which bedding and why?

tonkers77

tonkers77

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Hi my boy is on straw bedding - which is what I have always used - past and present, wondered what bedding yours are on and why??
I was considering shavings and rubber matting but my supplier put me off by saying rubber matting can be a pain by keeping (pee) stuck underneath etc . . :o
 
I have always used straw up until about 2 years ago. My girl is very wet so I found that being able to deep litter saved me time and I didnt leave the yard smelly of wee. I only used 1 bag of shavings every 2 weeks too. However am trying to save money and so am thinking of going back on straw. Shavings are £8 a bag and straw is about £2.50.
 
mine is currently on shavings. at the yard i am on you have to use either shavings or straw, i have gone for shavings because marco is cleaner on shavings and i prefer to muck it out and straw is often dustier whereas the shavings are dust free.

we aren't allowed mats at the yard im on which is a pain, i would definately have mats if if had the option.

as long as the mats are properly fitted with no gaps you won't have a problem with them, they are a godsend, you save so much on bedding!
 
thank you! He should be going out soon so will be looking at it for this winter when he in again - my muck heap is massive, I must admit it could be less as probably could save a quarter of what I throw out. Do you use just shavings? if yeah how many bags do you use when bed is new down?? :rolleyes:
 
I use bliss. Easy to muck out, light to work with, very absorbant, biodegrades quickly. I semi deep litter which suits me. A deep comfortable bed on a rubber matting. He does tend to dig holes in the middle of a normal bed and ends up om bare concrete, never does it on bliss. In fact I think a waste of money if you muck out wet every day as really absorbatant.

Jane
 
I also use straw - because I'm on a farm where we have our own straw, so I get it for free :) Also because I find straw always makes a nice bed (normally one that I wouldn't mind curling up in myself!) However I do have to make sure that I use wheat straw, as my gelding tends to eat it if it is barley.
 
i have mats and was using mats and straw but my stable floor isn't that flat so i was getting horrible yukky puddles of wee so i got rid of the mats and instead just put a layer of shavings under the straw. only use 1 bale of shavings every 10 ish days and use slightly less straw as well
 
I used to use shavings up til this winter, but cost was ridiculous. Now im using paper (£3.00 for 20kgs from local recycle centre) with rubber matting, and would never go back to anything else. Only took about 3-4 bags to start a good bed, and now use one bag a week topping it up with old papers and magazines from home. has dropped my bedding bill by about 2/3rds.

My rubber matting isnt smelly, but i leave the bed up in the day to let the mats dry out. on days that he's stabled i leave the wet paper in from the night before as a pee patch, which gets taken out when i skip out that evening.

In my experience, rubber matting only smells when its used on poorly draining floors, or laid upside down (with the drainage channels on the top, and nobbles on the bottom). I've only had to pull mine up once since i laid them in June 2010, and that was because i decided i wanted to move them around; there were no puddles underneath at all.
 
Aubiose and I'd still use it if it was double the price. Mine is out by day, in at night during the winter, wees for England and will eat an entire straw bed overnight. Being old with creaky joints a nice thick warm bed is important. For 6 out of 7 days I pick up 2 or 3 poos, tidy the bed and banks and that's it. On the 7th day I take out one full barrow of wet as well. My contribution to the muck heap is minute, it rots quickly (shavings can still be recognisable 5 years down the line) saves me loads of time (important as I keep her 17 miles from home and 11 miles from work) plus even when it is completely soaked it isn't heavy and I suffer from horrible low back problems. It also deodorizes so when the wet is disturbed there is no foul stink to contend with. It packs down to a cork-like base so doesn't slip about and isn't easily broken through with a hoof. I use half a bale a week compared to up to 3 of shavings for the same period. No contest!
 
Mine are deep littered on Megazorb and shavings. I put 2-3 bags of Megazorb at the bottom and 2 bags of shavings on top to start the bed off, then add another 2 bags of shavings couple of days later. From then on, they get a bale of shavings a week and a bag of Megazorb every 3 weeks.
 
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