Worried about woodshavings . . .

[CiaraPatricia]

While I like woodshavings and find them easy to clean up and all, I keep thinking what if it's unpleasant for my rabbits and hurts their lungs or something.

I get huge bags of shavings and yesterday I opened a new one, and I must have turned it upside down and opened the bottom because it was very dusty and aftertaking out loads of shavings I had dust on my arms and could feel it in my mouth and throat and it wasn't nice. It's normally not that dusty at all.

And I was sneezing a few times. One of my rabbits sneezes a bit (always has since I got her, and isn't sick), and one of the others kept getting runny eyes, but I took him off shavings and got better hay for him and that is fine now.

So I put the new shavings in the shed (had no choice, needed to clean it out and had no money at the moment for new shavings), and then I sat in there for ages and kept putting my face near the shavigns and breathing in and it was fine, I didn't sneeze or anything, so maybe it was just the dust at the bottom of the bag before . . .

But do you think shavings really affect rabbits or that's it's unpleasant for them to use them?

I put them all over the floor of the shed, because the rabbits are litter trained but Evie's a mom and so eats a lot of food and often has soft poops outside the litter tray, so I need something on the floor. Or the others miss their litter tray and get pee outside it.

I can't think of anything else to use as bedding. I tried fleece blankets but Evie digs them up into a pile and chews them, so that doesn't work. I could try hay or straw I guess . . . does anyone have any suggestions or think hay or straw would be good? Shavings would be cheapest and probably less waste than hay or straw, but hay and straw wouldn't be too expensive . . . I'm thinking they might go to the toilet in hay, but hopefully not . . . would they? It wouldn't be very absorbant and would need changing more if they did.

Any ideas? Thanks

 

[hartleybun]

over the years i've found that quality of woodshavings varies a great deal. i've been using Nature's own Softwood Shavings. they're quite local to me - from Newlands Farm in Winkleigh, Devon. they are very soft, dust free and dont contain large splinters of wood. i have worked my way thru the different brands tho' and appreciate that you probably cant get these in cork

my rexes are prone to sore hocks so i know what you are going thru! at the moment im mixing the shavings with shredded paper - we get loads of junk mail each day. i know mine dont eat the paper - preferring cardboard boxes instead.

roxy does the same as evie with fleeces - i persevere tho' and buy them cheaply - often tesco sells them off or i check out charity shops etc.

mine pee in one area so it's not too bad to clean - they do scatter the chippings a bit it's no big deal to sweep them up.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Kiln-dried woodstove pellets are just as cheap as woodshavings, and I find that the dust levels are a LOT lower

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Do they have wood stove pellets in Ireland? What about pelletedhorse stall bedding? I'm pretty sure they have the latter in the UK.

The horse stall bedding has instructions for turning the pellets to sawdust, which would be much more comfortable than the hard pellets underfoot. I'm sure you could make that work.

Hope that helps!

Rue