Thoughts on this pine-based litter?

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This is what I use. I've seen it in two forms as a horse bedding and as a cat litter I think they're advertised as wood stove pellets too
 
Wood pellets like that are safe to use. You might be able to find them cheaper than that, but I don't really know prices where you are, around here a 40 pound bag is about $5-6.
 
If there is a Tractor Supply around you, you could get those pellets for $5 for 40lbs. Its a much better deal than $10 something! I would shop around.
I use those same type pellets and I love them!
 
Pine wood pellets are safe as lob as they don't have any accelerants in them :) it's pine wood shavings that cause respiratory issues x
 
I suggest reading the links and drawing your own conclusions
 
That's interesting about the hardwood pellets. I've also read of black walnut in some of them, causing problems. I do use pine based pellets cause everything I've read seems to indicate the oils are baked off in the pelleting process. I've used them for several years and haven't had any respiratory issues with my rabbits.
 
I just read the links, the first one, the ferret forum. That person was a crusade to end all people using oak based pellets because of the tannins. They were bringing up things of labs force feeding tanic acid though. As far as I know, my rabbit doesn't sit and eat the pellets in her litter box and she isn't being force fed tanic acid. I'm not trying to dispute the fact that oak is filled with tannins, because it is. But the majority of the information that that person was finding was what happens when you pump livestock full of tanic acid.

The second link from rabbit.org isn't about pine PELLETS its about pine shavings. Which we all know to cause issues. I've always been under the assumption that the phenols are baked off in the pelleting process and they weren't a risk. And the person who wrote that let her rabbit use a litter box with clay cat litter, which is a definite no no.

Sometimes I get a bag of pine pellets that has a stronger smell than other bags, but I let those things it outside in the sun for a day or two until they don't smell anymore. The majority of the time when I get a new bag of pine pellets, I let them sit in the trunk of the car for a few days or until I need them and that cooks whatever smell out there is.
I've never used the 'wood stove pellets' because they're not specified for animals; they're made to be set on fire.
 
Pine is okay as long as it's kiln dried. Wood stove pellets (what those types of litters are) are kiln dried so the harmful oils/fumes aren't there. Shavings and fresh pine can cause respiratory issues.

At least, that's how I understand it.

On price, I get 40 lbs for $4 dollars at a local feed store. I know someone who stocks up on untreated wood stove pellets during the winter and only spends like $30 a year on litter that way (for multiple rabbits).
 
I've been wanting some confirmation, outside the Generally Accepted Wisdom of the Forum (I love you guys, I just kind of wanted to see some citations), so I went looking for studies. Can someone who speaks Science tell me whether this study is applicable? I think it's about phenols and other compounds leaving softwoods when they're kiln dried, but I was a humanities major, you know?

http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0718-221X2004000200002&script=sci_arttext

More comprehensive link here, but it's a PDF:
http://www.kytl.com/Upload/tech/2006720930277941.pdf
 
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A few years back wood stove pellets became popular and several people started finding they were coated in an accelerant to help them burn. They lost popularity after that and only get mentioned occasionally when people can't find the ones sold for bedding. Any feedstore should have pine pellets for horses and most petstores carry them.
 
We use PetsPick from walmart--it's kiln dried pine shavings. Walmart also has bags of Cedar that we never, ever get as the Cedar will retain the phenols which do liver damage even after kiln drying--the same reason it's used to line Hope Chests as it discourages moths and other insects from attacking stored clothing. One of our buns, Molly just turned 15 and she's been around the pine for more than a decade.
 
None of the studies cited indicate that pelleted horse bedding is unsafe. It shows pine shavings can cause liver damage and stove pellets are harmful. The last study just shows the difference in the release of hydrocarbons as sapwood and heartwood are dried, but at the end of the process when the wood is dry, the hydrocarbon release is at zero.

I like the pelleted horse bedding for it's absorbency and easy cleaning. We use it outside so whatever initial smell there is, dissipates. The rabbits don't have access to it so they can't ingest it. I'm good :)
 
The wood stove pellets around here don't have anything added. Sometimes the exact same brand is sold as both stove pellets and horse stall bedding. There are some differences from brand to brand, but they are all pretty much the same.
 
I use the horse stall pellets. I use a thin layer of these as they are wonderfully absorbent. Over top of this I use a thin layer of pine shavings.

Urine goes through the shavings so the buns are not sitting in dampness. It also provides a cushion under their feets. The shavings are kiln dried. Both are inexpensive and sold in large enough quantity that it lasts me a while even though I clean one litter box every day and the larger every other day.
 
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