A horse rooting through its bed and picking up a mouthful of shavings. A five-week-old puppy chewing everything it finds. Calves licking the floor of their hutch, rabbits gnawing at their nests. Anyone who looks after animals knows that sooner or later the bedding ends up in the animal’s mouth. That is why natural wood shavings for animals, with nothing added, matter so much.
It is one of the questions we are asked most at Visecorsa: “what if they eat it?”. The short answer is that with natural wood shavings for animals, made from wood with no treatments or additives, eating a little now and then does not usually cause any problem. The long answer is the one that matters, because not all shavings are the same.
What natural wood shavings for animals contain, and what they should not
Our shavings and sawdust are made at our plant in Betanzos from selected natural wood. The process is mechanical: the wood is planed, the shavings are dried and then double screened to remove dust. Nothing is added. No glues, varnishes, paints, perfumes or products to colour or preserve them.
What the animal puts in its mouth is plant fibre, the same as it would find in a branch in the woods.
The problem arises when shavings come from treated or recycled wood: offcuts of chipboard or fibreboard, treated pallets, painted or varnished wood, mixtures of unknown origin. That is where the risk lies, because the animal swallows synthetic resins, formaldehyde or paint residues along with the wood.
That is why we control where our wood comes from and process it ourselves. We explain it on our about us page.
What happens if an animal swallows natural shavings
With clean, natural wood shavings with no additives, the animal’s body treats them as what they are: plant material that is not digested and passes through the digestive tract. In small amounts, like those a horse swallows when rooting around or a puppy when playing, they do not contribute toxic substances and are not a problem in a healthy animal.
This applies to all the species we work with:
- Horses root through their bedding, especially when it is freshly laid. You can see how to manage it in our guide to wood shavings for horses.
- Puppies nibble the bedding as part of exploring. We talk about it in the article on wood shavings for dog breeders.
- Calves lick and taste the floor of the hutch constantly. More in sawdust and wood shavings for cattle.
- Rabbits, hens and chickens peck and gnaw at the nest and floor as part of their normal behaviour.
Bedding is not food: signs to watch for
The fact that natural shavings are safe if eaten occasionally does not mean an animal should eat them every day. If you see an animal eating bedding often, what needs checking is not the shavings but the cause:
- Lack of fibre or forage in the ration, especially in horses with little hay.
- Boredom from many hours shut in without stimulation.
- Hunger in animals on very restricted diets.
- Mineral deficiencies, which sometimes lead an animal to eat soil or wood.
- Teething and exploration in puppies and young animals, which usually passes with age.
If the eating is repeated or comes with vomiting, colic, loss of appetite or changes in droppings, consult your vet. Natural shavings are not the source of the problem, but they may be a warning of another one.
Natural wood shavings for animals are also dust-free
When we talk about safe shavings we are not only talking about what the animal swallows, but also what it breathes. Unscreened shavings contain fine dust that stays in the air and reaches the lungs of horses, puppies and calves, and yours.
Our double screening removes that fine fraction. What remains are shavings that can be touched, breathed and, if it comes to it, swallowed, knowing they are wood and only wood.
Bedding that goes back to the land
Another consequence of working only with natural wood is what happens to the bedding afterwards. Shavings mixed with manure can be composted and spread on the land, or given to farmers and garden nurseries. Shavings with traces of glue or varnish could not go there.
What is more, our plant runs on its own solar energy, generating more than 128,000 kWh a year. The natural product starts with the origin of the wood and ends in the compost.
Frequently asked questions about natural wood shavings for animals
Natural wood shavings with no chemical treatment are not. The risk lies in shavings from treated, painted or varnished wood or from chipboard.
First check whether it has enough forage and whether it spends many hours shut in. If it keeps eating them or shows any digestive symptoms, consult your vet.
Yes. They are natural wood with no additives. Offer chew toys as well so the bedding is not their main toy.
No. The scent is that of the wood itself, and we do not add perfumes, colourings or preservatives.
Traceability. We select the wood, process it at our plant and check the result. You know what you are putting under your animals.
Wood, and only wood
If you want bedding you can use with any species without worrying about what the animal breathes or swallows, tell us what animals you have and how many. We will advise you on the product and quantity, and deliver in bales by the pallet or, in Galicia, in bulk.
