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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Horse stall pellets — help!

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    • JackRabbit
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        I’ve read that some folks on here use horse stall pellets as litter so I bought some to try — specifically, it’s Tractor Supply brand equine pelletized bedding (pine). Is this what you all are using? Is it supposed to smell like a lumber yard? Is this safe? Will the smell hurt my bunnies? What if they eat some of it?

        Thanks!


      • Sarita
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          Horse stall pellets are the same thing basically as wood stove pellets. Yes, they do have a distinct smell, like sawdust but you get used to it. It is safe and no the smell won’t hurt your rabbits. As far as eating, I doubt a small amount is a problem – it’s the same problem though you might have with any litter your rabbits might eat. I’ve never had a problem myself with any rabbit wanting to eat the horse stall pellets. I use a brand called Lone Star Litter – can only find it in Texas though and I’ve used it for years and years and really like it.


        • JackRabbit
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            How do you store them? In the original bag or transfer to a box? Do you let them air out?

            We put them in one litterbox and their regular Carefresh in the other litterbox. So far they are avoiding the wood pellet box (because the pellets move under their feet?).


          • Hazel
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              Yup, that’s what we use for cat, ferret and bunny litter. We sure keep Tractor Supply in business, we get almost all our pet supplies there… We just leave the pellets in the bag they come in.

              I would mix the pellets with your old litter, to get the bunnies used to it. Just a little at first, then increase the amount gradually.

              This stuff really works great, and you can’t beat the price.


            • JackRabbit
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                Yep, price is it. 30 lb bag with reg price $5.79 vs Carefesh 60L bag reg price $22. All for the bunnies to pee and poop on. What finally got me was spending $149 at Petsmart for 9 bags of Carefresh on a buy 2 get one free sale. Ugh!


              • Sarita
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                  Yep, just leave it in the bags. Cannot beat the price that is for certain! Would never use anything else.


                • longhairmike
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                    its the best,, put several layers of newspaper on the bottom of the tray before adding the pellets (go heaviest in the corner they use most),, then when changing time comes you can just roll the whole thing up… this gives me 3 days between litter changings


                  • JackRabbit
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                      How much do you all put in a litterbox — how deep? Hubby put like 2 or 3 inches deep of just wood pellets and the litterbox weighed a ton!


                    • Sarita
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                        You don’t need much because it is going to turn to sawdust. Try to just get a layer – I cannot tell you exactly how much I put in but it’s definitely not even an inch and 2 or 3 inches is way too much. I just really try to get just enough to cover the bottom of the litter box and kind of spread it around so that I don’t see the bottom. That’s probably clear as mud…


                      • JackRabbit
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                          Once they pee on it and it turns to sawdust, does it keep absorbing pee? Marlee and Moshi pee alot!


                        • kmurphy
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                            I use feline pine for my bunny at school but I use the equine horse pellets at home for both the bunny and my horses. Like Marlee and Moshi, Kraken drinks a lot of water and pees a lot!!! Once it turns to sawdust it is still absorbent but once that gets soaked it clumps together and doesn’t really absorb any more. With our horses, we immediately wet the bedding and have it expand into sawdust and it does a great job of absorbing their urine. With Kraken I find that if I add a little bedding over where he pees the most in between litter box changes, it can last a while and still be absorbent. Like Sarita said, I only start with less then an inch of bedding and it grow considerably when it turns into sawdust. But see what works best with you and your bunnies!


                          • JackRabbit
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                              We dump the litterboxes and refill every night (these two are hay monsters and can poop mountains of poop). I’m just concerned about whether or not once it turns to sawdust if it can handle a day’s worth of pee . . . Just imagining the pee wetting all that poop and ending up with mud by evening!


                            • Sarita
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                                I think a day worth of pee it can probably handle. But definitely don’t overfill because it might explode :~) Also it will be extra heavy when it’s wet.


                              • longhairmike
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                                  also considering our average daytime humidity is in the teens %, stuff evaporates quickly.
                                  i can make a whole bag of carrot jerky in one june afternoon


                                • Megabunny
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                                    I put just enough pine pellets to cover the bottom of the litter pan, then, as my little monster leaves piles, I add a scoop of more pellets over top, since rabbits don’t cover their messes. I can go 2-3 days in between changes if I don’t have it too deep to begin with. Two days is best, and IS heavy, but sometimes 3 days, but if it gets too high he pees over the side


                                  • Beka27
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                                      I put a few sections of newspaper on the bottom and then do one large drinking glass full of pellets in each box. I have one of those big plastic tumblers that i keep just as a litter scoop. The pellets do not cover the bottom, i can still see the newspaper. But when they get wet, they fill the bottom.

                                      With one bunny, i am only using about 3 bags of pellets a year. They last a long time.


                                    • JackRabbit
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                                        3 bags of pellets a year! If I could do that I could possibly take a vacation!

                                        Now I’m going to have to play with a few pellets and some water to see just what this stuff will do!


                                      • JackRabbit
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                                          These things are so cool! When they get wet, they grow and look like oatmeal worms but feel like sand. NOW I get the explosion! With 3 inches of pellets in a litterbox getting peed on, that could be like a pot boiling over! I could lose a bunny in there!

                                          For now, I’m going to keep mixing in Carefresh to slowly get them used to it.

                                          Anyone have a problem with their bunnies getting sawdust sticking to their feet?


                                        • Sarita
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                                            I’ve never noticed any sawdust soaked feet but I suppose if they like standing in the wet sawdust, it could likely happen.

                                            I once did a comparison with 3 different litters and water and posted it on BB to show absorption or something – I cannot remember exactly as it was awhile ago…but I’ve used these pelleted pine litters exclusively for awhile now. I have no idea how many bags per year I will go through with just one small rabbit…I usually only change his litter once a week too…I think that’s the joy of having just one rabbit too…not having to change multiple litter boxes more often :~)


                                          • Sarita
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                                              Well I guess actually I only did the Lone Star Litter – Petzy did the rest – here’s a link to that thread:

                                              https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/108969/Default.aspx


                                            • JackRabbit
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                                                Sarita — I had to laugh when I saw your test, especially after seeing for myself the other day how much the wood pellets puff up!


                                              • JackRabbit
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                                                  My vet nixed the pine horse stall pellets but said aspen pellets would be fine for my buns. I found some Aspen Supreme pellet litter for small animals. The pellets are the same size as the pine horse stall pellets, just a little longer. Bought a small bag to try. While the bunnies avoided to pine pellets until the lumber yard smell died down, they noticed the different smell of the aspen pellets but jumped right in the litterbox. I put the pellets on top of the Carefresh layer but think I’ll mix them in next time. Still cheaper than Carefresh alone.

                                                  Anybody used Aspen Supreme by Green Pet before?


                                                • Sarita
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                                                    Why did the vet nix the horse stall pellets?


                                                  • JackRabbit
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                                                      She said that the phenols can’t be *completely* removed from pine , and something about the effects of hydro somethings being unknown and that she doesn’t believe in takings any chances. I already spend alot on vet bills from me being a worry wart. The $5 a bag would have been nice, but even though the aspen pellets are more expensive, I should still save money even if I mix them with Carefresh.


                                                    • marbun18
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                                                        I really want to try the equine pellets (as I’ve been buying aspen sumreme for three years-sick of the price) but I’m worried from what the vet said in the previous post above. I don’t know what to do! Looks like so many like the equine pellets…


                                                      • Azerane
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                                                          Hi Corri, this thread is two years old and we ask that members don’t reply to old threads to avoid confusion. Feel free to start a new topic on this issue if it is of concern to you. Generally though, kiln dried pine products (which wood pellets are) are considered safe for use with rabbits.

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                                                      Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Horse stall pellets — help!