are on rape straw (Bedsoft) and I semi deep litter it, taking the wet out every 3rd day or so, works a treat and does not break the bank either

 

[CBFan]

Me too, all of mine are on rape straw (Bedsoft) and I semi deep litter it, taking the wet out every 3rd day or so, works a treat and does not break the bank either

Yes Bedsoft is a great price at the moment isn't it?! To be honest I'm using that most of the time but if I can get any 'wet' bedding from my supplier at just £4 I grab that - as long as it is decent stuff so his bed is a bit of a mixture at the mo!