Wood Pelletts and smelly bed

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cluedo

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I am using Natures Best Wood Pellets and love them for convenience. I am mixing them also with shavings. I am finding however that they are smelling of urine a bit, even though I am taking out wet when needed.

Any ideas how I can make it smell better?
 
I dislike wood pellets for exactly this reason. Because you are supposed to take out the worst of the wet and mix in the rest you are basically mixing urine in with the bed, which IMO is very unhygienic. If you remove all the wet there is no moisture to help the pellets break down, hence you need to mix some urine in. Even if the bed isnt damp to the touch some urine is still mixed with the bed, hence the smell and brown colour.

The only way to get rid of the smell is to take out all of the wet. But then the bed probably wont work as it needs a certain amount of moisture.
 
I remove all the wet and don't leave any in or mix it through.

When I'm adding new pellets to the bed I mix them up/dampen them in a wheelbarrow first so they are broken down before I put them in the bed.

It works for me and my stables don't smell
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Up to now its worked like a dream but new horse box walks a bit and basically mixes in the wee anyway. What about mixing in some stable disinfectant????
 
Im getting the impression that some arent doing the right thing with these pellets. I have a big horse, he produces a big puddle and every day I take it out. I reckon the amount of pellet I remove is less than a bucket each day. The rest of the bed is dry and doesnt smell.

He is really active in his stable and rears bucks kicks and generally plays about as well as doing a lot of lying down and Im not having any problems with it at all.

Maybe the small is associated with the shavings you are mixing in, shavings dont absorb half as well as the pellet bed so they could well be rank.

Are you wetting and breaking down the pellets before you put them into the bed?
 
Yes started bed with wet pelletts. Then add a dry bag where wet has come out. Mine wee in the same place so remove wee once a week and add dry bag. Up to now has worked really well.

New horse is on a new bed and box walks so his bed is not getting the wet patch.
 
See I dont understand why its not working for other people. I take my wet bit out each day and backfill with clean from the bed. Once it starts to get a bit sparse I top up with a new bag which I wet before it goes in.

I can only assume that either folks arent using enough to start off with or that whatever they are mixing in with it isnt working.

I was really dubious about pellets being a confirmed Hunters shavings girl but when they hit £8 a bag I just couldnt keep up buying 2 sacks a week for each horse so decided to try the pellets. I use the unbleached wood ones so they do end up sort of beige but I am totally converted!
 
I've seen these advertised Spaniel but didn't "know" anyone who was more "old school" that rated them before.

How much do they work out per bale and is the wetting and doing fiddly at all?

Like you, £7.50 per bale for two horses (Oliver and Patches are on shavings) is working out quite costly. I'm using an average of three bales per week when they are in.

Can't decide how cost effective the pellets would be and am concerned as to whether they'd break down into dust as they naturally dried out.
 
Am doing exactly the same as you. One bed is very deep and lovely and other bed is a week old and started with 8 bags. I think because he disturbs it the wet is being mixed in rather than settling into a patch. Other horse deep littered for a week when I went on holiday and then the smell/wee built up. I think I'll add some disinfectant to it to try and get rid of the smell and give it a good mix in with some fresh shavings.
 
The pellets are really easy to do, I don't find it fiddly at all.
They work out for me £2.35 per 10kg bag and I use 2-3 bags a week per horse, but could get away with a bit less.
They don't dry out into dust, I was worried that they would, but so far so good.
I'm also using the un-bleached ones and the only off putting thing is the colour - the bed is kind of sandy in appearance.
 
I have one clean horse, one box walker and one messy gelding. I was "old school" and used straw. Had a brief trial with shavings but didn't like them at all and shortly afterwards the price rocketed. I'm totally converted to pellets. Reduced my mucking out time by 2.5hrs!! My clean mare is half rubber and the back half is a thick bed of pellets. The other two have a full floor of rubber mats and a thin later of pellets on top.

My pellets are soaked and broken down before being put in the bed. I remove all the dung and wet daily and either pull down clean bed or add more pellets. No smell, mess or fuss and can do 3 horses in 1/2hr with 2 barrows instead of 3hrs and 7 barrows!!

I pay £1.89 per 10kg bag and use "brites"
 
Where do you order your Brites pelletts from?

I love the pelletts and def would not go back to just shavings. I find mixing shavings into them normally work just fine.

Definitely save time and money using them.
 
I'm in Scotland so get them from a local supplier. They are also going to start making their own 20kg bags at an even cheaper rate. If you're local pm me for the email address
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Otherwise just "google" Brites to find suppliers local to you.
 
I take all the wet and poo out every day (not overly fussy about the tiny little bits I can't quite pick up on the shovel), and my bed never smells.

I always soak the new pellets before mixing them with the old stuff, 1 bucket of water per bag and leave for about 1/2 hour before mixing in. We've been doing this since just before christmas. Generally between 1-2 bags a week. (He was on 3 bales shavings/week before we changed over, he's a very wet boy)
 
HAve you considered deep littering - only removing the droppings and having a complete clean out a coouple of times a year.

Urine usually only smells if it gets exposed to the air. I don't dig out the wet patches, they dry pretty fast from the heat thats generated.

It also makes the bed lovely and stable so you know the horse won't end up scraping itself on the floor. It also reduces the cost too as you only need a small amount every few days just to top up. The initial bed needs to be extra deep as the lower level will compact.
 
From a haulier up north who brings it down to Stirling. I collect from the Stirling depot. If that's close to you or you want to contact them pm for the email address. You have to buy at least 50bags a time.
 
I'm having a smelly time with the pellets - am working out the best way to do things - not having rubber mats and having to have a bigger pellet bed is my main problem - but I would suggest using Equi-dry from Equiform Nutrition - I've been using this and it completely neutralises the amonia and helps absorb the wet - it works a treat and I'm really pleased with the results!
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I am considering using some form of wood bedding on top of the pellets to try to bulk up the bed a bit - I'm torn between leaving the wet in and deep littering and taking the wet out every day!
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Ah the decisions we face! LOL!
Kate x
 
Mine is on matting with pellets, and I have found if I am leaving any wet in, it needs to be a bigger bed than you would expect, then it doesnt smell! It is alot cheaper, I get through a bag a week/ten days when G is in, it costs me a grand total of £2.34 a bag!! Love the wood pellets, makes a fab bed, easy to muck out, and brushs off rugs easily
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I'm with Tnavas! I do remove some of the wee patches in my lad's stable if they are obvious (he's not very wet as a rule) but generally I try not to muck about disturbing the bottom layer too much. I sift the top layer with a shavings fork and take out what poo I can find by hand because he buries it in the night! I'm not kidding, I put in 12 bags 5 weeks ago and I haven't added any more yet! (He's only in at night unless the weather is bad). No smells in that box! The MoM (mad old mare) is much wetter, she has to have more taken out - but then handily poos all in one corner so you can just shovel it up!

One question, probably stupid but here goes: Why do you guys soak your pellets first? Surely you are defeating the object of their absorbing qualities? I put mine in whole and in three days they are broken up anyway (and expanding at an incredible speed).
 
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