Wood Pellet Bedding - Frozen Big Lumps!

measles

measles

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A few of us recently (about 6 weeks ago) put down wood pellet beds and now that the temp is really cold the beds are freezing into huge hard lumps or alternatively flat and rock hard. The bedding that has been added has been dry so it's not as if it's the soaked pellets that are freezing. Stables are meticulously mucked out and wet patches attended to so can't be too wet.

Anyone else had this problem as if we can't sort it we're all going back to shavings..?
 
I went over to wood pellets this year too and must say they have been fine in terms of not freezing, but stables are in a barn and whilst we have had snow I know the temperatures here have not been as extreme as in some parts of the country. I can't quite get used to the idea of soaking it though, just seems odd...

Only problem is all the taps are frozen, so water for buckets AND for soaking the pellets now has to be brought from the house!
 
I use wood pellets and as it is -13 at night at the moment I know what you mean. On my beds which are established the frozen lumps are the top of the wet bits so I just take them out. The only bits that will freeze are the bits that have moisture in them. My mare is really clean and parts of her bed are still really fluffy my boy is an absolute minger so there are lots more frozen lumps in his bed but I just pick out as many as possible and wait for the temp to rise a bit more so I can have a better muck out and top up for both of them.
 
Thanks, all. It's been -13deg here all day and the ones I kept on shavings are fine so I think I'm just going to go back to them. Soaking pellets takes too much time as well and I find with the mares I'm using as many £££'s worth as I was on shavings which are much simpler.
 
We've had up to -15 at night and although I am getting some frozen lumps in my pellets it's not too bad, they just sieve through the fork and I throw them out. I haven't put any new ones down yet though as only just converted last week!
 
i use pellets and they are freezing slightly its aquamax i use, i muck out for someone using a different kind and they are freezing up more but shavings are also freezing up
on a plus side the poo is also frozen and making mucking out much easier
 
Im topping up with dry pellets. It does seem a bit like Im asking horse to sleep on a gravel driveway but by the following morning he has stomped around enough for them to break down. No frozen bed so far but am loving the frozen poo!
 
measles said:
Thanks, all. It's been -13deg here all day and the ones I kept on shavings are fine so I think I'm just going to go back to them. Soaking pellets takes too much time as well and I find with the mares I'm using as many £££'s worth as I was on shavings which are much simpler.
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Just put shavings on the top then.

What are you soaking them for? Giant faff all that soaking lark:)

Just chuck em down and mix em in. Job done.
 
Source we got them from and who put the beds down said we had to soak them unless applying them to a pee patch..? Had twigged we could put them straight down but find they take forever to break down that way.

Not that keen, to be honest, though I thought I would be...
 
I use neds beds which are straw pellets and there's no soaking!! Best bedding i've ever used. Quick, easy and gives a lovely bed! Not frozen at all
 
andrewandthehorse said:
Leave the pellets guys.. Chopped rape straw is much better, no freezing easy to pick out etc etc give it a go my fave is Bliss
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I used to be on Dixons dustless. Is that like the same sort of thing? Lovely stuff to muck out actually now I think on it. Next year I might switch back now I can do things like that.
 
I can only think that you are using way too much water to damp the pellets - if you allow them to absorb a small amount of urine, they shouldn't freeze.
 
you dont always need to wet the pellets and in weather like this i tend not to, if you leave a small amount of wet in not a lot but mix the pellets with it then the little bit of moisture in it will fluff them up slightly and you shouldnt get the same problem, the other thing you can do is add half a bale of sahvings a week which helps keep it fluffier
 
I too don't soak before adding. It keeps the whole bed dry. Very minus here night and most of today and no freezing bed problems and if its costing you more with pellets than shavings you are certainly doing something very wrong.

Am loving the frozen pooh too, much easier to take out.

Think pellets are like marmite, except unlike marmite they take some getting used to, but once you are :)
 
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