Pine Pellets

[Lightchick]

Hi!

Litter question!  I use Yesterday’s News, which I like, but even the cat-version is expensive.  So I asked at my local feed store about horse bedding.  I mentioned Equine Pine, and they don’t have it, but they do have a generic called “Pine Pellets,”  they said.  I didn’t actually see the product, so I don’t know much more. 

So my question is:  is ANY pine bedding that has been compressed into pellet-form ok for buns, or is the treatment that makes pine safe only done on certain pellet-type beddings? 

(I will, of course, make them show me what the actual product looks like before I buy it and inflict it on the buns, but the guy at the feed store isn’t going to know anything about whether it’s safe for my bunnies, so I was hoping you all might!)

Thanks!

[Ang]

I use woodstove pellets. works just as good as feline pine. i think it absorbs odors way better than yesterdays news.

[Lightchick]

What kind of store do you get woodstove pellets from? (We don’t have a whole lot of woodburning stoves in Los Angeles! I’m not sure where to start looking for that, which was why I was going the horse-bedding route…but I don’t have to if I can FIND the woodstove pellets!)

[Lightchick]

Google searches are failing me on both Equine Pine & stove pellets… There aren’t even many feed stores that close to me… The one thing it’s hard to find in the city–rural/agricultural supplies!

Which is why I’m hoping someone knows whether all pine pellets are safe, or if that’s only true of a select few.

But yeah, if you could let me know what kind of store to look up for stove pellets, I’ll dig into that, too… (Home Depot’s and Lowes’ websites failed me, but that’s normal. Their search engines have always given me no answers no matter what I want…)

[Veronica Vigilant]

My understanding is that all pine pellets are safe, not just certain brands.

For wood stove pellets- try local hardware stores (ACE Hardware or OSH for example)- I’ve found them at places like that before- just make sure they don’t have any accelerant added.

[JK]

I also use wood stove pellets and I buy them at a lumber store.  I would just call around the lumber stores.  I am sure you can find them in LA. I just googled “wood stove pellets, los angeles, ca”  and there are alot of places to call.  Even stores that sell pellet stoves would for sure have them.  The pellets are the best I have tried.  No pee odor whatsoever and easy to use and CHEAP!  $7.99 for 40 pounds.

[Moonlight_Wolf]

I saw some wood stove pellets on amazon. You could buy them there or somewhere online.
So wood stove pellets are safe? Is it ok if your bunny munches on them a bit? My bunny likes to munch on her litter a little bit, not like a feast but still…

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Do the poisonous phenols from the wood get removed from the sawdust in processing? I just want to make sure because I too have yesterday’s news and am looking for another source that is cheaper.

[JK]

Yes they are completely safe.  The brand I use is Lignetics.  SaveABunny, a rabbit rescue here  also uses these for their 80+ rabbits. Try them you’ll love them!

[JK]

They are safe but I would not let my rabbit munch on them!  It’s not like they are paper where a rabbit may munch on that..  Amazon?  I would think the shipping would be very high as the bags are 40lbs.  Lumber stores are a much better bet.

[Veronica Vigilant]

Moonlight wolf… yes, the phenols are baked out in the processing of the pellets, that’s why pine pellets are fine but pine shavings are not.

[Lightchick]

So I’ll take that as a yes, that the pine pellets at the feed store are probably fine…

I’m feeling very frustrated about this whole litter thing. I actually asked to look at the pellets at the feed store, and they are HUGE (meant for horse bedding), and I can’t imagine my buns would find them comfortable to sit on, nor would I be able to clean the poop out easily (I clean out the dirty spots once a day, but only dump the whole thing out once a week). So I didn’t get it.

I don’t know what websites you found, Knowltons, but when I search for “wood stove pellets long beach” or “los angeles”–not that I want to drive all the way to LA to get litter…I’d spend as much on gas as I would save by getting cheaper litter!–, I get nothing useful. There are a bunch of shopping sites that will pop up no matter what you Google (“Looking for a ______? Buy them cheap HERE!”), and several blogs, and a couple of newspaper articles, but none of them are an actualy store that carries them. Yes, Home Depot and Ace pop up, but when you search their website, only the stoves show up, not the pellets. And I went to both in person, this weekend, and several people in each store looked at me like I was nuts, asking for stove-things in LA, and didn’t even know what stove pellets were, anyway.

I haven’t investigated lumber stores much, yet.

I ended up back at the pet store, and they were out of Yesterday’s News, so I got Feline Pine, which isn’t much cheaper, so I might as well stick with Yesterday’s News….

Argh.

This is a lot more difficult than it should be. (Yes, I could probably drive east toward more horsey-areas and find something else, but if I have to drive TOO far, it becomes more trouble, and gas, than it’s worth.) The plight of the urban bunny-owner!

[Sarita]

Yes, that is correct. I cannot get wood stove pellets where live (at least lately) but those are great alternatives to the horse pellets – just make sure there are no accelerants in the wood stove pellets. It could be too that it might be seasonal where you are at too – I live in Dallas, Texas.

I don’t find the horse pellets to be too large though – they are larger than the Yesterday’s News and most of the sawdust pellets that I’ve used are larger than the Yesterday’s News. I like Lone Star Bedding – not sure if you can find that in LA though. The place I got them was out of them the last time I went so I just got another brand – just not as good but it is okay – just cannot remember the name of this other brand.

[BinkyBunny]

I used to get mine at Osh – for something like $5 bucks for a 40 pound bag.

Here is the store location page for Osh http://osh.know-where.com/osh/

Give them a call first though as I know it can be seasonal, but this would be the time that they would start carrying them even in Southern California. 

 

[wendyzski]

Posted By Lightchick on 10/13/2008 10:59 AM
So I’ll take that as a yes, that the pine pellets at the feed store are probably fine…

I’m feeling very frustrated about this whole litter thing. I actually asked to look at the pellets at the feed store, and they are HUGE (meant for horse bedding), and I can’t imagine my buns would find them comfortable to sit on, nor would I be able to clean the poop out easily (I clean out the dirty spots once a day, but only dump the whole thing out once a week). So I didn’t get it.

 

I really find that I don’t NEED to scoop the pine stuff because there is no odor.  I dump the whole box once a week and I never smell anything

[osprey]

Any feed stores near Long Beach? I get my wood pellets at a feed store, along with bales of orchard grass and oat hay.

[Lightchick]

So, my quest continues! (Are you all quite bored with this, yet?!)

Osprey, yes, there’s a feed store, but I didn’t like the look of the wood pellets, as they were HUGE, and I thought it would hurt little bunny feet…

I called 3 OSH’s, talked to 6 very confused people, and FINALLY FOUND ONE THAT HAS THEM! It’s only 12 miles away! (I’m not sure if I mean that seriously or sarcastically; take it as you will!).

So, I will give this one more shot.

Wendy, it’s not the smell that makes me want to get rid of the soiled stuff. If I let poop accumulate longer than 1 day, they kick them out all over the place when they jump in and out of the box.

And the NEW problem, since I’ve been using Feline Pine, is that the litter EXPANDS when it absorbs water. And Robbie and Lizzy both only use 1 of the 2 litter boxes they have in their pen (the other they hang out in, and eat hay from, but don’t use as a bathroom. Weird.), and they both pee in the same spot. So the litter in that spot expands, and gets higher. There was a time last week that it got so high that when one bun or another backed up to do his/her business, the edge of the box was no longer a stopping point, and the bun peed right over the side!

And because the Feline Pine disintegrates so much when wet, the 1 bag only lasted me 1 week (it was a smaller bag than Yesterday’s News comes in, though). I’m guessing that Yesterday’s News lasts me 2.5-3 weeks. So that makes Feline Pine more expensive to maintain, because it was only $3-4 cheaper than YN.

So, I’m going to buy some stove pellets, and see how that goes. They said 40lb for $5.99. So we’ll see how long 1 bag lasts, and take it from there!

Thanks for the help!

[KatnipCrzy]

I have had such good luck with woodstove pellets with odor control and price.  I have 2 styles  of litterbox- 1 uses a cage tray and grate so the bunny never comes in contact with the litter- I change and wash this about once a week.  The other is a typical cat litter box and I put a layer of newspaper down and then 2 cups or so of wood pellets and then hay- and then dump it every other day.  The newspaper ensures the plastic stays clean of the mushy dissolved pellets, and the pellets are so cheap that I don’t mind dumping it every other day.

I am sure if I was using Feline Pine or YN I would stress more about dumping it so often due to cost.

[Author]

Messages