How does Oxbow Eco Straw Litter compare to pine pellets?

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catneedham1994

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I was just curious how the Oxbow Eco Straw Litter compares to pine pellets. As pine is an Allergen in my house hold but I really like how good the odor control is for pine pellets. Also how dusty is it out of curiosity I've personally never used it but I'm looking for other options besides just paper baced and good alternative to pine backed pellets as well .
 
The process of pelletizing the pine removes the phenols that may cause allergy issues. I could see pine shavings as being problematic with allergies but would be more surprised with the pellet version. But if someone is having an allergic reaction, my first thought would be that it is more likely a reaction to the hay.

That said, the Oxbow pellets look like they would do a comparable (or close to comparable) job. I have not personally used that brand but I have used the Yesterday's News compressed pellets (no scent, no baking soda) which are similar. Those YN pellets I've considered to be my 2nd choice after wood pellets. Either the Oxbow or the Yesterday's News pellets are going to be considerably more pricey than wood pellets.

Another option you may have is to find wood pellets that are not pine. I've heard some people use hardwood pellets... may have been a type of woodstove pellets.
 
The process of pelletizing the pine removes the phenols that may cause allergy issues. I could see pine shavings as being problematic with allergies but would be more surprised with the pellet version. But if someone is having an allergic reaction, my first thought would be that it is more likely a reaction to the hay.

That said, the Oxbow pellets look like they would do a comparable (or close to comparable) job. I have not personally used that brand but I have used the Yesterday's News compressed pellets (no scent, no baking soda) which are similar. Those YN pellets I've considered to be my 2nd choice after wood pellets. Either the Oxbow or the Yesterday's News pellets are going to be considerably more pricey than wood pellets.

Another option you may have is to find wood pellets that are not pine. I've heard some people use hardwood pellets... may have been a type of woodstove pellets.
My mom is allergic to Pine she hasn't been around pine pellets as I don't have my rabbits yet, She's definitely allergic to Timothy Hay so I'm going to use Orchard Grass Hay instead.I haven't personally had issues with pine pellets as of yet ,I've been around them at my local house rabbit society where I volunteer ,but I haven't been around them to long to know if my skin might eventually get irritated. I have eczema and psoriasis and a lot of allergies myself luckily no allergies severe enough to any Animals or Hay just some mild allergies to dander of some animals not enough to really bother me to much. Which I'm grateful for since I love animals and they're extremely Therapeutic and healing for me. Thank you so much for the info about the pine Pellets. I will try them my mom i know for sure was also allergic to Aspen I used them for my first hamster years ago and she couldn't deal with them back when paper bedding wasn't as common in the early 2000's, But I haven't noticed any scent to the pine pellets so I think she'll be fine, not that she'll be dealing with them at all. . Hopefully my skin doesn't eventually react to it . I heard Yesterdays News was discontinued do you have another paper pellet litter that you'd recommend as a good paper pellet. Is Fresh News paper pellet comparable? I might try the eco straw if I end up not tolerating the pine pellets but I'd love other options as well . Just to be safe.
 
I did not know that Yesterday's News was discontinued. I just now tried to do a search and places I found were all out of stock, so maybe it is not an option. It appears that Fresh News is the same thing -- compressed pellets made from recycled newspaper. That should work just fine. Just be sure that the packaging does not mention "clumping" or "scented."

Hopefully, though, the pine pellets will work. There shouldn't really be a need for you to physically touch the pellets. You could use a scoop to get them from the bag to the litter box. Dumping can be done right into a plastic trash bag. So perhaps they will work for you. (Now I'll have to go update my website regarding the Yesterday's News litter. :) )
 
I did not know that Yesterday's News was discontinued. I just now tried to do a search and places I found were all out of stock, so maybe it is not an option. It appears that Fresh News is the same thing -- compressed pellets made from recycled newspaper. That should work just fine. Just be sure that the packaging does not mention "clumping" or "scented."

Hopefully, though, the pine pellets will work. There shouldn't really be a need for you to physically touch the pellets. You could use a scoop to get them from the bag to the litter box. Dumping can be done right into a plastic trash bag. So perhaps they will work for you. (Now I'll have to go update my website regarding the Yesterday's News litter. :) )
Ok thank you so much and yeah I recently noticed a lot of people online were saying yesterday's news was discontinued. When I was searching for the different paper pellet bedding and I definitely don't plan on getting anything scented or anything that contains baking soda I know those aren't safe . I feel like paper or the Oxbow Eco straw litter might be the safest options at least for me personally with my allergies and sensitivities. I think if I did a full litter box cleaning 1-2 times a week it would be good especially with how tiny my Rabbits are and how big the litter boxes I have for them are as well.
 
My rabbit Dobby is allergic to pine so I use the Oxbow eco straw pellets instead. I think for rabbits I find oxbow is better versus the pine pellets that we have in my area. I find the pine pellets to be a bit sharper and even in pellet form he wont use them. Our other rabbit Castiel is okay with either but I can tell he prefers the oxbow as well. Hope that helps a bit.
 
My rabbit Dobby is allergic to pine so I use the Oxbow eco straw pellets instead. I think for rabbits I find oxbow is better versus the pine pellets that we have in my area. I find the pine pellets to be a bit sharper and even in pellet form he wont use them. Our other rabbit Castiel is okay with either but I can tell he prefers the oxbow as well. Hope that helps a bit.
Thank you so much how long does the Oxbow Eco straw pellet litter last you out of curiosity and how often do you change the litter boxes? I have one 20 pound bag for now I haven't used yet since I don't have my rabbits yet , but I decided to try this pellet litter because I heard it's really good, Also since so many paper pellets have baking soda in them . I definitely want to try some paper pellet litter as well to see what me and my buns prefer , I know of a few paper pellet litter that don't have baking soda in them like Back To Nature ,The Small Pet Select brand and the Fresh News only the small animal version though as the Fresh News cat litter does have baking soda I'm cautious of anything that says extreme Odor control especially when they used to include baking soda then all the sudden they no longer say they have baking soda in them, but they refuse to say what ingredient they include to make it have extreme Odor control Even if they don't say that they have baking soda on the package it makes me suspicious especially if the company refuses to say if it has baking soda in their products like the Kaytee Extreme odor control and some of the Care Fresh brand bedding varieties had baking soda in them ,but the newer Kaytee Clean and Cozy extreme Odor control no longer says it has baking soda in it ,Yet they refuse to say what they use to make it extreme Odor control pretty suspicious if you ask me.
 
My rabbit Dobby is allergic to pine so I use the Oxbow eco straw pellets instead. I think for rabbits I find oxbow is better versus the pine pellets that we have in my area. I find the pine pellets to be a bit sharper and even in pellet form he wont use them. Our other rabbit Castiel is okay with either but I can tell he prefers the oxbow as well. Hope that helps a bit.
How deep of a layer of the Oxbow Pellets do you use in your litter box out of curiosity I am getting my Rabbits in a few hours but I haven't filled the litter box yet or added they're food and water dishes I'm waiting to closer til I actually get them but I'm not sure how much litter to use in the litter box it's the medium High Sided litter box from Chew.com frico brand. Thank you so much. I hope my buns end up liking the Oxbow Eco straw pellet litter I also am going to try safe paper Pellets and a soft paper bedding on top to make the litter softer and obviously I'll have tons of hay in there for them as well.
 
If you're trying to get things settled soon, then I would suggest around 2-3" of litter total for your setup. When I used the original Yesterday's News pelleted litter (before I knew about the wood pellets), I had to use at least twice that of the wood pellets. I'm guessing the Oxbow pellets will be similar to the Yesterday's News.

I also would suggest not making things so complicated by layering different types of litter. It will only increase your costs and your work. If there is hay on top of the pellet litter, that will be plenty enough soft for the rabbits. That is what will entice them into the litter box. Adding loose paper bedding will make a mess as it gets all mixed in with the hay. It's also likely to get tracked out of the box and all over the floor.
 
If you're trying to get things settled soon, then I would suggest around 2-3" of litter total for your setup. When I used the original Yesterday's News pelleted litter (before I knew about the wood pellets), I had to use at least twice that of the wood pellets. I'm guessing the Oxbow pellets will be similar to the Yesterday's News.

I also would suggest not making things so complicated by layering different types of litter. It will only increase your costs and your work. If there is hay on top of the pellet litter, that will be plenty enough soft for the rabbits. That is what will entice them into the litter box. Adding loose paper bedding will make a mess as it gets all mixed in with the hay. It's also likely to get tracked out of the box and all over the floor.
I see so far they have been doing pretty good about going in the litter box but personally I am not sure I really like the Oxbow Pellets they seem pretty dusty and I noticed if I don't add enough the odor control is pretty bad but I'm more worried about how dusty they seem and just the strong bad smell they had I think I'm going to try a paper pellet once the Oxbow Eco straw litter is used up since I was choking when I first poured the litter into the box so far I've done one full litter box cleaning since the hay was soaked and they're pooping quite a bit I'm really proud at they're progress so far they still occasionally pee outside the box but it's mostly done inside the box the two Girls I call the twins have been using the box as of Day One the Third who's a bit older and is the dominant one has started using the box yesterday and maybe at the earliest as of Tuesday I got them on Sunday . I have them in an almost 4' by2 ' enclosure while litter training and eventually I do plan on giving them a ton more space once litter trained and one they're area is fully organized and bunny Proofed they tend to soil they're hay so much that a lot becomes wasted im tempted to get a cheaper orchard grass hay just to use in the litter box or a cheaper hay for that since they waste so much I ended up getting the Grandpa's Best Brand Orchard Grass Hay and they all absolutely love it and it hasn't bothered my allergies at all and I love the smell of it I don't like the smell of Timothy hay at all lol. I'm actually extremely proud of how good my girls are doing and they've even learned they're names already. Even if they do kinda ignore me at first especially miss Maple Coffee Belle she's the oldest and she'll be a Year old she is also about 5 pounds so she a bit big for a Holland Lop. Crystal Diamond Snowflake is the smallest even stretched out she's just shorter in length she also has crazy fur come paired to her sister who's fur lies more smoothly and just looks so pristine , Crystal Diamond Snowflake also loves to greet me and give kisses and she loves attention and she's a bit lighter weight then her sister Winter Frosted Rose who has such perfectly smooth inplace fur lol unlike Crystal Diamond Snowflake who's fur is kinda like a case of bad behead lol she has a colic between her shoulder blades. Thanks for the tips I'm thinking of adding a couple extra corner sizes litter boxes to the two other corners that the other Rabbits each tend to use pretty frequently .
 

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