Wood Pellets/Chips Wood Pellets

[Kristine]

In an attempt to keep the cage cleaner I decided to go with bedding in the kitchen and fleece everywhere else, the problem was I hated how the bedding got drug out to the fleece areas. I tried Carefresh and Aspen bedding and neither was really doing it for us. I picked up a 40lb bag of wood pellets from Menards for under $4 and figured it wouldn't hurt to at least try it. If it didn't work I'd throw them in the fireplace. Well, they surprisingly work great! They control the odor, don't track everywhere and extremely cheap. I only have to change the kitchen area out every 2 weeks because it works that well. I do spot scoop if I see an area getting wetter, normally by the hay bag and water bottles. The pellets dry out pretty well when they expand too. I've been using it for about 2 months now. The only downside is that they weigh a LOT and I had to reinforce the upper cage and the girls' loft kitchen to help battle the bowing that was happening. So passing on my review if anyone else is looking for another alternative to regular bedding and carefresh.

The boys' kitchen area


Girls' kitchen area


Showing the added support under the girls' loft, I also had to reinforce near the shelving brackets for the upper level.


And Calvin lounging after I just changed it out, because he's just cute.

 

[CharScoobJoey]

Wow, I love this cage. Your pigs are so cute. ^__^ How did you make it? Did it take a long time?

 

[Kristine]

Thanks, its kinda morphed into what it is now. It started as a 2x3 one level cage and grew as we added to the herd. It was quite the undertaking, took almost a full day with lots of planning in advance. The hard part is making it stable, I used closet brackets to help. In my profile I have various pictures of the different combinations I've had, at least I think I do... I'll have to go look now. lol

 

[bpatters]

I love wood pellets, but if they smell strongly of pine, they're not suitable for use. I used to be able to get great pellets, and the company I bought them from quit packaging them in 40-pound bags and started selling them only in bulk.

You can air them out, but it takes a LONG time to do it.

But if yours don't have a strong pine odor, please let me know what they are and I'll see if I can get them here.

 

[Kristine]

Mine don't smell that strongly at all, but I tossed the bag already so I'm not sure what brand they are. There's a slight wood odor but not like pine shavings and not strong. My local Menards only carries the one type/brand.

 

[bpatters]

Looks like the closest Menard's to me is nearly 500 miles away. Guess I won't be using those pellets. Sob.

 

[Kristine]

Well that bites. Too bad you don't have a good source for them near you. My only fear is that they won't be available here once winter is over, crossing my fingers they keep them in stock.

 

[bpatters]

Glad you mentioned that. They probably will NOT keep them in stock once the weather warms up, particularly if they're being sold as fuel for pellet stoves. Pellets sold for use as horse stall bedding stay in stock year round, but not the fuel pellets. I used to buy 25 bags at a time in late winter so I'd be sure to have enough until they started stocking them again. If you've got anywhere to put them, go stock up, even if you have to leave your car out of the garage.

 

[Kristine]

I live in northern mn where it can still hit freezing in mid-summer, so my hope is they carry some still as its normal to still use heat in the summer here. They've already rearranged the store for spring and moved them to a smaller section, hoping it stays there!

Ps, I wonder if that's why mine don't have a strong pine smell, they aren't the pine horse bedding type. When I originally checked out the bag it said hardwood (so probably a mix of hardwoods)

 

[bpatters]

Sob again... Hardwood pellets! Why, oh why can't I get those? That's what I started out with, and intended to use them forever.

You could ask the store whether they keep them all year.

 

[Kristine]

Upon reading that other thread I'm glad to see that someone else noticed the "plastic like" coating. That really confused me at first too and my husband reassured me that it was just because it was compressed. They work great though.

 

[Kristine]

Oh, and Friday when I get paid I'm gonna go back and ask if they keep them year round and if not I'm going to load up on them.

 

[bpatters]

I think they're the absolute best -- no odor, long time between cage changes. As far as I'm concerned, the ONLY advantage that fleece has is that it's cuter. And probably better for pigs with sore feet.

 

[SimbaDC650]

debating on doing this for the kitchen area for my new c&c cage Kaytee Wood Pellets Litter, 25-Pound Bag amazon good or bad??

 

[bpatters]

I haven't seen those Kaytee ones, but they're way expensive compared to the ones you can get that are designed for wood stoves or for horses -- those usually run about $4-$5 for 40 pounds, rather than $20 for 25 pounds. And the cost of those from Amazon would at least double by the time you paid the shipping -- those things are heavy.

 

[Agrimony]

I'm so curious about wood pellets, I love carefresh but it's just so costly. I don't use any fleece though so I'm not sure if they will be comfortable solely on pellets.

 

[bpatters]

Mine never had any problems with them in the nearly two years I used them. But they work just as well if you just put one layer of fleece over them, and that would protect their feet while still cutting down a whole bunch on the laundry and the smell.

 

[SimbaDC650]

I haven't seen those Kaytee ones, but they're way expensive compared to the ones you can get that are designed for wood stoves or for horses -- those usually run about $4-$5 for 40 pounds, rather than $20 for 25 pounds. And the cost of those from Amazon would at least double by the time you paid the shipping -- those things are heavy.

thanks for the headsup and info.

 

[Kristine]

And the bonus is that if you do use fleece in part of your cage, the pellets won't stick to it! That always drove me crazy with the regular bedding. I love my fleece, but not for the kitchen area, so the pellets are a great alternative for me.