# Wood pellets



## OakRidgeRabbits (Dec 1, 2012)

For those of you who use wood pellets as litter, what do you use? I usually just pick up equine pine pellets, but heard that some people use actual stove pellets (not specifically marketed as litter).

After I picked up a bag, a friend told me that wood stove pellets are often made of hardwoods which are not safe for rabbits.

Opinions? My rabbits don't have contact with the litter, it's just in the trays.


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## Korr_and_Sophie (Dec 1, 2012)

I use wood stove pellets. The ones I got this time actually say they can be used as pet litter. I get whatever Rona has, so it can vary. I have found that the horse pellets tend to be more expensive and are harder to find around here (in the city and I don't really know the feed stores in the area, Rona is about a 5 minute or less drive).


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## Nancy McClelland (Dec 1, 2012)

The first time I heard of pellets being used, they were the wood stove kind. Never heard anything bad about them before.


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## OakRidgeRabbits (Dec 1, 2012)

I asked the person who told me this- apparently some hardwood pellets contain black walnut, which is poisonous to a variety of living things. Horse pellets are specifically formulated to include soft woods because contact with black walnut can cause laminitis. I just wondered whether anyone had heard anything related to rabbits- either contact toxicity or fumes/respiratory.

Here is an article with a little overview about black walnut:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1148.html


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## SOOOSKA (Dec 2, 2012)

Good Lord, I heard the complete opposite. I also heard that either or are ok.

i use what ever the store has when i buy them. Sometimes hard wood, sometimes soft wood, sometimes mixed.

I have been using them for years now, no issue.

Do a search on here, I know their was a blog about this a while ago.

Susan


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## OakRidgeRabbits (Dec 2, 2012)

Hm...well, I guess I'll just stick to the horse pellets to be on the safe side. Others I've talked to who have tried both said the softwood tends to be more absorbent and they noticed a weird odor to hardwood (???).

I was just going to try hardwood because it was cheaper, but maybe I can find another use for it. I just use the pellets sprinkled on top of shavings, so one bag lasts awhile anyway.


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## majorv (Dec 2, 2012)

We haven't tried the wood stove pellets. We can get the equine wood pellets at TSC or a feed store for about $6 per 40/lb bag. If the wood stove pellets emit a fume when they burn that's one thing but if they emit it when they get wet then I'd be very leery of using them. I'm curious to know.


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## Ape337 (Dec 2, 2012)

I have used both. I found that the hardwood pellets didn't absorb urine the way softwood pellets do so I only use softwood pellets. I use southern states premium pellet bedding. It's for horses and costs about $7 for 40 lbs. It may be slightly less than that but it's been a while since I bought it because I buy several bags when I'm up there.

Black walnut trees do contain juglone which is poisonous to many plants that attempt to grow near it. It has the effect of reducing competition for the tree. I've only ever dealt with it in the plant world. I'd never heard of it being poisonous to animals so I checked out OSU's info and they did say something about being careful with animals and fresh shavings. But they also said the compound degrades during composting and with exposure to air, water and bacteria.

Since pellets are processed I would think juglone would have degraded during processing? :?


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## Troller (Dec 2, 2012)

I used wood stove pellets, whatever Lowes is selling at the time. I cant say Ive been using it so long that I'd know for sure but no problems so far. When I asked my Vet (she's a noted vet in these parts) she said it was fine as long as there were no accelerants (logical Id figure).


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## Kipcha (Dec 5, 2012)

We get the equine pellets. They're cheaper and they are fairly easy to get for us because we have horses as well and give them supplements/feed, mainly during the winter where the pasture isn't available, and we stock up on them whenever we go to the feed store. They're only $4.99 for a 40 lb bag so it lasts quite a while.


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## ldoerr (Dec 5, 2012)

When I used to use them I just used whatever the feed store sold. It was like $4-$5 a bag I think (been a few years since I bought any). I do not use them anymore though.


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## roxyllsk (Dec 6, 2012)

I get the horse bedding too. It does the best job of controlling the urine odor or any bedding product I've tried. Even if parts of the litter are totally sodden, they don't smell. It's so reasonably priced I don't bother trying to save any of the dry litter, I just dump the whole thing and refill with fresh. I have 2 wee bunnies and have 2 litter pans that I change every 2 or 3 days. 

I got 3 bags (30 or 40lbs) for like $19, which will probably last me several months. I was using the newpaper bedding, and $20 worth would only last me 2 weeks and the litterpans would start to get stinky by the time they were due for a change. 

If you don't have a Tractor Supply nearby (and they are popping up everywhere any more), try looking in the phone book for your local feed store (Agway, or a Blue Seal Feed dealer, or something like that). They'll have it as well.


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## Guilty (Dec 6, 2012)

OakRidgeRabbits said:


> After I picked up a bag, a friend told me that wood stove pellets are often made of hardwoods which are not safe for rabbits.


 
It's actually quite the opposite. Hard woods are the safe wood to use. Soft woods are just dangerous. Pine, fir, Cedar, Etc. 
Its often not as noticed when it comes to pellets, especially if your rabbit doesnt have physical contact them, but why risk it?

Have a read of these 2 links

http://www.rabbit.org/care/shavings.html

http://www.afrma.org/rminfo2a.htm


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## Kipcha (Dec 6, 2012)

Guilty said:


> It's actually quite the opposite. Hard woods are the safe wood to use. Soft woods are just dangerous. Pine, fir, Cedar, Etc.
> Its often not as noticed when it comes to pellets, especially if your rabbit doesnt have physical contact them, but why risk it?
> 
> Have a read of these 2 links
> ...



Thing is, it is the oils in the wood that are dangerous for the animals, so when they are kiln dried for the pellets, it removes those oils and makes them safe for bunnies.

Besides, I am pretty certain Cedar is the main dangerous one, and those aren't often used, especially in the pellets I use for horses since Cedar isn't good for anything.


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## Watermelons (Dec 6, 2012)

It will never remove all the oils. Cedar is definatly more dangerous but other soft woods still pose a danger. Why risk their health over a few dollars? There are a fair number of recycled newspaper pellets out there. Horse and wood stove pellets are designed for well stoves and huge animals that dont keep their noses within an inch of the bedding when their on it.

Point is Pine and Cedar are still dangous woods. Unless their still in plank or 2x4 form, ground up or shaved up allows for so much more surface area to be exposed where those oils can escape from. People should still really look into it.


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## Kipcha (Dec 6, 2012)

Watermelons said:


> Horse and wood stove pellets are designed for well stoves and huge animals that dont keep their noses within an inch of the bedding when their on it.
> 
> Point is Pine and Cedar are still dangous woods. Unless their still in plank or 2x4 form, ground up or shaved up allows for so much more surface area to be exposed where those oils can escape from. People should still really look into it.



Horses most certainly do spend a lot of time with their noses to the ground, a lot of people choose to feed hay by laying it on the ground after all. Not to mention most stall horses are confined to a small area for very long amounts of time in spaces with normally poor ventilation. Horses will kick stuff up and it floats in the air, it will be breathed in by them. A lot of horses even sometimes lay down in their stalls. Ours are out on pasture so we don't have to worry about that, but horses are a huge investment, upwards tens of thousands of dollars, and most of the expensive stables will use the pellets since they don't cause the respiratory problems in horses like shavings and other beddings do.

Like I said, Cedar isn't used in most of them. I know it's not in the stuff we use.

I have never seen a true study suggesting that these pellets are bad. The shavings, yeah, but not the pellets themselves. I, for one, definitely do not feel I am putting my rabbits in any danger by using equine wood pellets.


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## majorv (Dec 6, 2012)

The equine pellets are the best I've used for odor control and absorption. Their cheap cost is just another plus for me. If I run across an unbiased study that proves they aren't safe then I'll certainly reconsider. :thumbup


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## Elliot (Dec 9, 2012)

Wow..I have been buying them at a pet store, and am probably paying 4X as much!


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## ldoerr (Dec 9, 2012)

Elliot said:


> Wow..I have been buying them at a pet store, and am probably paying 4X as much!



AT LEAST lol


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## Elliot (Dec 15, 2012)

Ok, I live in a big town, so not too many horse feed stores around. I found one fairly close that sells it by the lb. or $29.00 for a 50#lb bag. That is much cheaper than the $21.95 I am paying for 10#lb!


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## Imbrium (Dec 15, 2012)

wow, that's crazy expensive  I live in a major city and went to a feed store in town and paid $7 for 40 lbs.


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## slavetoabunny (Dec 15, 2012)

I use horse bedding pellets. It is really hard to find wood stove pellets here in Florida. The wood stove pellets are safe. You just need to make sure they haven't been treated with an accelerant.


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## Kipcha (Dec 15, 2012)

Elliot said:


> Ok, I live in a big town, so not too many horse feed stores around. I found one fairly close that sells it by the lb. or $29.00 for a 50#lb bag. That is much cheaper than the $21.95 I am paying for 10#lb!



Oh my goodness! There are no feed stores, or even tack stores? I cannot imagine paying that much!


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## majorv (Dec 15, 2012)

_


Elliot said:



Ok, I live in a big town, so not too many horse feed stores around. I found one fairly close that sells it by the lb. or $29.00 for a 50#lb bag. That is much cheaper than the $21.95 I am paying for 10#lb!

Click to expand...

_ 

OUCH!! I live in a big city, but on the outskirts, so there are several feed stores in the area plus a Tractor Supply, all of which carry the pelleted bedding for horses at a third of that price for 40#.


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## Elliot (Dec 15, 2012)

Hmm..maybe I should look a bit out in the boonies? It would have to be a substantial savings to offset extra gas and time though. I will look around a bit more. Thanks


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## Imbrium (Dec 16, 2012)

if you pick up a bale of hay (usually $9-14 for 60-80 lbs) and get a few bags of pine pellets so that you shouldn't have to go back until it's time to get another bale of hay, it's worth the trip to the boonies


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## Elliot (Dec 18, 2012)

Imbrium said:


> if you pick up a bale of hay (usually $9-14 for 60-80 lbs) and get a few bags of pine pellets so that you shouldn't have to go back until it's time to get another bale of hay, it's worth the trip to the boonies


Hello, I found a place that is a bit out of town. She has 40# bags for $8.00. I can get two bags for less than I was paying for one. How would I keep a bale of hay before it would dry up or get mildewed? This is Florida, our humidity is high. I am kind of a fan of the various oxbow hays. There are a variety, and they are fresh and green. Probably paying too much for that too, but oh well...


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## brittneydee (Dec 18, 2012)

I'm glad I'm not the only one that's been paying a fortune for litter! At least you have an excuse - I live in the middle of horse country and have never known about horse pellets! LOL Another advantage of living here is that I can buy western timothy hay by the bale and save a ton of $$ instead of having it shipped in from Oxbow. I just bought a 100lb bale for $38! :biggrin2: Of course I won't be able to use it all before it molds, etc. because I only have one bunny, but that's the smallest bale they carried. Even if you could only store it for a month or so it would still probably be cheaper than having it shipped in. Between the hay and the pellets I think it would definitely be worth the trip. How do you currently store your hay to protect it from the humidity?

We've only had our little girl for just over a week now and have already gone through $10 in litter, so I'm super excited to hear about these pellets! Especially since everyone raves about how well they control the urine smell  I'll swing by our local southern states and pick some up today!


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## Imbrium (Dec 18, 2012)

I ordered bale bags from this site - http://www.tackwholesale.com/bale-bags-c-11.html (I got two half-bale bags instead of one full one so that I could easily carry them in myself and so that they could be stacked to take up less space). they shipped out within a couple hours after ordering them and arrived in 2-3 days (with the cheapest shipping option).

I keep the bags in the corner of my living room. since hay is already dry and bales are compressed, you don't really have to worry about it "drying up" - just keep it inside so it doesn't get exposed to too much humidity and get moldy. hay can easily be stored for as much as a year as long as you keep it dry and insect-free.


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## SOOOSKA (Dec 18, 2012)

Jennifer I have one of those Bale Bags too. I love it. I keep it in their cupboard in their bedroom. I have never had a problem with mould. A bale can last sometimes 2 - 3 months.

They are a bit pricey but so worth it.

You should see me trying to get a bale of hay into my apartment with out anyone seeing. I do look like the "BAG" Lady. :nod lol

Susan:anotherbun


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## Elliot (Dec 19, 2012)

brittneydee said:


> I'm glad I'm not the only one that's been paying a fortune for litter! At least you have an excuse
> 
> How do you currently store your hay to protect it from the humidity?


LOL..:biggrin2:
On keeping the hay dry, it just stays inside and we use the A/C a lot. The bags are fairly small.


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## Bill Jesse (Dec 19, 2012)

I used pine pellets for a while until the supplier got a different type. These are stove pellets but on the label it mentions that they are good for bedding. In my case I put the pellets on the hutch floor, cover them with newspaper and then a bed of hay. My bunnies do not use a litter box sadly but go in the same spot all the time. So I am now just putting the pellets in that spot. I go through a 40 pound bag in about 6 months and I bought the last bag at Home Deptot for about $5.


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## ldoerr (Dec 19, 2012)

I store the majority of my bale in my parents garage (I live in a 2nd floor 1bdrm apt). I keep a plastic rubber made tub of it in my apt and refill at my parents when needed. Buying hay by the bale is SOOOOOOO much cheaper then at the petstore (or oxbow). I once calculated it out. At the time I could buy an 8oz bag at Petco for $8. I could get a 100lb bale of good quality timothy (that I just found out 6 years later) actually weighs 125-140lbs, at my feed store for $30 at the high end. I did some basic math 6 years ago about it and if I bought the same amount of hay at Petco that I bought at the feed store, the petco price was over $1000. (this is what I remember it being after 6 years since doing the math.

As you can see the feed store will save you sooooo much $$. A bale will last you at a bare minimum 6 months of feeding it daily. I have some hay that is 3 years old that is still perfectly fine (though I do not feed it anymore because I got newer stuff). I used to store it outside in a shed that had the doors open 24/7. There is only 1 haying season so all the hay you get no matter when in the year you get it is from that same month or two. Oxbow sells hay that is almost a year old I can just about guarantee you. The trick it to keep it dry and well ventalated. So I have found that keeping it loose in the garage or other area is best.


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