I began using tractor supply brand pelleted bedding last year and like how easy it is to pick clean. Unfortunately all my local tractor supplies are out and I’ve been thinking about trying other brands to see if any are less dusty. Does anyone have any brands of pelleted bedding that they prefer? For reference, I’m located in Central, NJ. Thanks!
Not in your area but honestly they all seem alike. I can’t use them as maresy starts coughing so I use shavings. Those do differ substantially.
Anything but tractor supply. Theirs is the WORST.
I prefer a softer pellet type that will fluff up easily when wetted. Or honestly? Whatever’s on sale when I need them!!
My favorite is Regal Downs pelleted bedding. I am in the Southeast, though, so I have no idea if this is available in your area or not. I have also used Guardian brand, which is pretty widely available, I think. It has a bit darker color, so I don’t like it quite as much, but the quality is good. TSC brand is my least favorite.
Im having a love-hate relationship with my pelleted bedding! Ive been using for just a couple months. I have used a few bags of the TSC brand when I was short before my next delivery and honestly they seem exactly the same as the expensive Guardian brand I have delivered. I LOVE how easy they are to clean, I love the texture and feel of them in the stall. However, mine spend a lot of time outside so I bed the stalls rather infrequently (lets say no more than 1 bag a week really) and it gets SO FREAKIN DUSTY. The pelleted bedding was highly recommended to me, I was having terrible dust issues with shavings prior so I am really bummed that these things are breaking down and making just as much dust. Its primarily only an issue in the dry winter, but I don’t know what else to do at this point - is there ANY bedding (besides straw - NOT going there) that doesnt break down within a week and turn into the sands of Egypt blowing in the wind?
Pellets are way dustier than shavings because pellets are just compressed sawdust, and when you wet them and fluff them up they are just powder.
I have shavings that last months in my stall because maresy poops in her runout paddock, but it is out of the wind.
If I had a shelter more open to the wind I would likely just bed up with a load of hogfuel in the fall (big cedar bark and sawmill trim).
When my pellets start to get dusty I spray them down with a hose. Honestly, I don’t think they are any more dust producing than shavings.
Totally agree. There is a bit of a learning curve on how much moisture to add, and when. Humidity, precipitation and wind plays a big part, at least for me.
This made me giggle because my opinion is the opposite. I have tried the pellets they sell in various other places (a few different brands) and I always come back to the Tractor Supply.
Which is annoying to me since I have to go to two different places to get supplies since I like the alfalfa cubes they sell at one place and the pellet bedding at Tractor Supply.
1 Like
I must be doing it all wrong then. When I hose them down they are just dusty 24 hours later.
What’s your routine? Some things I did in MN to keep the bedding from drying out were:
Closing dutch doors entirely when horses were out. Leaving them open let wind sweep through barn. Not only would it blow the bedding fines out of the stalls, it would just strip moisture out of the bed.
Pile bedding in middle of the stall after cleaning while horses were out. Less surface area = less evaporation.
Add water to bedding before adding it to the stall. Cut open bag, spray into bag for 15 count, wait maybe ten minutes before adding to stall. Found that much better than trying to spray the pellets out of the bag. Add more or less water for your needs.
The only time I had issues with dust there was the dead of winter when I really couldn’t add water.
CT climate is of course totally different and I had to figure out pellets all over again here :lol:
my barn stays pretty closed up in the ‘dead of winter’ but it rarely gets below freezing in there so I never have issues with keeping it watered. I put the pellets in a muck tub and add warm h20 - seems to speed up the process and they fluff up pretty quick. dump the tub in the stall and spread around. i only bed about an inch, maybe 2 inches deep and everything is swept to the back half of the stall to keep the doorway clear. they only spend 6 hours or so inside, sometimes not even that, so Im rarely taking a ton of dirty bedding out. I add a bag of bedding usually about once a week. but the layer underneath is super dusty so by day 3 or 4 when sifting around its kicking up dust.
In all fairness, I havnt had them during summer, which Im thinking they may be absolutely perfect during the humid weather. the shavings i used before got just as dusty this time of year last year, so its not like im any worse than I was. It’s just annoying getting through mid-december to mid-march with all the dust! ugh.
I’m also a fan of TSC, but in super dry, cold winter, I use fine flakes.
