Sand for coolroom bedding-UPDATE

[farmboy]

anyone do it? we can't get woodchips or sawdust anymore. straw is too messy.

 

[simtal]

straw doesn't get in your eyes when you blow the calves out though...

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

Sand is also really hard on clipper blades. RW

 

[herefordfootball]

All very true, but sand will stay cooler and wont collect heat like straw.

 

[farmboy]

straw doesn't get in your eyes when you blow the calves out though...

i blow the calves off outside
straw just soaks up the urine
if you get them really clean there won't be any sand on them will there?

 

[shortyjock89]

You don't work hair in the cooler at all?  We work hair 3-4 times a day other than when we rinse, and that includes a lot of blowing on them.

 

[farmboy]

You don't work hair in the cooler at all?  We work hair 3-4 times a day other than when we rinse, and that includes a lot of blowing on them.

i brush all day. i just blow them off outside. because that's where the electric is without blowing breakers all day. i think my big steer has about 5 inches of hair on his butt  <cowboy>

ive got enough mats to cover the area where they lay. i got them for free awhile ago. so if i built the sand up to a sloped mound would that work?

 

[RSC]

Why can't you get sawdust? We normally go to a local mill and get a pickup load cheap! This summer electric company hired a guy from Iowa to trim around lines and and he gave me a truckload of chipped mulch for nothing! Not great but Better than sand! Check with your rural electric company and see if they do the same!

 

[farwest]

Why can't you get sawdust? We normally go to a local mill and get a pickup load cheap! This summer electric company hired a hit from Iowa to trim around lines and and he gave me a trickload of chipped mulch for nothing! Not great but Bette than sand! Check with your rural electric company and see if they do the same!

I would be interested too in that hit from Iowa to get a trickload of mulch for nothin and send Bette along if she wants to come. (clapping)Must be into the 30 pack..

 

[farmboy]

Why can't you get sawdust? We normally go to a local mill and get a pickup load cheap! This summer electric company hired a hit from Iowa to trim around lines and and he gave me a trickload of chipped mulch for nothing! Not great but Bette than sand! Check with your rural electric company and see if they do the same!

sawmills don't saw anymore around here. they will sell it but for a lot more than we want to give. most won't give it away for free. HOWEVER i can get sand easy and cheap 

 

[RSC]

LOL! Farwest I posted from BlackBerry and couldn't edit! Thanks for noticing!

 

[stangs13]

Sand is awesome! It blows out of the animals very easy, keeps them cool, and it drys very quickly, and is easy to clean.

 

[DLD]

Sand's not all bad, but it is harder on hair.  I'd highly recommend blowing the calves out every chance you get, if you decide to go that route.

We've actually been using cedar mulch, from the garden center at Atwoods (or Wal Mart or Home Depot or wherever).  It is coarser than cedar fiber, but it's still very absorbent, easy to clean, and lasts really well.  We started using it after the sandy soil in our barn swallowed the first batch of cedar fiber we put down, with intentions of going back to the fiber after we'd built up a base with the mulch, but we like it well enough (and it's enough cheaper) that we've just stuck with the mulch.  Even if the cedar mulch isn't available in your area, you might consider another variety of wood mulch.

 

[gocanes719]

Sand is awesome! It blows out of the animals very easy, keeps them cool, and it drys very quickly, and is easy to clean.

Sand is terrible for hair.  Talk to anyone who does this for a living or better yet go look at show barns of succesful outfits and let me know how many bed their cattle with sand.  There is a good reason you wont find any. It is way to abrasive and it will eat the hair right off a lot of cattle.  The good haired ones will have some hair regardless but they will have less volume and less quality if kept on sand.

 

[box6rranch]

We use wood pellets. We spread them out and wet them down thouroughly. Absorbs the urine, easy to clean. We contacted a mill that makes them and bought directly. I think we paid 125.00 for 100 50 pound bags.

 

[Cattle Fan]

Used sand for awhile and the post's here are correct very hard on hair.  Switched to the cedar shavings that come in a bale from the local farm store, cheaper than cedar fibers but still a little high.  This year we switched to ground corn cobs, we can get them in mini bulks and they are relatively reasonable in price.  They are very absorbent and hide the ammonia smell fairly well but don't have that nice cedar smell.

 

[savaged]

I have used the wood pellets (for bedding not the ones for burning) and they work very well.  If you keep the calves tied and clean up wet spots and the manure 2 - 3 times a day it will stay very fresh and clean.  They do go to powder pretty quickly but are very absorbent. 

A key for us is to daily sprinkle Sweet PDZ stall freshener on the base floor (packed gravel).  It virtually eliminates any smell of ammonia for us.

For two feeder size calves we use a bag of pellets every couple of days, which is pretty economical.


 

 

[linnettejane]

i dont have a cooler, but have switched to mulch in all the stalls in my barn...lasts longer, cleaner, smells better, readily available and $20 for a heeping truckload thats as tall as the cab of my truck...only downside is disposing of it...cant spread it on pastures...

 

[Jill]

Something you might try is using sand as a base and covering it with mulch or shavings for the top layer, agree with the rest of the posters sand gets down to skin level and wears the hair off (same with your carpets), we bed on sand at the county fair and it is amazing how long we continue to blow sand out after we come home.

 

[brandisshortys]

Sand would cause more problems than it's worth.  I agree with mulch.  We get trailerloads from the city.  They need to get rid of the trees they cut down and chop up, so they don't even charge us for it as long as we go pick it up.