Burlybed started back in 2009 utilising our own grown miscanthus to create the optimum horse bedding. Ultra absorbent, durable and with a focus on the environment and sustainability.
As the business has grown, so has our range of products and our first step away from miscanthus was Burlybed Light, a chopped rape straw bedding that is high quality, soft, absorbent and low dust.
Both Burlybed Original and Burlybed Light were initially created with horses in mind but as we increasingly discover from our customers (and our own farm) they work incredibly well for a wide range of other animals.
Lily from Greenacre Piggery is one of those customers. Lily established her small scale pig farm/small holding in November 2020 and is expanding into breeding Pedigree Large Blacks, one of the priority breeds on the Rare Breed Survival Trust watchlist.
Greenacre Piggery & Burlybed Light
With straw prices reaching eye watering prices per tonnage this year, I took the decision to become more frugal with my bedding usage and type and started to explore some alternative products. This is when I stumbled across Burly Bedding when visiting my local animal feed merchants.
I purchased it because being oil seed rape straw I knew it would have many of the same benefits as wheat or barley straw, if it was eaten by the pigs it wouldn’t matter and even better it was dust extracted.
I used the bedding as sole bedding through farrowing, and it proved successful. Any wet bedding easily clumps together so saves wastage removing clean straw. The piglets did not become buried or lost – something that can happen when using a straw based bedding which in turn decreases piglet mortality as the sow can easily see where they are. The sow found it comfortable and was still able to exhibit natural maternal nesting coming up to the farrowing. Yes, it did stick to the piglets as they were born but quickly fell off and was easy under foot for them to scramble to the teat.
I also love the fact that my bedding usage has been reduced drastically as it creates a lovely comfy bed with minimal product, Burlybed Light is super absorbent – perfect for housing a sow and litter of 10 piglets. I am only on my 3rd bale since starting the Burlybed experiment on the 23rd June. I am still adding a top layer of straw on the top as this acts as enrichment for the pigs, but I would usually be adding a wheelbarrow full of straw every 7-10 days – probably a lot more than usual people but when you have a 200kg sow the straw soon becomes squashed down!
Burlybed Light is made from oilseed rape straw that we source from British Farm Assured Farms from across the South of England. The raw material is shredded and dust extracted to produced a finely chopped, soft, free-draining, absorbent and totally natural bedding.
Suitable for wide range of animals, from your pony to the Greenacre pigs.
Find your nearest Burlybed Stockist or contact us to find out more.