"Dry Den" stall bedding is a compressed wood pellet
made of dry all natural wood sawdust and shavings, and fortified with
Zeolites. The pellets work as tiny sponges to soak up moisture. It
reverts to soft, fluffy sawdust bedding when wet. The Zeolites are a
natural mineral mined in several states; it is often used in food products
to keep it from clumping such as coffee creamers. Zeolites absorb
ammonia from the urine allowing for fresher smelling stalls and allows Dry
Den to be used up to 6 weeks before stripping a stall and starting over.
Although Dry Den is a wood product like shavings, using
it requires a change in how you clean your stalls. You will spend less time
cleaning and have less waste to dispose of when using Dry Den. It will take
some experimentation to determine the best routine for your barn, but you
will be pleased with the results.
First, strip the stall. Add 5 bags of Dry Den for a
12’x12’ stall. There will be a very thin layer of pellets on the stall
floor. Resist adding more bedding! Dry Den will begin to break down as the
horse walks and urinates. In a few days there will be an ample amount of
fluffy bedding for your horse. Four bags of pellets absorb up to 50 gallons
of water!
Now the hard part - for the first week or two, do not
remove the wet spots. Pick out the manure daily and mix any wet spots into
the dry bedding. The moisture helps the pellets break down and expand. The
Zeolites that are added to Dry Den help absorb moisture and control
wet spots. Continue to stir the bedding together after picking. A fresh wet
spot will stay concentrated in one area until you remove it. If the horse
stirs the wet spot by walking through it, the dry bedding around it will
absorb the moisture. Dry Den saves time every day in stall and barn
cleaning. As wet bedding is removed, another bag can be added to the stall
periodically (about seven to ten days) to maintain the bedding level
desired. Zeolites in Dry Den allow the bedding to remain in the stall
without harmful ammonia.
Depending on the horse and drainage, most stalls will
need to be stripped only monthly in wet climates and 6-8 weeks in dry areas.
Waste bedding is moist fine sawdust ready for the compost pile, but also is
fine enough to be field broadcast. The Zeolites convert the ammonia
to slow-release nitrogen for soil amendment and plant growth.
"Dry Den" stall bedding is manufactured by Bear Mountain
Forest Products, Inc. They are an Oregon based company with offices in
Cascade Locks and Brownsville. For further information contact staff at
(541) 374-8844 or (541) 466-3134, or visit their web site at
www.bmfp.com.
