I'm wondering if anybody has experience using hay/straw as a rodent rack substrate instead of aspen/pine/shredded paper?
I've recently developed an allergy to pine, and so this is no longer an option for any rat racks or my chicken coopI didn't know what was causing me to be itchy the last few weeks, but every time I got home I'd start gettign mildly itchy just from being in the house. The rats are out in the garage, with the pine. I didn't realize until a couple days ago, and especially last night, how bad it actually is. I scooped some pine with both of my bare hands, and within minutes my arms were red, itchy with bumps, and today I'm having trouble breathing due to my throat and sinuses being all messed up. It isn't something I can just take a zyrtec for when I go to clean, it's affecting me just when I get into the house
For the amount of pine we go through a month, the equivalent in aspen in this area would be a considerable price increase. The bags/bales are MUCH smaller and twice as much as the huge bales of pine from the feed store.
I am not a huge fan of shredded paper because 1) I don't want to buy a paper shredder and 2) I don't like how frequently it needs to be changed to keep the smell tolerable. We are busy people and can only clean the rats once a week.
SO.. I've been wondering about straw/hay. The stuff is ridiculously cheap at the feed store and on craigslist - so does anybody have personal experience or know how this might work as substrate? I know different hay will work differently, as some is dryer/firmer than others. Is there a particular kind that absorbs odor and holds up the best?
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