Coco bedding are the far better bedding option than the traditional Stray lay-outs or Wooden shavings and saw dusts.

CategoriesCoco Coir Bedding Lifestyle Tips & Tricks Worm Bedding
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Why do Vermiculturist reach out for Coco Coir bedding ?

Worm Farming is a professional cultivation of worms for the cause of converting waste such as fruits, vegetables, food and animal faeces into organic fertilizers. 

A worm, as a key asset in balancing effective and efficient fertigation of compost needs to be well grown. 

Bedding gives off a fresh environment for worms, a space to move around and shelter.  

The worm bin bedding should regard every detailing that concerns worm growth-content-productivity. 

Worm farmers/ Vermiculturist decide on choice of bedding used for their worms based on the factors below. 

  • Non-abrasive
    The worm’s skin is delicate and can be easily hurt. 
  • Light weighed
    The bedding should be light-weighted, easy to carry even when wasted. 
  • Deeply aerated
    It is crucial for any bedding to allow air-water flow and lesser thick odor. 
  • High moisture
    Must retain water for a longer duration.
  • Neutral pH
    Neither being acidic nor basic gives bedding a neutrality as a bedding substrate. 
  • Fibrous nature
    Bedding must be made of fibrous material like cellulose in order to convert into carbon molecules after breaking down from energy conversion. 

Likewise, any Worm Bedding needs to qualify the above said quality to be a supple bedding choice. Sometimes, worms do eat their bedding, so it is precarious to use biological bedding. 

As such, Coco Coir Worm Bedding is one-among-many that benefits worms in multiple ways. 

Coco Coir is a fibrous material derived from coconut husk, is an all-natural, non-toxic, non-abrasive, cost-effective product that improves worms’ inhabitants. 

Coir is light- weighted, readily fluffed, has air pockets for easy air-water flow, enables free access for worm movement. 

It is a super absorbent(50-60% moisture) with high saturation, holding water(every 1lbs brick holds 6lbs of water) and nutrients effectively, keeping the worm bin moist-damp. Thus foul odor managed. 

It is a harmless choice that is non-toxic, chemical-free, inert to chemical reaction that supasses any other worm bedding available. 

CategoriesCoco Coir Bedding Horse Bedding Manure Management Tips & Tricks
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Horse Manure Management Guidelines

In this article, we are discussing the better management of manure and reducing the risk of pollution caused by manure, bedding and feed wastes. 

Composting is one such great method that produces a stable-sustainable-storable product that inhibits pathogens growth, and conserves nutrient quality in it. 

The Management of composting horse manure includes Composting Mix, Maintaining, Monitoring and Testing of Manure and Compost, Environmental Issues, Compost Use and Costs. 

Composting Mix

The very first recommendation is to get the right composition for composting mix. The mix needs to comprise an optimal level of 3 main factors that depict the worth of the end product.   

The amount of manure, feedstock and bedding in the compost pile are thoroughly mixed. The Moisture, Air flow and C:N ratio plays a critical role in mixing compilation. 

Maintaining 

The composting can be done, both in Open pile and Closed shed as per the care taker’s wish. Building a shed for composting makes it easy for handling horse manure, pleasant surroundings and there will be less chance of nutrient runoff and leaching issues. 

It is preferred to make a Buffered zone for compost maintenance, isolated from residential and water resources. It helps prevent water pollution due to leachate, runoff and air pollution from foul odor. 

The buffer zone is subject to compliance with local ordinances and is recommended to be 150 feet from living quarters and the bottom elevation should be above water level or installed on concrete slabs. 

Open Pile– Like a free-stacking of hay pile, the manure pile can be raised till the height of 4-6’ tall. A regular mixing is required to ensure pathogen reduction, that a good stacking with minimal overturning will make good compact. A carefully considered piling is required to prevent leaching and runoff. 

Closed Shed– A shed composting consists of several side-bins, when the first bin is filled, then the content can be turned into the next bin. The pile height should not exceed 6 feet to ensure that compost is aerated. Bins are covered with roof to reduce possible runoff and no leachate is generated under the roof. 

Proper over-turning of compost is essential. 

The important aspect for a composting site is to allow access all-year round and well drained.

CategoriesCoco Coir Bedding Dairy Farm Horse Bedding Lifestyle Tips & Tricks
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3 Factors of Horse Manure Management

Compost is basically a biological process that converts organic matter into fine particle humus. It involves a series of decomposition of microorganisms, digesting of organic matters. In this case, the organic matter is Horse Manure, Feeds and Beddings.  

Composting helps minimize the waste-maximise microbial activity, thus balancing the farm ecosystem, tending hygiene and ensuring horses’ health. 

On an average, every horse produces 30 lbs of feces and 2.5 gal. of urine along with spoiled bedding of about 10-12 lb is disposed every day. All up together, this accounts almost 50-65 lbs/day. 

The crisis of waste management starts with 5 important reasons that depicts the need for proper management of manure, popularly known as Horse Manure Management.

The main aim of Horse Manure Management is to keep each and every aspect of manure in check.

Originally, Horse Manure varies from horse to horse, feeds provided and type of bedding used, and is best if sorted early when manure produced is measured on weekly routine.  

These manures are the valuable and un-utilised resource that mobilise large amount of soil amendment and plant nourishing fertilizers.

Composting is one such method deployed in Horse Manure Management, and is feasible-affordable for every barn/farm owner. 

Composting enriches gardens, pastures by improving soil texture, aeration and water retention. Also, compost mix helps increase soil fertility, control erosion and balance pH. 

However, key features need to be ensured for proper composting and a good final product.

Temperature

Temperature is one of the most important indicator of how well your composting is taking place. The temperature is a fluctual result of airflow in and out of the manure pile. If the airflow is at optimal level, higher the temperature, greater the heat generated.

Try flipping your pile upside down, to distribute heat evenly throughout the massive pile. An even distribution of hot air will help suppress pathogens, fly larvae and weed seed/egg and accelerate the speed of decomposition. 

Although, a vigilant temperature needs to be maintained in order to carry out decomposition steady and swift. 

More generally, a lower temperature range of 50-110oF is required at initial stages of decomposition, later 110-160oF to break down organic matter, kill weeds, pathogens and increase microbial activity as they are hyper-thermal activists. Over a period of weeks or month, the temperature gradually drops to ambient temperature for the decomposition to settle down.

Either way, overheating immobilises many beneficial organisms or falling behind will hinder decomposition rate. 

Lower the surrounding temperature; lower will be the composting rate. At the times of Winter, it takes 3-6 month for a normal compost to happen while it only takes 1-2 months for a pile to turn compost during Summer. 

Note: Always keep piles upto 3-4 feets high and square base of 5-7 feets for building up a necessary temperature pressure within it. Get a Compost thermometer at local stores to get exact compost temperature every few days. 

Moisture content

Moisture Management is necessarily a priority task while composting. An apt moisture will bring a perfect compost mix else it leads to odor, slow decomposition, and hard to achieve high temperature. 

Either, the lack of moisture will cause composting organisms to dry out and prevent pile heat up. 

There are severe ways to make sure that your pile is having sufficient moisture or not. 

One, you can manually check by squeezing the pile of innermost layers and see through it. If it is damp enough to hold moisture or too wet that it dries out after squeezing leaving behind dry lump. Then make a precautionary moist supply. 

Two, cover your pile using a tarp sheet to prevent it from getting excessively wet in the rainy season or too dry in hot days of summer.  This will also help limit flies, weeds and sweeping nutrients off the pile.

Three, frequent watering will help balance water hold, as it evaporates due to heat and airflow. Try turning the pile either side to provide a significant amount of water to it. 

Also, you may select the right location for your pile build, making it more convenient for clean-carry out-use. A right place, which is high enough to drain excess water or pour additional water when required, thus moisture maintained. 

Pile composition

Often the compost quality depends upon Pile Composition. Pile material provides essential nutrients, and vital decomposing proportion for compost, it renders ‘Carbon for Energy and Nitrogen for Growth’. The microorganisms that are turned into compost are fueled by Carbon and Nitrogen. 

Nitrogen is mainly found in manure and Carbon is found in bedding material, their proper proportion ensures successful composting. An ideal C:N proportion is estimated between 25:1 to 30:1, where carbon is in larger numbers. 

More precisely, Carbon is primarily released by carbon-rich material like straw, wood chips, shavings, sawdust and leaves while animal-byproducts like manure and feeds are rich in Nitrogen. 

Avoid using more bedding into pile build-up, more the bedding (carbon); longer the time for compost completion. Alternatively, if you’re using Coco bedding for your horse, you can reduce carbon pile up in your compost and reduce decompose after effects. 

Note: Compost is combustible, keep the compost pile away from housing, avoid smoking near the compost pile. 

A finished compost will reduce to half its original size, smells good and be like a rich soil. 

CategoriesCoco Coir Bedding Horse Bedding Tips & Tricks
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Top 9 Measures before laying Horse Bedding

Horses are the charming and a faithful companion, being along the human race imparting an immense love and care towards their partner. And it is also an apt investment done at once for the latter’s yield. The last thing you want to do is endanger their health or even their life without a prior knowledge in the aspect of bedding. So better be prepared than repent.

The word bedding is a consoling term that eases the seekers with peace and comfort, at the same time delivers a tacit boon for the owners. For horses, by default they don’t require a soft-sponge like bed but a sturdy, durable and hard to wear out. According to what so said, below are the critical criteria that are to be met, before making a bedding:

  • Safer for horse
  • Absorbent and Dust free
  • Hoof supportive- Resilient
  • Cushioning hocks and joints- Sturdy
  • Hygienic
  • Space and time feasible
  • Easy available
  • Biodegradable
  • Economical

Safer for horses

If you are approaching a non-traditional product, be sure to check with your vet or other knowledgeable resource because some materials are extremely toxic to horses. As some kinds of chipping served as bedding are not recommendable, as they are toxic to horses when eaten, especially those used in landscaping (such as black locust, parts of oak trees, horse chestnut, etc.). Also, horses could be tempted to eat the molding green material in the chips, you should evaluate any health risk before choosing.

Absorbent and Dust free

You’ll want an absorbent bedding with low dust, mold and foreign object count. Also, the greater the bedding’s absorbency, the lower the ammonia level will be in your barn, and breathing ammonia can damage lung tissue in you and your horse.

The biggest threat comes from airborne dust and spores that can attack the horse’s respiratory system, ranging from mild inflammation and mucus production to chronic, career-ending Recurrent Airways Obstruction disease (RAO – sometimes still referred to as COPD or the ‘heaves’). That’s why the choice of a dust-free bedding and the proper management of the stable environment are critical for equine professionals and owners. 

Hoof Supportive

Like its respiratory system, the horse’s hooves are evolved to cope with very different conditions than those found in most stables today. The best bedding must provide firm, resilient support under the hoof, particularly the fog and a moisture-controlled environment that will keep the hoof dry, but won’t dry it out.

Cushioning Hocks and Joints

In a modern stable with solid walls and a concrete floor, a good, deep, aerated bedding should provide a insulation between the horse and the floor, and a protective cushion that will help prevent the kind of common damage such as capped hocks that can so easily occur when a horse is lying down, getting up or rolling in the stable.

Hygienic

Essential stable hygiene is something traditionally dealt with by periodic disinfecting. If not, later at some point of time, bedding may turn into a host for bacteria and fungi that will quickly re-contaminate the stable, especially when wet, generating pathogens that can invade and infect the respiratory system, cuts and grazes on the legs, and cracks or splits in the hoof. So go up with the periodic check for bedding hygiene and the bedding that embraces anti-fungal, anti-allergen naturally.

Space and Time feasible

The compressed blocks mean it’s easy to store and transport and the storage of bedding will be a major issue for people with shorter on land space. Stacked in the racks of the storage room or bed spread in the stable, it’s required to be less space consuming and laying the bed along the stall using a paddock is much easier than thought.

Easy Available

Bedding availability throughout the year and their accessibility in your locality is the foremost necessary that you should take care of. Along with the transport or delivery and shipping feasibility are to be checked.

Biodegradable

The bedding has to be 100% organic, environmentally friendly and reduce the stable waste. If the stable waste were to compost, beddings make the major contribution to the compost piles. On an average, it may take 6 months or so for compost bedding to break-down into muck heap.

Economical

Cost is inevitably a factor in an owner’s choice of bedding, but values are the far more important measure of cost effectiveness. Being environmentally sustainable, easily available, it has to be affordable for all hobbyist and professional owners of the barn, on buying new one that are highly absorbent doesn’t need to use as much. Buying in bulk may save you some money, too.

On the whole, buying an ideal product in terms of superior quality and cost-effective with easy handling and maintenance and with little waste, saving you both time and money is a suggestion we render on part of our team.  

 Hoping you a thoughtful day, be safe and healthy.

CategoriesCoco Coir Bedding Dairy Farm Lifestyle Reptile Bedding Tips & Tricks
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Step by Step guide for Barn bedding

Here we depict a deliberate process on how to make bedding for your pretty horses step by step.

With this in mind, let us make a quick visit to a stall where bedding is made out of the owner’s preference as ground substrate cautionaries for equines.

One will always be spirited when one is making comfort for their beloved ones, if they are energetic, ever cheerful companions like Horses, then one will exhaust all his energy to get it best done. But here is the simplest, tactful and handful advice for all dedicated fellow horse lovers.  

Before we jump into the main topic let’s have a brief talk on maintaining the clean barn, the bedding laid within the clean barn will be more efficient.  Here are some right tools to make the job easier, and stall cleaning an exceptional good. 

  • Apple picker
  • Shavel
  • Broom
  • Absorbent Deodorizer
  • Sprinkle can
  • Muck Bucket or wheelbarrow

For one to be precise, stall cleaning  is much of saving time, money and  energy of caretakers’ , prioritising hygiene at most. Also lessening bedding consume.

Live threats are also resolved when maintaining stall hygiene diligently. 

Simple cleaning process

  • Toss clean, unsoiled bedding against the walls and into back corners.
  • Toss manure and dirty, wet bedding into the center of the stall or directly into a muck bucket or wheelbarrow.
  • Rake out center of the stall.
  • Sweep the center of the stall thoroughly and pick up any remaining dirty material with a shovel.
  • Sprinkle absorbent deodorizer on any wet spots.
  • Leave the empty stall to air dry with bedding pushed back as long as possible until you prepare new bedding. 

Swift and Tactful bedding process

Based on the layout of the stall, the bedding backpacks are brought into the stall. Most often one using rubber mat as rigid grounding of 3.6mm(12’) x 1.8mm(6’) bed size requires 3-5 bags per yard.

  • Put the bag packs in 2 cross lines, and fold the end hinge inboard to avoid further trouble of out flow.
  • Pouring cold water, it may take an hour to absorb for it to fluff all up. Else the warm water will do in 20mins.
  • Invert the bag upside down, break with force and crumble all.
  • Spread out up to the layer 5inches, the volume of spreading on your wish, as horses like fluffy to their feet.

It’s preferred to take inhabitants out for a walk while clean and bedding since it provides them with fresh air and sets one’s mind at peace.

CategoriesCoco Coir Bedding Reptile Bedding Tips & Tricks
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User Guide for Coco Coir Bedding

Completely natural, nontoxic and a cost effective product that can improve your pets’ habitant is Coir bedding. Coco coir reptile bedding offers a number of benefits to both reptiles and their owners. They are present in 2 major categories of coco bedding in the market right now, one is fine blend and other is course blend. Fine blends are compressed coco peat packed up for small reptiles like bearded dragons, guinea pigs, turtles, tortoises, iguanas, scorpions, hermit crabs and also used by worm breeders. Course blends are the coco husk chips for adult reptiles like snakes and a vast variety of lizards.

         They are sold either loose or in a lightweight, compressed block, they can either be used directly as dry substrate or hydrated for better use. 

Small Reptiles

Reptiles are more or less a species that tend to be in its own comforts, that’s via placing them in terrariums. Coir provides them with cushion land-fills by entertaining the pets that digs and can be used to change landscaping inside the terrarium. They are more safe, comfortable spots for nesting and borrowing. Once used in your terrarium, it gives off a pleasant, clean and clear look, and their absorbance can help to reduce odor inside.

 To hydrate it for use with your reptile, simply put coir in a clean container and add a gallon of fresh water. Allow the coir to soak in water for an hour so it can expand fully. Next, mix the coir by hand, spreading the moisture evenly and breaking apart any remaining clumps. You might also want to wring out excess water. 

Spread coir in the desired area of the tank or terrarium with a thickness of at least 1-2 inches. You’ll need approximately 1.5 pounds of coir block to spread it at the recommended thickness across the bottom of a 40-gallon tank.

When using coir with reptiles that prefer less humid climates, the dry blocks can be very difficult to break apart. Moisten the coir brick just enough to break it. Then lay the coir out to dry thoroughly before using it in your pet’s terrarium.

Store any coir you’re not using immediately for later use. Store extra coco coir reptile bedding in a sealed container to keep it fresh and prevent unwanted species to spoil them out.

Adult Reptiles

Preferentially as for adult reptile breeders’ choice, coco husk chip provides humid temperature and a husky-comfy feeling for reptiles. Because coco coir absorbs and retains water so efficiently, adding moist coco coir to the reptile’s habitat helps maintain proper humidity naturally. This is paramount for species that live in tropical climates. Since the key is to maintain health and longevity, putting much eco-friendly bedding for your reptiles’ world is the best option.    

Take a clean tub, fill in with a fresh water lesser than that of recommended in product instruction. To make the process much faster, prefer using lukewarm water for dipping. Sink the whole bedding block or as much as you wish into water. Press along the sides of the block for optimal soaking, leave it for some time. As time lapse, it eventually gets expanded.

After totally submerging on one side, flip it over for thorough soaking. Don’t over soak it, as the block may fall apart causing hassle for the handler to skim it. Also in the middle of a few inches, there remain little patches of un-soaked that you may have to dip them once more. Soaking each side requires a maximum of 3-4 minutes later put the block back in the container and let it be there for a few more minutes to expand completely. Start splitting from the corner of the block as they will be more futile than core. And let it dry for a while since it holds up an incredible amount of moisture that may lead to potential mold formation.  

Once the crumbs of chip husks are ready, start preparing to lay a new bedding. First, scoop out the previously laid mattress and clean with a vacuum cleaner. Once all clean, disinfect the entire enclosure with veterinary disinfectant such as F10 SC. In the proportion of 1:500 mix 10ml of it with water into a squirt bottle and spray along all the corners and entire space.

         Now lay down the bedding evenly over the space. Husk fills pretty deep into the tray, looking really good, handful, won’t get depleted easily. Even if bedding gets dirtier at some point, it can be taken out while the remaining maintain the same volume. Place a non-spill bowl away from the hotspot; where your pet moves around more often.

Changing of bedding is left to user convenience probably once per month, they can even recur the cost of bedding by reselling the manured mattress to compost manufacturers. This way users are ensured of win-win situations, without much of a loss. Knowing the more acceptable way of bedding rather than simply laying them down randomly is the most efficient way of improving oneself, and that’s what all seek for. Hope you all enjoyed reading it and make the best out of it from now on.

CategoriesCoco Coir Bedding Reptile Bedding Tips & Tricks
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Coco Coir Bedding- A sustainable bedding Choice

The very existence of Coco bedding for barn livings surpasses a few decades, they are the preferential by many of early barn owners for their in-cost and easy availability and are presently in use as evergreen bedding style. In turn to voice their beneficiary facts, it’s more suitable to go as barn care-takers’ view, so let’s explore Our Coco Bedding Privileges and some of their hidden meanings.

Coconut Husk or Chip Bedding are the naturally derived products from coconut Coir; which in turn, is an extracted layer from coconut shell. Coir are the fibrous husk found beneath harder outer shells, that are the versatile, flexible and user friendly natural extract.

Advantages

With Coir as basis, we can make out much of Coco bedding usages, as to mention:

Coco beddings are the far better bedding option than the traditional Stray lay-outs or Wooden shavings and sawdust. Coco bedding stands out as EASY USE, DUST-FREE, ANTI-ALLERGEN, PEST/ ROT CONTROL, ECO-FRIENDLY, SUPER ABSORBENT, TOTALLY STATIC FREE, HIGHLY RESILIENT, LOW DECOMPOSITION RATE and available at RELIABLE COST among all existing bedding means.

By the course of Soaking, Retting and Drying, the preliminary coir husk is made acceptable for bedding making, by which dust and airborne impurities are washed out, during that time remnant microorganisms’ breaks down, the loose fiber end ensues high elastic tensile strength. This entrapped air gives rise to the pronounced springiness (resilience) of the fiber, its buoyancy in water, increases the time water takes to penetrate the fibers, significantly a supreme absorbance and less prone to wrinkle and crush because of the air-filled cavities.

It is one of the most lignin-rich natural fibers, and can withstand exposure to all kinds of weather; they possess high weather resistance due to higher amounts of lignin as a durable product. They appeal as a bio-insulator because it has high mechanical strength and it is resistant to insect and rot in aiding hygienic and healthy being and relatively waterproof and is the only natural fiber resistant to damage by salt water.

In addition, these fibers can be much more stretched beyond their elastic limit without failure due to the helical arrangement of microfibrils at 45° to the extent of 5-10 times of the weight when soaked. Because of slow breaking down of lignin, it exhibits the lowest decomposition rate ever yielding as compost fertilizer for vegetation growth (after primary bedding use).

Furthermore, if bedding is well rendered after use, can be of potential use for biogas production. And as wall insulation in tropical climatic regions to enhance energy efficiency and thermal optimal in residential dwelling. And rolled into stack for time and space saving.

Last but not the least, it’s economically feasible for all range of users.

In concern of the well-being of you and your surrounding environment, we suggest Coco bedding as a better bedding option for barn inhabitants and for safer, gentle, cheerful you.