Wood Pellets?

[Mr.Pigglesworth]

So I work at a horses stable, and for bedding we use wood pellets. It comes in a huge bag of pellets and you add water to it and it becomes like sawdust. I was wondering if it would be okay to try this stuff as bedding for my 3 pigs. It's very absorbant, it kind of chunks up when the ponies pee on it, so I think it should be good for the pigs too. I just wanted to find out if for some reason wood pellets would be bad for guineas, since I know there are some beddings that will iritate them.

Thanks in advance for any advice you guys have.

Emily (& Buddy, Jonny, Dwayne)

 

[VoodooJoint]

I believe that it's fine to use as a bedding as it's basically the same thing as wood stove pellets and many people use those.

 

[kavykrazy]

A friend uses them for her texel. She says the pellets don't tangle the hair like shavings do. They just fall apart.

 

[Mr.Pigglesworth]

Thank you guys! I'm going to try it out and hopefully it will be my new bedding! The woman I work for buys it in bulk x 100 so I think she would let me use it. (Goodbye bedding expenses!)

 

[this_lil_piggy]

There are several people here who use pellet bedding. The only thing negative I have heard about it, is it is uncomfortable for little piggy feet to walk on. I think most who use it, cover it with a thin layer of something a little more foot friendly like carefresh or shavings.

 

[Mr.Pigglesworth]

Yeah, these pellets actually turn into something soft. They start out as pellets, just to save space in the packaging, and you add water to it and let it sit, and it becomes these kinda fluffy shavings. Like I said, kinda like sawdust (I think I'm using the right word there..) I think my boys are going to be very happy with this new change.

 

[Jennicat]

I tried them for my litter boxes and had some concerns about them. They break down into a very fine sawdust, and the pigs sneezed a lot when they hopped into them and threw up a cloud of wood dust. I just wasn't comfortable with them breathing that sawdust in.

 

[3mpets]

I have used pelleted bedding for several years and find it to be a superb bedding. It is far less expensive than most other bedding and it is also very easy to clean up. The only advice I would give you is that you probably don't want to wet it down before use. I am not sure why the manufacturers recommend wetting it down, but I figure wet equals mold equals a problem. I may be off base though.

Brad

 

[this_lil_piggy]

Ok hold on. I don't think any of us were clearly understanding that you want to wet the pellets down and turn it all to sawdust, and then use the sawdust as bedding. I would not recommend that you use this in this form.
Let me clarify... The reason pelleted bedding is suitable for pigs is because as they urinate on it, and pellets turn into sawdust, the sawdust actually works its way down through the pellets so the top layer generally stays in dry pelleted form. There is very little saw dust particle left on the top layer to pose any risk to the pigs. Once a week, or when enough of the pellets have softened that the pigs are exposed to large area's of sawdust, whichever comes first, then it is time to change the bedding out with new pellets.
The situation with horses is very different. They would have a hard time walking on a barn full of pellets, so yeah the bedding is wet down and turned to sawdust. This can safely be done for horses because 1)horses respiratory tract isn't as sensitive as a gp's, and 2)horses don't spend 100% of the time with their noses only inches from the sawdust breathing it in.

When I use wood shavings for my pigs, even with aspen, there is always atleast a small amount of sawdust in the bag. I always shake the bag vigorously before I take anything out to place in the cage--to make the dust fall down in the bag. I always throw the last few inches of shavings in the bag in the garbage as it is usually always full of dust.

In a nutshell. Wood pellet bedding is safe for your pigs in it's original pelleted form. It is not safe or suitable for your pigs in the saw dust form.

 

[aqh88]

Yes and no. You cannot water down the pellets. They make an extremely fine sawdust that will cause respiratory issues. They can be used in their pelleted state if you provide places for your pigs to get off them. The smaller pellets don't seem that uncomfortable for the pigs and with a few cushions and beds mine didn't have any issues with them. They still ran around and popcorned on them but laid on the hay or the beds most of the time. The larger pellets(depends on the brand) they don't like as well. In the end I chose to put a layer of pellets under a layer of shavings. That means I use less shaving, the cage stays 10times drier, but the pigs aren't on the wood pellets. You do have to clean the cage before the pellets start to make piles of sawdust. It will most definitely lead to respiratory problems.