>>> Wood Pellet Bedding

[HeyItsRaymond]

I use wood pellets for the bedding in my aviary. The bird can't get to it because of a grate and I also live in a warm and dry climate (Arizona) so mold and mildew are not a issue for me. I place a newspaper down and then a layer of wood pellets. It feel like it's more aesthetically pleasing and I've been able to go a whole month without changing it by just spot cleaning it.

However, the cost was getting to be too much. I was buying my pellets from Petsmart at $9.99 for 8lbs. LINK

But I recently discovered Tractor Supply Company. They had 40lb bags on sale for $5.00 each (regular $6.49) LINK

Since they are 30 miles away, I purchased 6 bags. Which is enough for me to change the bedding weekly for 6 months. I just store it in a 32 gallon plastic garbage can.

If you don't have a Tractor Supply Company near you, I'm sure that any feed or horse supply store will have this on hand or can order it for you.

[cindy]

I did not use this in my aviary but tried it outside in trays to see what would happen if wet. The pellets swell and when dried break down to sawdust, the smell from the brand in the green bag was terrible and made my eyes water...could not bring it in the house.

It made me very concerned about even using these in my cages or aviary. I took samples of each stage to my avian vet..as soon as saw dust she told me not to use the pine pellets in the cages or around the birds... when broken down it turns to saw dust that is stirred up by the birds and can be inhaled causing lung irritations and infections. Sawdust has been documented as causing lung cancer in carpenters that do not wear the proper mask..studies can be found on the internet.

She recommend the kiln dried pine or plain white paper or news paper.

the mashed pine is the sawdust stage after wet, then dried which even out in the trays in the
Florida sun took days and then broken up....it is very fine and dusty in the sawdust stage. The smell even from the pine pellets before wet was a bit overpowering, if you are using these watch for signs of the birds not feeling well...many people tried these and found the birds where having breathing difficulty. One person who used this brand in a glass enclosed aviary with ventilation at the top had birds fluffed and having issue breathing, she uses the same avian vet as I do. She removed the pine pellets and the birds did much better.

[Atbird]

I used them too from Home Depot. My dad thinks it is responsible for the mite infection we had last year. There are wild bids that fly around inside the stores. I can't say for certain if that is how the mites were introduced, but they provide a wonderful place for them to multiply into terrifying numbers. Sorry, I know they look good and make cleaning easier...how about play sand as an alternative, I wouldn't use it indoors because of the mess, but outdoors they should be good?