# Best Bedding?



## K's boys (May 7, 2020)

I believe that I might of posted this question before, but would like to again to get responses...
Best bedding type, looking for easy on the pocket book. And GO!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

A good layer of Pine shavings is good.
You can put straw on top of that, in the winter time. It makes things nice and cozy for them. 
Using just straw, it does not absorb the urine.


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## K's boys (May 7, 2020)

How about pine pellets?


toth boer goats said:


> A good layer of Pine shavings is good.
> You can put straw on top of that, in the winter time. It makes things nice and cozy for them.
> Using just straw, it does not absorb the urine.


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## Goatzrule (Feb 7, 2013)

Id be worried about the goats eating it but I don't have any experience with them so I cant saw for sure


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

toth boer goats said:


> A good layer of Pine shavings is good.
> You can put straw on top of that, in the winter time. It makes things nice and cozy for them.
> Using just straw, it does not absorb the urine.


This!!^^^^


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

Our goats have their hay feeders in their sheds, so any spilled hay falls on the ground and makes great bedding for them.


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## K's boys (May 7, 2020)

Where o where do you get your pine shavings?


toth boer goats said:


> A good layer of Pine shavings is good.
> You can put straw on top of that, in the winter time. It makes things nice and cozy for them.
> Using just straw, it does not absorb the urine.


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## -WBoergoats (May 19, 2020)

K's boys said:


> Where o where do you get your pine shavings?


I get mine from my local feed store.


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

I believe Tractor Supply sells them too if you have one near you.


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## MadHouse (Oct 3, 2019)

I use chopped flax bedding. It is highly absorbent. A thin layer is all it takes to soak up the pee.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Pine pellets never used them, so can't say.


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## NDinKY (Aug 3, 2019)

I’ve been using the pine pellets, but I use water to expand them into the fine sawdust. I’m not 100% happy with it but like it better than shavings. It’s more absorbent than shavings. I also use Sweet PDZ to help knock down the ammonia smell.


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## elvis&oliver (Jun 28, 2018)

I use pine pellets under a bag of pine shavings and it last for a long time. Although I only have 2 goats. I make them stay out of the barn to lay down the pellets in case they try to eat them but as soon as the shavings are down they don’t pay attention to the pellets. I also use left over hay here and there sometimes as well. Good luck!


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Just straw here. I hate wood chips/saw dust! It is more absorbent but it is such a pain to clean up. When it gets wet then dries out it packs together pretty solid onto the ground. I would rather change straw every day and have a easy clean up then deal with that. But to be fair if I had wood or cement floors I would probably like it a lot better.
I don’t like the wood pellets. We had to use them at the fair last year because our leader wanted all the pens to match on their bedding and she didn’t want her animals eating wood chips. Anyways my sons doe got sick and I realized that with it being so fine that she was breathing it in when she would lay her dead down. I do think that played a huge part in why she got sick. I think with a solid floor and straw on top though it would be awesome


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## K's boys (May 7, 2020)

Tyvm NDinKY, that is exactly what I was planning on doing. Can I ask what brand you use? Wondering how much square footage one bag covers?


NDinKY said:


> I've been using the pine pellets, but I use water to expand them into the fine sawdust. I'm not 100% happy with it but like it better than shavings. It's more absorbent than shavings. I also use Sweet PDZ to help knock down the ammonia smell.


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## K's boys (May 7, 2020)

Perfect cuz I only am getting 2 goats and was curious about them eating it.


elvis&oliver said:


> I use pine pellets under a bag of pine shavings and it last for a long time. Although I only have 2 goats. I make them stay out of the barn to lay down the pellets in case they try to eat them but as soon as the shavings are down they don't pay attention to the pellets. I also use left over hay here and there sometimes as well. Good luck!


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## NDinKY (Aug 3, 2019)

K's boys said:


> Tyvm NDinKY, that is exactly what I was planning on doing. Can I ask what brand you use? Wondering how much square footage one bag covers?


We use whatever is cheapest from whatever store we're in. TSC, Southern States, and Rural King all carry them. Coverage depends on how deep you want the bedding. For our dirt floors I use 3 bags for a 10x36' area. However, it's a really thin layer and not all is covered. For the sheds with plywood floors we have, I use 1 bag for a 4'x6' area. It's a much thicker layer since the urine doesn't drain like the dirt floors do.


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## K's boys (May 7, 2020)

Do you expand your pellets?


elvis&oliver said:


> I use pine pellets under a bag of pine shavings and it last for a long time. Although I only have 2 goats. I make them stay out of the barn to lay down the pellets in case they try to eat them but as soon as the shavings are down they don't pay attention to the pellets. I also use left over hay here and there sometimes as well. Good luck!


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## Ctflynn5 (Apr 3, 2017)

We have rubber mats over top of a wood floor. I put down a layer of wood pellets and top it with mixed wood shavings. I sprinkle a bit of extra savings on top every so often as needed. Keeps everything dry and fresh smelling. They always end up spreading their hay all over on top as well.


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## lada823 (Apr 2, 2018)

Jessica84 said:


> Just straw here. I hate wood chips/saw dust! It is more absorbent but it is such a pain to clean up. When it gets wet then dries out it packs together pretty solid onto the ground. I would rather change straw every day and have a easy clean up then deal with that. But to be fair if I had wood or cement floors I would probably like it a lot better.


This!!! I have used wood shavings but when you clean them out it's like trying to shovel planks of wood. I like plain straw.


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## Goataddict (Jun 8, 2020)

Hey I just wanted to use this thread to ask a question. Can SAND or SAWDUST be used as goat bedding.


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## K's boys (May 7, 2020)

Is there a particular type of straw that you prefer? Wheat? Oat? Or just economical?


Jessica84 said:


> Just straw here. I hate wood chips/saw dust! It is more absorbent but it is such a pain to clean up. When it gets wet then dries out it packs together pretty solid onto the ground. I would rather change straw every day and have a easy clean up then deal with that. But to be fair if I had wood or cement floors I would probably like it a lot better.
> I don't like the wood pellets. We had to use them at the fair last year because our leader wanted all the pens to match on their bedding and she didn't want her animals eating wood chips. Anyways my sons doe got sick and I realized that with it being so fine that she was breathing it in when she would lay her dead down. I do think that played a huge part in why she got sick. I think with a solid floor and straw on top though it would be awesome


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## lada823 (Apr 2, 2018)

I use whatever straw the feed store has. Usually wheat. The last batch I bought was not very "clean" and had lots of wheat berries and hulls. The goat loved that.


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## lada823 (Apr 2, 2018)

Goataddict said:


> Hey I just wanted to use this thread to ask a question. Can SAND or SAWDUST be used as goat bedding.


My neighbor uses sand as bedding in her chicken coop. I don't care for it because it doesn't allow anything to decompose. I guess if you wanted to clean it out everyday it might be ok. I'd also worry about dust with both sand and sawdust.


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## elvis&oliver (Jun 28, 2018)

K's boys said:


> Do you expand your pellets?


I do not wet them down, and I see I wrote pine pellets. I'm not sure if they are pine. But they are the wood pellets for bedding. I have mats down as well on a wood floor. I find the shaving easy to clean up. I actually use a dust pan and a broom and just scoop it right up!


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## Goataddict (Jun 8, 2020)

lada823 said:


> My neighbor uses sand as bedding in her chicken coop. I don't care for it because it doesn't allow anything to decompose. I guess if you wanted to clean it out everyday it might be ok. I'd also worry about dust with both sand and sawdust.


Thanks a lot.


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

Sawdust is very fine and light, and is likely to give them respiratory issues..from what I’ve heard. I have never actually used it. I have heard of people who use sand in their chicken coops without problems and scoop it out like a litter box. Whether or not you want to scoop it out daily is up to you.


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## Goataddict (Jun 8, 2020)

CaramelKittey said:


> Sawdust is very fine and light, and is likely to give them respiratory issues..from what I've heard. I have never actually used it. I have heard of people who use sand in their chicken coops without problems and scoop it out like a litter box. Whether or not you want to scoop it out daily is up to you.


Thanks a lot I will take it into consideration.


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## elvis&oliver (Jun 28, 2018)

I don’t use sawdust I used shaving in a bag from TLC which soaks up urine and helps with smell. It’s easy to clean


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

You don't want very fine shavings either.


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## Moers kiko boars (Apr 23, 2018)

I reuse my paper feed bAgs. I cut the bottem sewn part off. Slit one side its actually 2 pieces of absorbent brown paper with a water resistant outer layer. I have plywood floor , with plastic containers for birth pods.urination is absorbed rolled up and thrown into burn barrel. No urine, just scoop up poop and throw in compost pile. Saves me major $ on straw or any type of absorbent material. It works well on any ground as long as its in a covering like a shed, barn, or building.


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

To be honest, my goats generally go outside rather than creating a mess in their stalls. They have a wooden floor, and the spilled hay or extra straw works as great bedding.


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## K's boys (May 7, 2020)

Where do you all get these rubber mats ya'll are talking about?


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