Only familiar authors in this issue—it would be nice to see some articles, snippets, bits of information from some other members too. Please think about it.
I buy my shavings from the local farm shop. The supply available is subject to much change. My favourite brand (Cheshire Choice, no doubt local) is not there any more, so I’ve been trying new ones, and have come up with two which are adequate, but very different.
The first is Snowflake, not the premium one but the common or garden one. As well as being very clean it is loosely packed and easy to handle; the bales are small.
The second is a new, unbranded one in a clear wrapper, large bales, very dust-free, large flakes, but so tightly packed I can hardly loosen it. Even a garden handfork won’t go in to it. I can see this would not be a problem if using the shavings for horses and getting the whole bale out at once. It does have an advantage in that the flakes are too large to be shoved out of the wires by the mice, so the floor stays neater.
So, easy to use but messy shavings, or hard to use but clean? I could add I have spent sleepless nights over this dilemma, but I haven’t. I only think about it occasionally. I’ll probably go with whatever is available on the day!