Wood Pellets/Chips 3 full weeks of wood pellets

[lunarminx]

I'd love to try wood pellets but I am in a walk up apartment and don't know about carrying that much weight up! I'm a weakling lol

I am on a 3rd floor apartment and I have my sons(grown) carry them up for me. I carry them out in doubled or tripled grocery bags. I wouldn't be able to use them if I had to carry them up.

 

[3littlepigz]

@labeadel I've tried the Carefresh paper bedding as well as fleece and mattress pads and the fleece and pellets is by far the best option, for me, in my opinion. The fleece and mattress pads worked well but started to smell at about day 3 with two pigs and I'd have to change out the mattress pads which meant a load of laundry in the middle of the week for me. I didn't want stinky mattress pads sitting around until the weekend.

Yes, the pellet bags are heavy but 40 lbs is actually kind of manageable. I can carry them up a flight of stairs with only a little bit of effort and my 11 year old son can as well. I think it's worth the little bit of lugging up stairs once every 2 months for the odor control and convenience of the pellets. They work EXTREMELY well. I just expanded my cage to a 2x7 grid c&c and used two bags of pellets at about $5.50 each bag.

I'm using hardwood pellets that are used in wood-burning stoves. They have very little to no smell to them. My backup pellets will be the Tractor Supply Company's equine stall bedding pellets. Those are pine pellets that have been kiln dried. They do, though, have a noticeable smell to them....compared to the hardwood stove pellet, the bedding pellets are SMELLY...but I still think it's worth it if you don't mind the wood-y smell. Depending on your room size, the smell may dissipate quiet well so that you don't really notice it.

You may have to go for the equine stall bedding for now as it may be hard to find the stove burning pellets because those are seasonal BUT it never hurts to ask. That's what I did almost a month ago and amazingly the store had just received a huge order of the stove pellets! Even the employees were surprised! It never hurts to ask! If you find and go for the wood-burning stove pellets, make sure that they have no additives or accelerants (no glue or "fuel" that will help it burn hotter). They should be additive and accelerant-free. If the bag doesn't say, call the company's customer service and ask them.

 

[SquigglyPigs]

They do, though, have a noticeable smell to them....compared to the hardwood stove pellet, the bedding pellets are SMELLY

That's good to know! I also used the Tractor Supply equine pellets and the smell was so overwhelming in my little apartment. I searched and searched for stove pellets and I found a ton in town...but they were all made of 100% pine! I suppose that is the main tree in Colorado so it makes sense. It's just frustrating! I will try looking again when it's closer to winter. Maybe they will have more variety in stock.

 

[labeadel]

@bpatters, I see what you mean. I'm putting the fleece and wood pellets hand in hand, so to me if the wood pellets don't work, I don't want to do fleece, if that makes any sense.

 

[mamaduck71]

Wow, the wood smell was that strong huh? Which are the worse of the 2 evils? Wood or urine. I know my hubby 'wood' go for the wood smell!! Too bad it does not come in pine scent, perfect for the winter holidays!

 

[SquigglyPigs]

Wow, the wood smell was that strong huh? Which are the worse of the 2 evils? Wood or urine.

I think it depends what type of pellets you use. The Tractor Supply equine bedding pellets smell very strongly. I live in a small one level apartment so it made every room in our apartment smell like wood. I'm pretty sensitive to smells and can get headaches even from strong perfumes so this didn't work for me. I haven't been a fan of uhaul pads, which is what I'm currently using, but even with those I can only smell the urine when I go right up to the cage. At the moment I would rather use uhaul or mattress pads because the urine smell doesn't follow me around the apartment like the wood smell of the equine pellets did.
I'm still looking for a bedding that will work for me and maybe I'll try stove pellets if I can find some non-pine ones in the area come winter.

 

[CavieGuy]

I also think it depends on the batches. I use the tractor supply horse wood pellets and didn't encounter that problem. It had a slight wood smell but not overpowering. The smell goes away in about 3 days or so.

I've used other brands and only encountered a very strong wood smell once, but I let it air outside for about a week or so.

 

[bpatters]

Don't put your pigs on pellets that smell strongly of pine. The aromatic phenols in pine and other evergreens can cause lung, liver and kidney damage. It's just not worth it to put your pigs' lives in danger.

 

[eckokitten]

can someone post a pic of the wood pellets you are using and/or give me the name of the brand? I have a tractor supply right by me so I assume i can buy them there but I'm not sure what kind/brand?

Also are they safe if like your pig were to nibble on them? Ideally I'd like to use the same bedding for my guinea pigs & my rats but I am wondering if it would be safe for the rats too, anyone know?

 

[eckokitten]

Sorry I can't edit my post. But I found this thread on another forum saying that wood pellets are not save in small animals (it is a rat forum but they talked about rabbits & said all small animals)
(broken link removed)

I assume if people are using these pellets they feel they are safe? I just want to make sure they are 100% safe for my babies.

 

[Soecara]

@eckokitten As wood pellets are quite heavy and easy to make the brands will vary greatly depending on where you are located, your best bet is to go into the store and see what they have. They will either be wood pellets for stoves (make sure they have no accelerants added) or for horse stalls, in some areas the pellets for stoves are a seasonal item so you can't get them all year around.

Typically in the US wood pellets are pine based, the pellets are safe for guinea pigs so long as they do not have a strong odour and have no added accelerants. The issue the post is referring to is one caused by the ingestion of the pellets, which is not a typical issue with guinea pig as they do not seem to consume them, and also seems to be specific to hard wood pellets. Often people have a layer of fleece on top of the pellets (this makes it easier to remove the poop) so the guinea pigs would not even be in direct contact with the pellets. However if the pellets have a strong odour they are high in phenols which will cause respiratory issues so you would need to air them out thoroughly (to allow the phenols to disperse) by placing them into a tub outside and mixing them up a few times a day until the smell lessens before using them. To check the smell before purchasing just ask to poke a small hole in the bag.

 

[3littlepigz]

Oh gosh....now I'm a little worried. I'm using hardwood stove pellets and fleece. Hoping that any possible issue would be avoided since they aren't in direct contact with the pellets.

 

[bpatters]

You can read anything, anywhere on the internet. And while I'm sure that eating wood pellets is not good for any small animal, I'm also equally sure that pellets with no pine odor are fine for guinea pigs. I've been using them at least three years, maybe longer, and know other people who have used them longer than that. Find something else to worry about.

 

[eckokitten]

Ok thanks so much. That puts my mind to ease Ill go check out the store and see what they have.

 

[mamaduck71]

Just finished tossing the cell...They are on wood pellets now. Gonna test it out and see if works for us. I have a slightly bigger then 2x3 and 1 bag was enough to fill the bottom. Does anyone think the wood pellets are cooler then having uhaul/fleece? I have noticed that both my non-boring piggies have become borers. I am thinking they are trying to get to past the uhaul/fleece which might make them hot. I will see after a week is up.


Thanks everyone for eveyone's input.

 

[lunarminx]

I think fleece in the summer is hot unless you keep you house very cool. You could try mini flake for the summer on top of the pellets, that is what I use. Or if you have extra grind make two grid tunnels and place frozen water bottles or ice packs on top, the cold air will drop down over them as they lay under it. Also, I am redoing the cage this weekend, its week 10 of two bags of pellets(12.00) one bag of mini flakes(6.00) not bad for $18.00 and could have gotten two more week I think. And no smell except when hay piles need scooped out.

 

[mamaduck71]

Almost 24 hours with wood pellets. So far I am loving them. Piggys have not tired to bore like they did before. However, one did start to munch on a wood pellet. I dont think she ate it, might have been curious. As far as smell of the pellets, yea, I def. smell a woody aroma, but nothing to over powering. It's to be expected, kinda like when you go into a lumber yard. Not really feeling moist spots either on the fleece, so I am liking that. Next week, I am traveling and need to use a store bought cage in the car. Do you think I can use some pellets in there, or should i used a small piece of uhaul/fleece?

I can't believe I am saying this, but looking forward to my first cage cleaning with the wood pellets.

 

[bpatters]

I wouldn't use the pellets in the car. They'll just get everywhere unless you've got the pigs in something with high sides.

But be very careful of that pine odor. If it's strong, don't use the pellets. You risk foot, lung and liver problems if the pellets aren't thoroughly dried.

 

[mamaduck71]

I am using the same as Cavyguy. I got it from Tractor Supply. They also had this:

(broken link removed)

as well as this:

(broken link removed)

Has anyone used either of them. Peeked my curiosity.

 

[bpatters]

You can't really go by brand, because the companies that manufacture them get different types of scrap wood. You have to smell the pellets to see if they can be used.