Getting stocked up for winter....

I order a lot of my stuff on line as the local shops just don't stock the things I like to use.

So this week I have taken delivery of:

- several pots of Profibre pellets (they get through one a month, but this should last at least til Christmas)
- 3 bales of hay from the local farm shop
- 3 bags of aubiouse for the litter trays
- 2 bags of Beaphars Care Plus pellets (Butter and Lady Jane refuse point blank to try any other pellet)

I've also stocked up on SS pellets for Dan & Clo.

I'm determined that if there are postal strikes (pretty possible) and / or bad weather conditions (again, pretty possible) I won't be stuck for food and bedding for my furries  

I'm also boxing up all the forage I've dried, and trying to squeeze in a few last hawthorn picks (the leaves are turning already). Lady Jane has a lot of brown in her fur early this year - so I don't think there's long left for foraging!

What's everyone else stocking up on before winter sets in?

Im about to go out foraging myself...but am a bit confused about the best way to dry things.....do you have one of those hanger things - or do you put them in the oven? We have a pear tree full of leaves I want to pick and dry..

Katieb wrote:Im about to go out foraging myself...but am a bit confused about the best way to dry things.....do you have one of those hanger things - or do you put them in the oven?  We have a pear tree full of leaves I want to pick and dry..  

For that kind of leaf I put them in a shallow cardboard box and leave them in a sunny spot, and turn then every day. We have a sunny porch, which gets full of boxes of drying forage at this time of year  Just make sure the sun isn't so bright that the leaves get scorched

The garage has every spare space with a box on filled with hawthorn, as that seems to dry best in there for me

Im going to farm shop tomorow or monday at latest. Can only get 2 full bails in it tho, could squish 3 in but the hay & straw would be to close together, cant risk the hay getting straw mixed in for piggies, so a sack of wood shavings sits in middle. Got a black bin in the run to keep the litter pellets in, will top that back up too. Just need to find good price on large bail/pack of bedding for the piggies and where to keep it.

Katieb wrote:Im about to go out foraging myself...but am a bit confused about the best way to dry things.....do you have one of those hanger things - or do you put them in the oven?  We have a pear tree full of leaves I want to pick and dry..  

It depends on how much space you have for drying. If you are limited in space then the oven is a good option. It is also good for quite wet stuff such as rose petals. If you have pear leaves to dry and you have the space you can cut off some trimmings and hang them up somewhere leaves and all with a sheet or newspaper underneath to catch any dropped leaves. You can also just stick stuff on a shelf in the airing cupboard or anywhere else that is quite warm. The reason people talk about the hangers is because you want to have thin layers of stuff and the hangers allow you to dry a lot of stuff at once.

With us having so many rabbits and holiday buns we stock up on everything especially here as in Winter we can have thick snow and there is a chance we can't out and not be able to get supplies. We have a little storage shed for the hay and Mike can get 8 bales at a time in his car and so we fill the shed up. We buy Megazorb in the large sack's as we use loads of that and we also use several different types of Burgess Excel and SS and so we have to get that in all the time. The biggest problem for us is newspapers! we have one of our customers who kindly gets their local pub in the next village to save them for us and my Sister and her Husband save all theirs which we collect when we go home to Lancashire to visit them.

I'd like to do some foraging for the buns but we don't really have time but we do buy loads of packets of dried herbs and sprinkle a handful over the buns hay so that keeps them busy during the night  

I've just been out and taken down most of the runner bean plants - the leaves are now drying for the bun as winter treats, as they are a favourite  

The airing cupboard is getting full of boxes of forage now  

I have to admit I'm happy to pay 50 pence per item to get the hay and Aubiose delivered - I have a small car, so can only fit 2 bales of hay in at the most, and I hate all the bits that get everywhere - I'm more than happy to pay the delivery cost to save the time of having to drive out to collect, and the times pend cleaning the car after   Even with a sheet or tarp down the hay gets everywhere  

I have just looked Aubiose up as I have never heard of it and it look's quite good  

http://www.foranimalsshop.co.uk/aubiose-bedding-20kg/prod_4929.html

Might get a sack to try .

Tuckerbunnies wrote:I have just looked Aubiose up as I have never heard of it and it look's quite good  


Might get a sack to try .

I used to use megazorb, but the place I got it from stopped stocking it....then I tried equiflax, but the place I got it from closed down....I'm really hoping the place that does Aubiose keeps going