I really like the newspaper. I really do. I like that it is really light and is super easy to store and to move. I like that it doesn't have much to any dust and that it makes the stalls look clean (since poo is hiding under fluff). I like that I am throwing away less in volume every day.
However.
I don't like that it takes an extra 10 mins per stall to clean. I don't like that it makes my dirt aisle look littered and even with a FineTine fork I can't pick it up. I don't like that I have to use so much of it. And I don't like that I am using significantly more of it than I was of woodchips.
Last weekend I needed to do the weekly bedding fill for the stalls. The bale I have is supposed to be approximately 14 compressed yards so I expected the bale to last me about 2.5 months for the 4 stalls as I used apx 4-5 yards a month with woodchips. Imagine my surprise and disgust when I realized I am halfway through the bale already. And I am only using it in 2 stalls AND it hasn't even been an actual month! I bought the bedding on 9/28 and put it in Chip's stall on 10/1. I then put it in Sinatra's stall on 10/8. That is approximately 37 days (22 days for Chip, 15 days for Sinatra) of bedding and am already halfway through the bale. I don't even want to know how fast I would be using this if I had it in all 4 stalls, would it even last 2 months?!? I don't think it would considering I think it will be gone within the 2 months on just the 2 boy's stalls. Ugh!
This brings me back to the drawing board. I am eliminating the newspaper bedding, it is not worth the extra effort each day nor is it cost effective like I thought. Even if I calculate the 43% increase of the woodchips it would be cheaper per month than using this even though the cost per yard is lower. I am pretty bummed as I really wanted this to work and it isn't. Ugh.
I haven't been able to find a supplier for corn cob bedding which my boarder is really pushing for, it is what she used when she lived in NY. The pelleted shavings sounds ok but expensive. 1 bag = apx 4 cu ft expanded which isn't a lot. I would need 270 bags of pellets to equal 40 cu yards of bulk woodchips. Even with the bulk shavings increase it would be 35% more expensive yard-to-yard to use pellets and that is using the cheapest quote I got for pellets. I have only found two other suppliers for bulk shavings and one currently only delivers 100 yard loads, he is going to try to find a price on a 40 yard load for me. The other delivers literal sawdust, dusty, fine, powdery sawdust and I used it when I first moved here. Not again. Ugh, why is this so difficult?! What do other people use? Anyone use pellets? Is it really as expensive as it sounds on paper? Do the shavings really dry almost immediately after being dampened for expansion so you don't have a wet stall?
I use pea gravel. It's so good for their hooves, there is no waste of the gravel when you clean, but it is kind of expensive. The only thing is you can't clean up the pee, but my barn is just three sided so it's not a problem for me. I also don't know how it is comfort wise for sleeping on because mine never stay in that long. I don't have much experience with bedding so can't really help beyond that. Good luck!
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