wood shavings?

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Lil-Ninnibig

Lil-Ninnibig

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Ive recently read a thread regarding people who use woodshavings are bad people ? Can anyone inform me of y using woodshavings is so bad? I use them for ditto along with newspaper and hay, what are the alternatives? Ive always used woodshavings with all my small pets from being a child and have never known any different x
 
No-one says woodshaving users are bad people, it is down to preference, there is a risk of URI's being caused by the dust from the shavings, but it does not effect all pig's and to be honest i persoanlly think there is just as much risk with the dust in the hay we give them, even dust extracted hay. Timithy hay is especially dusty i find.

I also use shavings with straw on top (soft russel bedding straw, which is finely chopped) people say you shouldn't use straw as it is dangerous to their eyes, but in the 4 years i have had piggies i have never had an issue.

It is what works best for you and your pets. xx
 
Nobody said they are bad people! They are just known to cause allergies in animals. I use towels and fleece myself as I prefer it.
 
We have ALWAYS kept our outdoor Piggys on shavings and STRAW-yes STRAW and have NEVER had problems-I've had outdoor Piggys for 10yrs too.

Our indoor ones are kept on newspaper and hay.
Although I did try fleece once personally I dont think it's a natural habitat for a foraging animal. Giving them a piece of fleece or a snuggle sack gives them a bit of luxury if they want it :)
 
shavings are fine to use, do have a search as the qaulity will vary from maketo make.
have a thick layer of shavings and a thick layer of hay on top, never had a problem with it.
in my mind better than dealing with soggy wet fleeces and towels dripping in pee that have to be washed in the household machine.
 
I have just read the post you are on about that says people who use wood shavings are 'bad people', I use wood shavings for my piggies as do many people and I don't think we are 'bad people' x
 
I currently use shavings and don't think I am a bad person an hopefully my piggies don't either!
The quality and amount of dust does vary though and there are some I have tried that I wouldn't again but thats the same with the hay and the ood etc and unfortunately it seems I like the sawdust from 1 shop the hay from another and the feed from yet another ha ha and end up travelling around the shops!
 
Gooksters said:
I currently use shavings and don't think I am a bad person an hopefully my piggies don't either!
The quality and amount of dust does vary though and there are some I have tried that I wouldn't again but thats the same with the hay and the ood etc and unfortunately it seems I like the sawdust from 1 shop the hay from another and the feed from yet another ha ha and end up travelling around the shops!
Click to expand...

I have brought shavings before that I have felt have been to dusty so have binned them and gone and brought a new bag rolleyes
 
I use shavings too, have done for around 15 years or so. Never had an issue either. I've tried other beddings such as Megazorb, which I thought was horrible and Medibed which wasn't very absorbant, shavings for me have always been reliable, fairly cheap and can compost all the waste. I put puppy pads under the shavings to protect the wood of my hutches which makes them even easier to clean because the whole lot just whips out at once.

If my piggies lived indoor all year round I wouldn't want shavings all over the place, so I would then opt for vetbed or fleece but for outdoors I wouldn't personally find that to be so practical.

I've seen on some rescue websites that they won't rehome to people that bed their pets on shavings so I can also see where the 'it's bad' label has come from but I'm perfectly content with my setup and all my pets are healthy.
 
The ones I use are from Morrisons and they are called "softwood" and they are small soft pieces of wood. I have used wood shavings for about 9 years now with no problems. I also use straw in their bed(short stranded) as they would just eat the hay and its not sharp or anything-again I have used this forever with no problems
 
I used to be a 'bad person'! I have always kept guinea pigs on wood shavings and newspaper with straw in their bed for years. I recently converted to Megazorb and i prefer it. I find it more absorbant than shavings. If you keep your pigs outside i don't think the dust is much of an issue as they have fresh air circulating moving the dust away.

I agree with the comment about putting urine sodden fleece through my washing machine....yuck! :(
 
We use wood shavings for the girls and it would always be our bedding of choice. Ours are indoors and the shavings don't get every where but the hay does! We use dust extracted and have also on rare occasions had to bin bags when they've been too dusty.

Megan our special needs girl is bedded on fleece as it helps her breathing. It about what suits your pigs.

I have no idea about the original thread but it is laughable that someone would claim you are a bad person for using shavings.
 
Mine all have woodshavings and hay. They all live outside and are happy&healthy.
:))
 
People on here can get a little irate about things they have strong opinions about. I wouldnt bother taking it personally. many many people on here use shavings to house there pigs on with no problems whatsoever. I used to use the stuff when i had much less pigs. And the only reason i dont use it now is one of my sows is allergic to the stuff. She will cough and sneeze constantly when housed on it. Ive had pigs on straw too, when people rant about this. Its all down to whats best for you, and your piggies. Dont worry about it, if your happy with shavings, stay with shavings.

x
 
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