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Post by Paula on Nov 1, 2009 22:32:02 GMT -6
Has anybody used equine wood pellets for their kitchen areas? Something like ABM or Equine Pine? Ooh, Or Woody Pet?
It's a hard pellet but can be softened (for little feet) if you mist with water. I know lots of rabbit people that LOVE this stuff for their litter box areas but wonder if anybody had any thoughts or experiences using it with pigs.
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Post by Sef on Nov 1, 2009 22:45:43 GMT -6
I bought a bag of Woody Pet awhile back to experiment with; they sell it at our local Rural King where I buy my hay. There were quite a few things I really didn't like about it, just from wetting it and working with it myself. I didn't end up trying it in their hayboxes/kithcens:
1. The smell. It has a fairly intense pine smell, and I was concerned that it would really stink-up the house and bother my allergies.
2. The dry texture. Without moisture, it's very rough. The pieces are small-to-medium compressed wood pellets with some sharpish edges. I didn't think they would be very comfortable to sleep on, and several of our guys love to nap in their kitchen.
3. The wet texture. With moisture, it becomes fine/grainy like saw-dust. My other concern was that this would be very easy for boars to drag up into their anal sacs and cause impaction.
4. Safety. I couldn't get anyone on GL to tell me if this stuff would be safe if accidentally ingested.
5. Weight. When wet and dirty, I thought it would most likely be pretty heavy and harder to dispose of than CareFresh. I also wasn't sure how practical it would be to lug around the gi-normous bag when filling hayboxes/kitchens, but I'm sure that could be worked out.
The plus side, though, is that it is highly economical to use (I think I paid something like $5 for a HUGE bag of the stuff, which is still out in the garage).
I'd be interested to know if anybody else has tried it.
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Post by vanillapooh1979 on Nov 2, 2009 20:04:36 GMT -6
I did use it for a quite a while but ultimately I gave it up as it was more of a hassle than a help. I did have pigs eat it and no ill effects but its not something I think they should eat.
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Post by Sef on Nov 3, 2009 5:45:31 GMT -6
PP, if you'd like a few Woody Pet pellets, just to see what they look and smell like, I'd be happy to send a sample to you. Just let me know.
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Post by Paula on Nov 3, 2009 9:53:50 GMT -6
I tried some ABM over the weekend. For the area I'd be using it in, it doesn't seem like the weight would be a huge issue. However, within just a few seconds I had pigs tasting the stuff, which is not at all what I want them doing, so I gave up on it. I might try aspen again. It got all over the fleece last time though and wasn't great with absorbing the urine at all.
As I have it now, there's no "kitchen" but I'm wondering if I should revisit the idea of having one.
Thanks ladies.
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