what kind of bedding do you use?

[floridaGirl13]

With so many different bedding materials to choose from, which kind do yall prefer, and what are the pros and cons? Which is the most cost efficient?

 

[Livestock lover]

For what animal are you thinking of?

 

[floridaGirl13]

All we have is horses and chickens. Ive only ever used pelletized and shavings. I've heard of several other options but I've never heard of anyone actually using them.

 

[MDres]

I prefer "sawdust" which is not really dust, but fairly uniform chunks/cubes of wood - usually about 1/4" or so. It absorbs. It cushions. And most importantly, I can EASILY sift poop balls out of it with a fine-tine manure fork. The "clean" sawdust falls thru, and I collect only the poop. I use a grain shovel to pick up wet areas. Only drawback is they are most economically purchased in bulk, as in dump-truck load. That requires either a very specific height and width indoor storage area ($$$$) or an unsightly pile outside.

Shavings are too fluffy. They don't absorb well. They take up a lot of space but don't provide a lot of cushion when compacted (like when a horse lies down). They are impossible to sift poop balls out of. I end up tossing out clean shavings because I cannot separate them from the poop balls. The only benefit to them is that they can be cheaply purchased in neat little stackable cubes.

Pellets are a PITA. They are expensive, they are a pain to handle in their floppy bags. When expanded, they are dust. When not expanded, they are too big to sift with a fine-tine fork. I have to use a fork with a bigger gap so they fall thru, but then so does half of my broken poop balls, leaving me with a disgusting stall. Some horses also think the pellets are edible because of the shape....

Straw is an even bigger PITA. No way, no how will I EVER use straw in a horse stall. Cattle run in that I can clean out with the tractor bucket - YES - straw is AWESOME.

 

[floridaGirl13]

What we use now is kind of a sawdust, the feed store we go to has it bagged up for $5, I love it! Cuts stall cleaning time in half. We used to get big fluffy shavings and I totally agree, Huge PITA! Its more expensive and wasteful.

I'm on the fence about pelletized bedding, its easy to sift when its been watered but you have to dump about 2 gal. on it. Up north it never got too dusty, but I wouldn't dare try it in Florida, we have more than enough barn dust already.

I've heard of some people using newspaper shreds but I can't imagine why you would do that to yourself...

 

[Fullhousefarm]

I pick up a pickup truck full of bulk shavings once a month or so.

I'd love sawdust, but there isn't anywhere here where it's reasonable and I don't use enough to have it delivered. (One horse stall, plus we use some for the chicken brooder and put some in the goat barn a few times a year. It's $28 for two very generous yards.

 

[floridaGirl13]

Well, my days of sawdust are over. Big Boss just filled the bedding shed with pine shavings again...

Only because its "cheaper". I'm not entirely convinced that it is cheaper, when you think about how much DOESN'T fall through the tines of the pitchfork.

...not a huge fan of shavings

 

[recardomaurice12]

... Only because its "cheaper". I'm not entirely convinced that it is cheaper, when you think about how much DOESN'T fall through the tines of the pitchfork.

...not a huge fan of shavings

Well, better make use of what is in..

 

[goatboy1973]

Tractor supply has big cubes of pine shavings about the size of a square bale of hay. One cube does a 12x12 dog run plus some and that's about knee deep on a full size goat. Check with a local furniture manufacturer, lumber mill, or local tree trimming company. We got our wood chips for free from our local utility contractor who cuts trims trees from powerlines (a whole dump truck load). It was from fresh cut trees but it worked just as well. The bulk of it was cedar/ pine and the goats ate some and the rest was bedding. It smelled amazingly like fresh cut pine cedar.

 

[bonbean01]

Yup...Powerline cutters come with that tree shredder and we have one of those unslightly piles behind our shed...love it for the chickens. They are pleased to bring a big dumptruck full for nothing to get rid of it. Didn't think to use it in the sheep shelters though...may have to try that.

For sheep shelters we use hay, since straw is not an option where we live...and yes, it is a pain to clean it all out and put in fresh. Now I think I may try the wood in there and see how that goes!