Animal bedding
Animal litter , litter or litter (in contrast to litter ) are materials that are used in animal husbandry to cover the floor in stables and cages and to absorb the excreta of the animals. If the litter is saturated with animal excrement, it is called manure . Cat litter in litter boxes serves a similar purpose .
Materials and Applications
Organic and mineral materials are used, mostly inexpensive agricultural or industrial by-products or inexpensive raw materials. Traditional and widespread materials include (grain) straw , wood chips made from hardwoods (such as beech or aspen ) and from softwoods (such as pine and cedar ), and sand . Other organic materials for animal litter are hard grasses from litter meadows , shives from hemp and flax production , bracken and corn cobs from the processing of corn cobs .
Before the introduction of the mineral fertilizer , the extraction of litter was an important part of the peasant economy. It was not only used for litter in stables, but after this use was mixed with animal droppings and urine as dung, it was the only available fertilizer. Wet meadows were deliberately created and mowed the most high-growing perennials in the fall, in heathland heather was abgeplaggt . The extraction of litter from coppice forests , like the use of straw or flax fibers, was not a mere secondary use. For this reason, the old types of grain are tall, while the new varieties are short. With increasing industrialization, their waste products such as paper were also used.
When choosing, the size and type of pets play a role. Important material properties are the ability of the litter to absorb liquids, the ability to absorb odors, the walking and lying properties for pets, the lowest possible amount of dust and the properties with regard to rot, mold and pest colonization. The possibilities for disposal or re-use - usually together with the animal excreta as manure , in small animals in households partly as organic waste - are also crucial to the choice of materials.
Large animal husbandry
When it comes to keeping large animals, especially cattle , horses and pigs on farms, straw is the main ingredient. In addition, wood shavings and sawdust, wood pellets and excess hay are also used, among other things from littered meadows. In horse keeping, in particular, there are very diverse requirements for litter. Flax and hemp shives, but also all kinds of wood chips, are used, which are less susceptible to mold than corn straw and have a very high absorption capacity for liquids of up to 400 percent. Flax shives are not eaten by horses because of the bitter substances they contain, but hemp shives can occasionally be eaten and cause colic , so that pretreatment with vinegar water may be necessary. Dust-free wood shavings, wood pellets or granulate are mainly used in horses that have allergies or respiratory problems, but also to regulate the intake of roughage.
Small animal husbandry
In the keeping of small animals, especially small mammals , mainly softwood shavings are used, which are available in animal products. There is also meadow hay, paper and sand, as well as hemp shives or corncob granules. Litter sand is primarily used for birds, although hemp shives and corncob granules can play a role, especially in poultry farming. For dog and litter boxes , absorbent granules based on minerals ( bentonite , silicate ) or plant-based are mostly used. Vegetable cat litter often consists of wood, waste paper , straw or corncob granules.
See also
literature
- Michael Carus et al .: Study on the market and competitive situation for natural fibers and natural fiber materials (Germany and EU). Gülzower Expert Discussions, Volume 26, Agency for Renewable Raw Materials eV, 2008.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jaka Bartolj: The Land of Birch Trees. Slovenia Revealed. In: MMC RTV Slovenija. rtvslo.si, August 28, 2017, accessed on January 29, 2019 .
- ^ Municipality of Metlika. In: stat.si. 2011, accessed January 29, 2019 .
- ↑ Gert Müller: The lungs are blocked - chronic obstructive bronchitis of the horse (COB). On Dr-Gert-Mueller.de ( PDF ; 557 KB), accessed on January 29, 2019.