Wood pellet bedding - where am I going wrong?

[bounce]

I've recently changed from paper bedding to wood pellet after so many positive posts about the stuff on here. I have put down a corner bed on rubber matting.

The trouble I find is that by morning he has spread the wet bed around his stable (he is on box rest at the moment which doesn't help) and half the bed where he wees is very damp and beginning to smell. I seem to be taking more bedding out now than when I used paper. Surely that can't be right. Or am I being too fussy and when it looks brown taking it out when it could stay in for longer?

How deep do you guys have it and is there a good method of keeping it fresh. I try taking out the worst of the wet and mixing the rest of the dry in with the bed but by the next day I then have to take even more out as it all seems to be damp. I want to stick with it but at the moment I seem to be topping it up with a bag every 2 days or is this about right?

 

[Joss]

I think you probably need to start with a bit more bed, I have a half bed on my rubber mats and started with approx 6 to 8 bags plus some Nedz Bedz original around the edges to make the bank.

Each morning I take out the droppings pls about 3 shavings fork fulls of the worst of the wet & I then 'pull' dry bedding over the top of the remaining wet, i.e I am not as fussy with getting all the wet out as I used to be with shavings but I wouldnt say I mixed wet with dry.

Mine are out from 7.30am to 3.30pm plus ridden for an hour or so & I put in 1 bag every 5 to 7 days. I am sure you will need a bit more than this with a horse on box rest. Keep trying....

 

[letrec_fan]

Every 2 days is about right. Although, if you give a thicker bed in the first place it is better. It stops you having to take so much out -but make sure you do take it all out especially as he is on box rest. It will begin to smell and it is not good for him to be standing in it as he will get foot infections.

Never heard of wood pellet bedding but I use bedmax and it is fantastic as it is really absorbant. Maybe try that?

Laura.

 

[P4NN]

As Joss has said it sounds like you need a bit more bed?! Wood pellets like hemp type products work best as a deep litter so you also need to be less fussy when removing the wet but making sure your horse has new dry on top to stand on, especially as he is box rested at the mo. If you can do this then it is best to remove the whole lot every couple of months as the stable will need to be washed and disinfected etc..If you deep litter properly it shouldnt smell but it will be heavey when you do remove it!!

 

[bounce]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will try putting more in and then I guess I will also have more dry to pull over the top.

Where he constantly box walks I guess it also makes it looks worse than it actually is as he just spreads the wet around.

Roll on another 3 weeks when I can let him out for a few hours a day!

 

[letrec_fan]

In my opinion you shouldn't deep litter. I think its horrible and it does start to smell of ammonia from the wee thats left in there. Thats just my opinion tho. I have known horses to get thrush from being deep littered or given very little bed.


Laura and Pete.

 

[Chico Mio]

[ QUOTE ]
In my opinion you shouldn't deep litter. I think its horrible and it does start to smell of ammonia from the wee thats left in there. Thats just my opinion tho. I have known horses to get thrush from being deep littered or given very little bed.


Laura and Pete.

[/ QUOTE ]

Then you are doing it wrong and messing about with it too much. My lad has had a deep litter bed of pellets since April (yes, April) and it does not smell in the slightest of wee! Wee only smells once the ammonia hits air, the whole point is NOT to break the crust that forms at the bottom.

OP- you need a lot to start with and I'm not sure whether they are the best thing on mats to be honest, kinda defeats the object.

In a 12 X 12 ish box I put in thirteen 15kg bags in April. In three weeks the bed was about a foot thick as they just kept expanding!! Every day I remove the wee patches (without scraping down to the floor level) and pick out the poo. This isn't easy because FB has dry poo, box walks and generally likes to bury and trash all toilet evidence! It's like the worst kind of treasure hunt. I added a bag of pellets in about the middle of May. I now get free shavings from the local sawmill so I replace what goes out with this, but I would say the bottom layer of about four inches never gets touched.

ETA - Oh yes, his bed is as brown as brown can be, that's what happens to wood pellets, doesn't necessarily mean they are dirty!

 

[neddynesbitt]

I now get free shavings from the local sawmill so I replace what goes out with this.

ChicoMio

Just be very careful, I too was getting free shavings from local sawmill & ended up with lots of breathing problems for my pony. The vet had to come in the end and he had ventipulmin, it was such a shame as they were free & the sawmill were grateful to have someone to take them away.

The shavings themselves were fine but all the fine bits were like a very thick dust & in the end aggravated my lungs as well. It took him ages to recover.

Sorry if I offend you but I wish someone had told me.

 

[Booboos]

I use it completely differently as I am not keen on deep litter with any kind of bedding, but I end up with no banks which I know some people hate.

I put down a small amount where the horse likes to wee, this absorbs the wee and allows the horse to move around the stable without messing the bedding up which might suit your lad if he is unsettled at the moment. I find I only need to take the wet out when it has clumped together and become a bit red in colour, when it is loose and brown I just mix in some new stuff, but I only need to put in new stuff every 3-4 days.

 

[StaceyTanglewood]

i have a whole yard on it and find the clean ones are brilliant being fully mucked otu everyday

the dirty ones we have tried on a deep litter bed and this has worked to !!

 

[Bens_Mum]

Seperate point... I have definately found more bedding is much easier to manage but mine becomes warm? Also mouldy when I turn over the banks twice a week there is a definate fusty type smell. Is this normal or have I got a bad batch? It is also extremely dusty when fully mucked out. Called company for advice and they said it shouldn't be dusty. Started bed again but still same problem....