Wood Pellets/Chips Wood Stove Pellets High BTU?? Safe for pigs...

[Kimberly713]

Mom went to Lowes and picked up some Wood Stove pellets for $4 a bag (40lbs) today for the girls' cage. She got the only ones there and the bag says "High BTU!" I don't have a clue what this is, is it anything harmful if they chew them a bit? I know my one pig will try the pellets... The bag also says
Material....... 100% Hardwood
Ash............ Less than 1%
Fines.......... Less than 0.5%
Sodium....... Less than 300 PPM

It all seems ok but I want to be sure before I put them in a cage with it.

 

[SurfingPigs]

BTU is just a standardized heat measurement and can be affected by the moisture in the pellets, for one thing.

I would call the manufacturer to double check, but if it doesn't say anything about additives, they could just be marketing their lower-moisture pellets as having higher BTU. BPatters uses these, hopefully she will chime in.

 

[Kimberly713]

It says not for human or animal consumption opn the bag, but it doesn't say anything about additives at all. They don't have a scent, a veryyy light wood scent only, so I don't think there is anything like lighter fluid in them. The brand is Somerset Wood Fuel, black bag with a horse.
I put the girls in, and put a layer of aspen over the wood pellets. Cinnamon jumped in the litter pan and dug until she found them, then she started chewing on one. Calypso hasn't ventured to the loft yet.

 

[bpatters]

BTU is not an additive. It stands for British Thermal Unit, and is a standard measure of how much heat something will produce.

Those pellets are 100% wood, with no additives. They'll be fine for your pigs.