Wood Pellets

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mickey

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Has anyone used these as bedding? I think one type are called liverpool wood pellets. Apparently you have to water them with a watering can once you have laid the bed. Are these pellets similar to the ones you can use in cat littler trays, and if so, wont adding water stop them absorbing further wet/urine?

Are these new to the market? Economical?

Any feedback gratefully received.
 
I use Corely Biowood, same idea as the Liverpool ones.
Cheap (if you buy in bulk around £2.34-£2.50 a bag, if not £4-5 a bag)
I tend to put 2 bags in a barrow with 1-1.5 buckets of water, leave them to soak/break down for half an hour then mix into my bed (Took about 15 bags to get the bed started)
Yes, the same stuff as the cat litter.
Still absorbs the wee and I find if the bed is thick it really keeps the wet patch minimised and clumped so very easy to dig out.
I do a muck out every day, takes about 10 minutes and top up with 2 bags a week. previously semi-deep littering on softchip and using 2 bales a week (at £7 a bale) so saving £££ on time and bedding costs.
 
I am using them and like them. If you don't soak them they are no good they are still very absorbent once they have had water added , it is just finding the right amount.I put 2 bags in my wheelbarrow and add a bucket of water, leave for a while and then mix up a bit. Warm water works even better. You should end up with about 25% still as pellet form. I am on rubber mats and started the bed with 5 bags and use about 2 bags a week
 
I have 3 horses on them.
I have set the beds up with the soaked pellets to start with.
One of them wees in exactly the same spot evertime so she is easy as I just shovel the wet patch out, spread a thin layer of her bed and then add dry bag of pellets and cover with more of the original bed.
Another one I have is tidy but wees on 3 places so I do the same as the one above but take more out as she wees in gallons!!
The last one is a right messy moo, she sort of manages to trudge the whole bed up as she wees anywhere and everywhere so I am struggling with her at the moment, I add dry pellets to try and dry it a bit and am debating putting some shavings on the top to see if that dries it up a bit.
I am impressed with them as they are very easy to muck out on and I also like the fact that they dry the legs off really quickly when they come in.
Wouldnt go back to any other bedding now.
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Yep, I've been trying them for a week now and quite pleased, but the only thing was my mare started to eat the pellets as soon as she walked in the stable, prob thought they were nuts. I thought she'd spit them out straight away, but she didn't she just kept putting her head down to sift out more
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Anyway, quickly removed her from the situation, and mixed up a jeyes fluid and water solution and using a watering can had to water over them again to make sure more pellets broke down.....

I also had to dig in the pellets into existing woodchip bed
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Thankfully when she was taken back into the stable she got the message and just turned her nose up, so all I would say is keep your eye on 'em
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Oh by the way, I decided to use these to dry up the top of the bed and they are working well, I was deep littering before...
 
I started using them this year and love them.

I do use more than they say, but I have large and very messy horses so use 2 - 3 15 k bags a week, but I bought 1000k for £213 so still far cheap than shavings and megzorb which I was using.

Stinky is skipped daily and wet spot taken out as weekends and bed topped up. I also put a thin layer of dry bedding from edges over the damp area when skipping out.

Farra - I take out the wet mid week and again at the weekend and top up the bed accordingly.

Mucking out is very quick and easy and far less bedding goes on the muckheap.

I also use it for cat litter, again wetting first and my cats love the stuff.

For Farra who is very wet, I put in one bag of damp pellets with one of dry mixed together. Stinky is better on having them damped down first.
 
Ive had woodpellet beds to muck out before, liked them very much. i would only add that they are not much good for VERY dry/tidy horses as they tend to dry out and go dusty, particularly in summer weather. you can always water down again but that is obv not ideal. great otherwise though!
 
I used wood pellets and deep littered them. I never watered them - pointless exercise IMHO. I put down ten 15kg bags in each of my stables (3.5m x 3.5m) They just kept on growing! I could always find untouched ones round the edge or deeper down to keep mixing in. My gelding always pees in one place so no problem to remove the really soiled stuff. His bed lasted from April until September with no additions - and he is in all night. The old mare we had was much wetter and we did need to top hers up as we had to take out more.

I would add I also have rubber mats.
 
Does anyone think that I could add pellets to my existing shavings bed successfully, then eventually wean the shavings out? I am trying to be mindful of the initial cost of putting the chips in, especially if I haven't seen them in action and don't know if they look good or not. It would be nice to see video/pics of a bed in action as it were.
Some good feedback from everyone here though, not really any negative comments coming back!
 
I have a negative to add - my mare is an absolutely filthy stinking diry mare and i could not get on with the wood pellets at all - no matter how much I tried I could not keep them clean, however, I am still using them for my filly who is very very clean and like them.
 
I use them and love them. Will never go back to anything else now. Sooo easy to much out and cheap.

I don't wet them.

Yes, they can be mixed with other bedding.
 
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