[Gpdd] Health - Bedding

Cuttlefish Arts cuttlefisharts at comcast.net
Sun Jan 18 11:32:54 EST 2004


I saw another discussion about bedding. I have my GPs in my living room,
which also serves as the room in which I greet clients for my home business,
so I'm more concerned about the room being presentable than I used to be. I
didn't want it to smell like a barn...

I've definitely found a magic bullet for my 2 indoor GPs and I thought I'd
see what you think. (By the way, I've kept GPs for 15 years). They live in a
custom made acrylic house with an open top -- 36 x 36 x 10 high -- and are
very happy in this space. (They also get floor time, of course.)

I have been using aspen shavings that I've found in large packages from a
local feed store. I've combined the aspen with another product called Feline
Pine. Feline Pine is a product that is a "natural" cat litter -- a pelleted
pine that has had the phenols dried out of it so it doesn't out-gas and hurt
the animal with toxins. When it gets wet it puffs up and absorbs the
wetness. There are no clays or other cat litter ingredients, just wood. I
mix the two, and I put NO newspaper under it -- I found that the layer of
newspaper gets damp and stays that way, and smells almost immediately. Also,
I periodically "toss" the bedding to distribute the dry pellets or throw
away any wet bedding (not often needed). Also, I throw away old hay often
and replace it with fresh instead of letting it build up as a "mat".

By the way, there are other pine pellet products made for small animal
bedding that are about the same -- but 3 times as expensive. I checked very
carefully when I found this product before using it, and it seems that when
you repackage something for small animals you immediately get to charge much
more. It might be that the pellets are slightly bigger, but NO other
difference that I have been able to track down in my research.

Anyway, the combination seems to completely neutralize ammonia as well -- my
2 pigs are almost completely odorless. I can even let them go an extra day
if I have to without compromising their health, which is the most important
thing of all. My test for bedding changes other than just general messiness
is to stick my head down in their enclosure and see how the air is, and it's
clean smelling and dry even on changing day.

Didn't want to ramble, but in all my years of keeping house pigs, this is
the very best I've come up with. It isn't the cheapest, but by buying bulk
sizes from feed stores I've kept the cost pretty reasonable. I also waste
less than I ever have.

Vic





More information about the Gpdd mailing list