wood pellets....

whiteclover

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 March 2011
Messages
815
Visit site
Ive just put 10 bags down and have watered them with the hose. Im not sure Ive put enough water on it but it just looks like sawdust. Is it supposed to look like this. Also it doesnt look big enough or deep enough for a whole bed. I think I might have to put the other 5 bags down.

Help.
 
Yes it's supposed to look sawdusty. You will find it breaks down and the bed will actually look bigger in a few days. I think originally I used 12 bags as I wanted little banks aswell. It's good I liked it!
 
Does it all look like sawdust or are there still some pellets in there? If it is all sawdust you may have overwatered it. If you look on the pellet website it should tell you how much water to use per bag of pellets. I soak mine in a wheelbarrow with the water measured out before I put it into the stable, cos I'm a bit anal like that. lol
 
You could use shavings for the banks. Also you might be better with rubber mats underneath then you wont worry about the depth so much. I had them at last yard, it was semi deep litter. We just shook un-soaked pellets on the bed, raked them about a bit, any dampness fluffed them up.

Must admit to having straw now!
 
okay. I'll put the other bags down and am possibly going to get some mats this weekend. Horse isnt on it yet so I cant say whether its working properly.
 
Sounds like you did it fine. My horses have been on pellets over the winter and I think I ll keep them on it. I put down 15 bags initially and top up one or two a week for a mainly-sawdusty-with-a-some-unsoaked-pellet look.
 
Pellets take a while to get used to but once you do they are so easy your be hooked! The only downside I can see is the bed never looks as pretty as it can with other forms of bedding.
You'll find as a bedding it does not move like shavings etc does so if it does not look as thick do not worry it will be fine.
 
I have one mat so I don't worry about depth, the mat stays in the middle, surrounded by the bedding, with some on top.
I started with 12 bags, did not fill the large stable, but now he gets up to two 15kg bags per week[£8.00], less cost than shavings which would be £10 per week.
 
Pellets take a while to get used to but once you do they are so easy your be hooked! The only downside I can see is the bed never looks as pretty as it can with other forms of bedding.
You'll find as a bedding it does not move like shavings etc does so if it does not look as thick do not worry it will be fine.

So true!
I cannot believe how hard it is now to use any other bedding after three years on pellets. :eek: Because it was end of winter I decided to use some chopped micanthus just to last and it's horrid even though it does look a little nicer when opened and seems to go further too but it soon gets clumpy and mushy and a beggar to muck out. My mare is now on straw prior to foaling and while lovely to see, easy to muck out and so on, what a pain in the butt it is compared to wood pellets; I could do six boxes of pellets in the time it takes me to do the one straw bed. Can't wait until I have them back.
 
I put too many down when I first did my bed and it kept growing out if the door like something out of a horror movie!! Lol I then didn't put any more in for about 3 months and had to make banks to use up some of the pellets, live them now though!!
 
Top