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WOOD PELLETS SAFER THEN SHAVINGS?
COULD BE!
Wood Pellets processing eliminates dust and
volitile compounds!
Wood Shavings
From Lianne McLeod, DVM,
Your Guide to Exotic Pets.
The Problem with Cedar and Pine Shavings as Pet Bedding and Litter
Cedar and pine shavings are commonly available pet bedding products - but are they
harmful to the very animals for which they are intended?
Cedar and pine became popular for pet bedding material because they are good at
controlling odor and have some natural insecticidal properties (they kill or repel bugs,
especially cedar). These softwood shavings smell nice due to the volatile compounds
(e.g. aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols) that are given off. Unfortunately these
compounds have been implicated as a potential health risk, especially with regards to
respiratory problems (asthma, inflammation, allergic responses) and changes in the
liver.
Many of the studies on wood toxicity have actually been conducted on humans, who
are exposed to these woods and their by products in the wood product industry (such
as those who work in lumber mills who are exposed to lots of wood dust), and these
studies often compare the incidence of disease in workers in the wood product industry
compared to other workers or the average population.
Studies of laboratory animals have shown fairly dramatic changes in liver enzymes on
animals housed on cedar bedding. This in turn can effect the metabolism of drugs
including anesthetics, but a direct link between these changes and disease or clinical
symptoms hasn't been as clear.
However, based on the studies that implicate the compounds in allergic and respiratory
diseases as well as the impact on liver enzymes, it seems prudent to avoid cedar
shavings as bedding or litter, especially since alternatives are available.
With pine shavings, the problem isn't quite as clear cut. Pine shavings emit similar
volatile compounds but the risks aren't as clear. Many say that drying the shavings
releases most of the volatile compounds, so that products such as kiln dried pine are
safe.
COULD BE!
Wood Pellets processing eliminates dust and
volitile compounds!
Wood Shavings
From Lianne McLeod, DVM,
Your Guide to Exotic Pets.
The Problem with Cedar and Pine Shavings as Pet Bedding and Litter
Cedar and pine shavings are commonly available pet bedding products - but are they
harmful to the very animals for which they are intended?
Cedar and pine became popular for pet bedding material because they are good at
controlling odor and have some natural insecticidal properties (they kill or repel bugs,
especially cedar). These softwood shavings smell nice due to the volatile compounds
(e.g. aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols) that are given off. Unfortunately these
compounds have been implicated as a potential health risk, especially with regards to
respiratory problems (asthma, inflammation, allergic responses) and changes in the
liver.
Many of the studies on wood toxicity have actually been conducted on humans, who
are exposed to these woods and their by products in the wood product industry (such
as those who work in lumber mills who are exposed to lots of wood dust), and these
studies often compare the incidence of disease in workers in the wood product industry
compared to other workers or the average population.
Studies of laboratory animals have shown fairly dramatic changes in liver enzymes on
animals housed on cedar bedding. This in turn can effect the metabolism of drugs
including anesthetics, but a direct link between these changes and disease or clinical
symptoms hasn't been as clear.
However, based on the studies that implicate the compounds in allergic and respiratory
diseases as well as the impact on liver enzymes, it seems prudent to avoid cedar
shavings as bedding or litter, especially since alternatives are available.
With pine shavings, the problem isn't quite as clear cut. Pine shavings emit similar
volatile compounds but the risks aren't as clear. Many say that drying the shavings
releases most of the volatile compounds, so that products such as kiln dried pine are
safe.
BEDDING
Bedding the Stall with Wood Pellets
There are a number of ways to set up a stall with wood pellets; however, the
following series of steps seems to work quite well in most situations:
Clean out the stall down to the floor (dirt, wood, concrete, rubber mats).
Place the contents of three to five bags (40-pounds each) in the center two-
thirds of the stall, and spread the pellets out to an even depth of roughly 2
inches. Alternatively, you may also locate the bedded area where the horse
prefers to “go”. The number of bags used will depend on the size of the stall,
climate, horses’ habits, and personal experience from working with the
bedding.
Next, lightly moisten the pellets with 2 to 3 gallons of water to initiate their
opening to a "fluffy" consistency. (I think this is the secret to success with
wood pellet bedding.) The water serves to break down the resin sheen on
the sides of the pellet. The amount of water used will depend on the
humidity of your area and may vary at different times of the year.
For deeper bedding, you may choose to add one or two more bags on top
and again moisten with 1 to 2 gallons of water. Deeper bedding is not always
advantageous, and therefore some experimentation is appropriate to
optimize product use. Because they are highly absorbent, it’s OK to be
stingy with wood pellets.
Within 20 minutes of wetting, the bedding will expand to approximately 3 to 4
times its original depth and it will take on a much softer texture and a whitish
color. It will continue to “grow” somewhat over the course of the first week.
Approximately once a week, up to 1 bag of new pellets will need to be added
to compensate for the amount of manure and saturated bedding taken out
of the stall. Note: these new pellets should be scattered evenly and do not
need to be wetted down when they are added to the mix. Many horse
owners who use pellets strip the stalls once every two or three months,
instead of weekly, thereby saving a considerable amount of waste volume
and significantly reducing the cost of bedding and labor.
Because the solid manure separates so easily from the fine wood fibers,
very little of the bedding is actually removed from the stall. The urine
saturated areas should be removed entirely, leaving only dry to moist
bedding (Key: Do not scatter the saturated bedding, as some brands
suggest, as this will lead to ammonia odors and necessitate mucking out the
entire stall before the material has been fully utilized).
There are a number of ways to set up a stall with wood pellets; however, the
following series of steps seems to work quite well in most situations:
Clean out the stall down to the floor (dirt, wood, concrete, rubber mats).
Place the contents of three to five bags (40-pounds each) in the center two-
thirds of the stall, and spread the pellets out to an even depth of roughly 2
inches. Alternatively, you may also locate the bedded area where the horse
prefers to “go”. The number of bags used will depend on the size of the stall,
climate, horses’ habits, and personal experience from working with the
bedding.
Next, lightly moisten the pellets with 2 to 3 gallons of water to initiate their
opening to a "fluffy" consistency. (I think this is the secret to success with
wood pellet bedding.) The water serves to break down the resin sheen on
the sides of the pellet. The amount of water used will depend on the
humidity of your area and may vary at different times of the year.
For deeper bedding, you may choose to add one or two more bags on top
and again moisten with 1 to 2 gallons of water. Deeper bedding is not always
advantageous, and therefore some experimentation is appropriate to
optimize product use. Because they are highly absorbent, it’s OK to be
stingy with wood pellets.
Within 20 minutes of wetting, the bedding will expand to approximately 3 to 4
times its original depth and it will take on a much softer texture and a whitish
color. It will continue to “grow” somewhat over the course of the first week.
Approximately once a week, up to 1 bag of new pellets will need to be added
to compensate for the amount of manure and saturated bedding taken out
of the stall. Note: these new pellets should be scattered evenly and do not
need to be wetted down when they are added to the mix. Many horse
owners who use pellets strip the stalls once every two or three months,
instead of weekly, thereby saving a considerable amount of waste volume
and significantly reducing the cost of bedding and labor.
Because the solid manure separates so easily from the fine wood fibers,
very little of the bedding is actually removed from the stall. The urine
saturated areas should be removed entirely, leaving only dry to moist
bedding (Key: Do not scatter the saturated bedding, as some brands
suggest, as this will lead to ammonia odors and necessitate mucking out the
entire stall before the material has been fully utilized).
TESTIMONIAL
http://www.ourfirsthorse.com/2006/04
At some point - preferably before you get your horse,
but at least soon after - you will have to decide what
kind of bedding you want to use for your horse. Of
course your horse’s comfort is an important
consideration, but since, unlike your dog’s bed, this
bedding won’t just be slept on - that’s right, horses are
not “house broken” - there are other considerations
too, such as absorbency and siftability (is that a real
word, or did I just make one up?). When you greet
your beautiful, elegant equine companion in the
morning, you will see that he made a small project for
you to work on that day. More likely, two or three
projects. He probably even has some stuck to his face.
Sweet.
There are several options for horse bedding,
beginning with the base - the stall floor. Our barn floor
is just plain old dirt, but some barns have permanent
flooring. You can also put in rubber floors - we are
looking into that. They are easier to keep clean than
dirt, and more comfortable for your horse than dirt or
cement.
On top of whatever kind of floor you have, you need
the multi-purpose bedding. This should provide
comfort for your horse and absorb whatever he may
leave in there for you to muck out. There are basically
three choices: straw, wood shavings, and wood pellets.
Straw is the classic barn bedding. Upsides: It’s cheap
and easy. I think it’s pretty comfortable too - we used it
at first, and Valentine never complained. Downsides: it’
s not very absorbent, and it’s hard to sort the wheat
from the chaff, so to speak…when you go for the poo,
you get a lot of straw too.
We haven’t used wood shavings for Valentine, but we
do use them for our goat, Joey. They work great for
Joey, because he hardly ever uses his little house as
an outhouse, so one pack of shavings lasts forever.
Upsides: They smell great, and cedar shavings, at
least, naturally repel fleas. Downsides: We didn’t try
these because we decided they wouldn’t be cost-
effective. You’d have to buy a lot to fill a stall, and
replace the soiled bedding with new shavings at a
pretty good clip.
We finally settled on wood pellets. There are several
brands out there. When we were researching this
topic, the brand we found was Woody Pet. They don’t
sell this brand anywhere nearby, but we checked at
our local feed stores and co-ops and found a similar
product sold under different names, such as Equine
Pine and Eagle Valley ABM Advanced Bedding
Management. We also asked other horse owners and
the people at the feed stores and co-ops, and the
consensus seems to be that this stuff is the best thing
since sliced bread. So we shoveled out all the straw
and put in six bags of wood pellets…
watered them down to fluff them up per instructions…
and presto! Soft, fluffy, absorbent and sweet-smelling
bedding! Which equals a sweeter-smelling horse. If
you love on your horse like I do, you’ll appreciate that.
Equally importantly, the stall cleans up faster and
easier than ever before. The sawdust - which is what
you end up with after you wet the pellets down - sifts
right through the fork and all you’re shoveling out is
poo. The urine soaks into the sawdust until the
sawdust has reached maximum absorbing capacity,
then it clumps together and you can shovel it right out.
My big sweetie always pees in exactly the same place,
so I just shovel that spot out every couple of days and
add more.
http://www.ourfirsthorse.com/2006/04
At some point - preferably before you get your horse,
but at least soon after - you will have to decide what
kind of bedding you want to use for your horse. Of
course your horse’s comfort is an important
consideration, but since, unlike your dog’s bed, this
bedding won’t just be slept on - that’s right, horses are
not “house broken” - there are other considerations
too, such as absorbency and siftability (is that a real
word, or did I just make one up?). When you greet
your beautiful, elegant equine companion in the
morning, you will see that he made a small project for
you to work on that day. More likely, two or three
projects. He probably even has some stuck to his face.
Sweet.
There are several options for horse bedding,
beginning with the base - the stall floor. Our barn floor
is just plain old dirt, but some barns have permanent
flooring. You can also put in rubber floors - we are
looking into that. They are easier to keep clean than
dirt, and more comfortable for your horse than dirt or
cement.
On top of whatever kind of floor you have, you need
the multi-purpose bedding. This should provide
comfort for your horse and absorb whatever he may
leave in there for you to muck out. There are basically
three choices: straw, wood shavings, and wood pellets.
Straw is the classic barn bedding. Upsides: It’s cheap
and easy. I think it’s pretty comfortable too - we used it
at first, and Valentine never complained. Downsides: it’
s not very absorbent, and it’s hard to sort the wheat
from the chaff, so to speak…when you go for the poo,
you get a lot of straw too.
We haven’t used wood shavings for Valentine, but we
do use them for our goat, Joey. They work great for
Joey, because he hardly ever uses his little house as
an outhouse, so one pack of shavings lasts forever.
Upsides: They smell great, and cedar shavings, at
least, naturally repel fleas. Downsides: We didn’t try
these because we decided they wouldn’t be cost-
effective. You’d have to buy a lot to fill a stall, and
replace the soiled bedding with new shavings at a
pretty good clip.
We finally settled on wood pellets. There are several
brands out there. When we were researching this
topic, the brand we found was Woody Pet. They don’t
sell this brand anywhere nearby, but we checked at
our local feed stores and co-ops and found a similar
product sold under different names, such as Equine
Pine and Eagle Valley ABM Advanced Bedding
Management. We also asked other horse owners and
the people at the feed stores and co-ops, and the
consensus seems to be that this stuff is the best thing
since sliced bread. So we shoveled out all the straw
and put in six bags of wood pellets…
watered them down to fluff them up per instructions…
and presto! Soft, fluffy, absorbent and sweet-smelling
bedding! Which equals a sweeter-smelling horse. If
you love on your horse like I do, you’ll appreciate that.
Equally importantly, the stall cleans up faster and
easier than ever before. The sawdust - which is what
you end up with after you wet the pellets down - sifts
right through the fork and all you’re shoveling out is
poo. The urine soaks into the sawdust until the
sawdust has reached maximum absorbing capacity,
then it clumps together and you can shovel it right out.
My big sweetie always pees in exactly the same place,
so I just shovel that spot out every couple of days and
add more.
Wood Pellet Bedding for Equines Demonstration
Conclusion:
The pelleted bedding material is extremely dry and can absorb more moisture than the fresh
sawdust that was used in this project. While the cost of the pelleted bedding is more on an
initial basis, individual situations must be considered to determine if it is more economical to
use in an operation.
Factors that would impact the decision to use the pellets would be the cost of hauling and
storing bedding as well as the cost of manure storage, removal and spreading by the farm.
For this project it was calculated that the pelleted bedding would cost 40% more than the
sawdust bedding on a volume basis.
The pelleted bedding comes in water proof bags that can be stored outside in inclement
weather, so a farm would not need the added storage area for clean bedding. Also, the
pelleted bedding is delivered to the farm and so labor costs associated with going to the
sawmill to pickup and haul the sawdust as well as the truck to transport the clean bedding
would not be necessary with pelleted bedding.
Using the pelleted bedding produced only 3/4 of the weight of manure compared to manure
from sawdust bedded stalls. Also, 2/3 of the volume of manure was produced from pellet
bedded stalls compared to sawdust bedded stalls. Storage structures for manure could be
significantly downsized if pelleted bedding were used. In this project the type of bedding
material did not affect the amount of time to actually clean the stall, but labor savings would
result from the time to take bedding to the stall.
Horse-keepers need to determine the average amount of bedding they use and manure they
remove from stalls to be able to accurately size manure and bedding storage areas. There
can be a great variability in the amount of bedding used and manure removed from a horse
stall depending on the gender of the horse and variations among the horse-keepers
themselves.
Conclusion:
The pelleted bedding material is extremely dry and can absorb more moisture than the fresh
sawdust that was used in this project. While the cost of the pelleted bedding is more on an
initial basis, individual situations must be considered to determine if it is more economical to
use in an operation.
Factors that would impact the decision to use the pellets would be the cost of hauling and
storing bedding as well as the cost of manure storage, removal and spreading by the farm.
For this project it was calculated that the pelleted bedding would cost 40% more than the
sawdust bedding on a volume basis.
The pelleted bedding comes in water proof bags that can be stored outside in inclement
weather, so a farm would not need the added storage area for clean bedding. Also, the
pelleted bedding is delivered to the farm and so labor costs associated with going to the
sawmill to pickup and haul the sawdust as well as the truck to transport the clean bedding
would not be necessary with pelleted bedding.
Using the pelleted bedding produced only 3/4 of the weight of manure compared to manure
from sawdust bedded stalls. Also, 2/3 of the volume of manure was produced from pellet
bedded stalls compared to sawdust bedded stalls. Storage structures for manure could be
significantly downsized if pelleted bedding were used. In this project the type of bedding
material did not affect the amount of time to actually clean the stall, but labor savings would
result from the time to take bedding to the stall.
Horse-keepers need to determine the average amount of bedding they use and manure they
remove from stalls to be able to accurately size manure and bedding storage areas. There
can be a great variability in the amount of bedding used and manure removed from a horse
stall depending on the gender of the horse and variations among the horse-keepers
themselves.
| Running Aces Harness Track Forest Lake, MN |
Valley Forest Wood Products
Wood pellets absorb urine, moisture in stalls
By CHARLES RAMSAY
Regional Editor
Published: Sunday, April 13, 2008 9:43 PM CDT
CHERRY — While winter may seem to be melting away, the barnyard set will still be staying
indoors over the damp nights ahead.
And, according to Karena Ersbo of Valley Forest Wood Products, the best thing to have in the
stall for horses and cattle is their Barn Buddy product.
“It controls the ammonia, which is harmful for their respiratory tract,’’ she said. Barn Buddy,
wood pellets which absorb urine and moisture, also are sterile, which helps in keeping stalls
cleaner and good for horse bedding. It is produced at Valley Forest Wood Products in
Marcell, Minn., and is owned by the Mountain Timber group in Mountain Iron.
Made up of 50 percent pine and 50 percent aspen, Barn Buddy contains no binders or ends,
and at 5 percent moisture, can absorb lots of moisture than straw can that may be in the barn,
Ersbo said.
The product works well with cattle, chickens, goats, geese, pigs and dog kennels. About 4-5
bags in a 10 foot-by-10 foot stall with a few gallons of water, makes the pellets open to up to
four times their original size. Cleaning removes very little of the material, and stalls can be
stripped out every two to three months, compared to weekly, for regular wood shavings. Straw
and sawdust contain on average about 50 percent moisture, and don’t hold as well as the
wood pellets do. With low dust, and lower humidity holding down mold and bacteria, there is
less chance for animals to get lung congestion, she said.
Ersbo, sales representative for Valley Forest Wood Products, expects sales to expand to the
upper Midwest, from North Dakota and South Dakota to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and
eventually nationwide and overseas. Sales are taking off now. “It’s going strong,’’ she said.
There are lots of horses, and horse people, on the Range, Ersbo explained. And going from
homestead to homestead, she said people have been receptive to trying out Barn Buddy. In
one week recently, she sold more than five tons of the material.
Local dealers carrying the wood pellets include L & M Fleet Supply in Mountain Iron, the New
London Warehouse in Virginia and Homestead Mills in Cook.
Wood pellets absorb urine, moisture in stalls
By CHARLES RAMSAY
Regional Editor
Published: Sunday, April 13, 2008 9:43 PM CDT
CHERRY — While winter may seem to be melting away, the barnyard set will still be staying
indoors over the damp nights ahead.
And, according to Karena Ersbo of Valley Forest Wood Products, the best thing to have in the
stall for horses and cattle is their Barn Buddy product.
“It controls the ammonia, which is harmful for their respiratory tract,’’ she said. Barn Buddy,
wood pellets which absorb urine and moisture, also are sterile, which helps in keeping stalls
cleaner and good for horse bedding. It is produced at Valley Forest Wood Products in
Marcell, Minn., and is owned by the Mountain Timber group in Mountain Iron.
Made up of 50 percent pine and 50 percent aspen, Barn Buddy contains no binders or ends,
and at 5 percent moisture, can absorb lots of moisture than straw can that may be in the barn,
Ersbo said.
The product works well with cattle, chickens, goats, geese, pigs and dog kennels. About 4-5
bags in a 10 foot-by-10 foot stall with a few gallons of water, makes the pellets open to up to
four times their original size. Cleaning removes very little of the material, and stalls can be
stripped out every two to three months, compared to weekly, for regular wood shavings. Straw
and sawdust contain on average about 50 percent moisture, and don’t hold as well as the
wood pellets do. With low dust, and lower humidity holding down mold and bacteria, there is
less chance for animals to get lung congestion, she said.
Ersbo, sales representative for Valley Forest Wood Products, expects sales to expand to the
upper Midwest, from North Dakota and South Dakota to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and
eventually nationwide and overseas. Sales are taking off now. “It’s going strong,’’ she said.
There are lots of horses, and horse people, on the Range, Ersbo explained. And going from
homestead to homestead, she said people have been receptive to trying out Barn Buddy. In
one week recently, she sold more than five tons of the material.
Local dealers carrying the wood pellets include L & M Fleet Supply in Mountain Iron, the New
London Warehouse in Virginia and Homestead Mills in Cook.
