Fleece Has anyone tried Zorb dimples? Better absorbant layer options?

[heather81]

So I'm trying to find a better solution for bedding. My husband keeps complaining that our house smells like a barnyard between the smell of urine and hay and I fear if I don't come up with a better option he'll banish them to another room. I have been using fleece with towels and absolutely hate it. The towels were the perfect size for our cage and since there was no effort on my part to get them ready for use I got some to try. I find in 2-3 days they smell and I feel like they never dry. I had been using uhaul with fleece in the past, but found the uhaul shed some in the wash if it wasn't contained in a liner. I made a liner with Zorb and just pulled that out to try, but the zorb has to be sewn between 2 layers so it's not a quick and easy solution either.

I recently came across Zorb dimples ((broken link removed)) which is an encased zorb and doesn't need to be sewn into a liner. I'm debating about trying this so I could just cut it to size and use it as a layer with my choice of fleece and not have to make a liner. I was wondering if anyone has tried the zorb dimples or just the original zorb?

I have also been reading up on wood pellets and thought about trying those with fleece since it sounds like they help keep the odor down but I haven't been able to find any suitable pellets around here. Lowe's said they had numerous bags in stock but when I went to the store they don't have any in stock and the local feed store has pine pellets, but they don't say if they're kiln dried. The sample had a pine scent, but wasn't overwhelming, but I don't know how long it's been open.

So the search is on...

 

[bpatters]

Wood pellets are definitely great for keeping the smell down. Try a feed store. Tractor Supply usually has pellets, but sometimes they do smell strongly of pine. They will usually poke a hole in a bag and let you sniff them before you buy them.

I go to a local feed store and get the pellets for horse stall bedding. The brand I use is TerrAmigo, but it's not available nationally.

 

[pawner69]

I also use wood pellets and love them. I have 6 personal pigs and anywhere from 6-10 in rescue at any given time and my house never smells.

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

 

[pigmommy89]

I've started using the Tractor Supply pellets in my kitchen areas. I found that even if they do smell like pine when you buy them, they air out quickly if you cut the top off the bag and let them sit for a couple days.

 

[heather81]

So now I'm stumped. I've read through several threads about wood pellets and am intrigued to find out if they're as good as they sound. My only problem has been to find ones that are safe for my piggies. The ones at the feed store are made of pine and are kiln dried (I asked the company when I couldn't find the information), but they are 98% pine, 2% zeolite for absorption/odor control. Today I found another place with 2 different kinds of pellets, 1 was horse pellets and was "100% wood", but it said it also contained zeolites for absorption. I know it can't have accelerants, but is it bad to get 1 with zeolite? The other brand said it was 100% wood, but didn't list what kind of wood, had very low smell (at least from the tiny hole already in the bad and my phone was dead so I couldn't use my friend Google to tell me what kind). I was very disappointed to come home to learn it is Douglas fir "with a little bit of cedar". I know these are out and will have to either return them or burn them. I have 2-3 more feed stores to try, but I was hoping this would be a quick and easy find.

 

[bpatters]

The shipping costs for pellets are terrible. I wouldn't even consider using them if I couldn't get them locally.

 

[Paula]

Zeolites are fine. They're helpful with odor control.

Fir is fine and after extensive research I've come to the conclusion that kiln dried cedar is fine, especially in small quantities. You might consider doing some research on your own rather than just listening to the standard party line on these things.

 

[heather81]

So the uhaul and zorb liners lasted the whole week with minimal smell (way better than the towels) and I was able to find some wood pellets at a local feed store. They smelled like "Home Depot" as my husband put it. I opened the bag and let it air out. I had a stacked 2x3.5 with external ramp that I just revamped to a 3x3 because I couldn't see being able to do fleece changes on the bottom level with wood pellets. Just after midnight I had everything ready and put in the cage. So we start day 1 with wood pellets. I'm really excited to see how this goes! If this doesn't work out I'm going to give the Zorb Dimples a shot since the 2 liners I already have made seemed to work significantly better than the towels and it can be used without sewing it into a liner. When using wood pellets do you use pads in the higher peed in areas or not worry about it?

 

[heather81]

I aired my wood pellets out for 2 days (they had a bit of a "Home Depot" smell and I wasn't sure if it was too much for the piggies). I finished my updated cage last night and poured in the wood pellets. Today we got back from being gone for several hours and I noticed there is a very distinctive smell in the house now. Should I have aired them out longer? Will this smell get less over time? Is this due to the type of pellets I got?

 

[bpatters]

If it smells strongly of pine, it may be that they're the wrong kind of pellets. There's no noticeable odor to fresh pellets in my cage, and certainly not in the house.

If they haven't been kiln dried, they likely have too much volatile oils for the pigs' safety. Those aromatic oils can cause liver disease over a long period of exposure.

You might try finding some horse stall bedding at a feed store and see if that has less odor to it.

 

[heather81]

They are horse pellets and they are kiln dried (I even checked with the company). I wouldn't say it'seems a strong pine scent, just a noticeable smell, today it kind of reminds me of toast. I'Lloyd wait it out a few more days, might try one of the other feed stores next time.

 

[lunarminx]

Has the odor gone away? How did you like the pellets?

 

[heather81]

The odor has gotten significantly better. There is one spot where I can smell them a little, but nothing too bad. Friday I stirred the pellets and changed the fleece and was amazed at how much they didn't smell. The towels would stink after 2-3 day, the uhaul and zorb I could smell by the end of the week, the only time i've noticed anything with the pellets is if the dirty hay and poop needs to be swept.