Pelletized animal bedding and process and tool for sifting manure therefrom

The method of removing manure from loose particulate livestock bedding material while minimizing loss of the bedding material with the removed manure, comprising the steps of:

• a. providing a bedding of pelletized particulate material in a stall to a depth approximating between one and four inches so as to enable livestock to lie and rest comfortably thereon, said bedding consisting of sterile compacted sawdust pelletized material which is sufficiently dense and absorbent so as to enable excreted manure to be supported primarily atop the bedding and urine to be absorbed by the bedding, individual pieces of said pelletized material being of a size smaller than the manure excreted by bedded livestock;
• b. providing a pellet fork having essentially parallel tines each of which is spaced from adjacent tines of said fork a distance nominally exceeding at least one dimension of said pieces whereby the pieces can pass essentially freely through spaces between the tines;
• c. projecting the tines of said fork generally horizontally into and through said bedding below manure to be removed therefrom;
• d. lifting said fork vertically to support the manure atop said tines while allowing underlying pelletized material tending to loosely cling to the manure to pass through said spaces between adjacent tines and return to said bedding;
• and
• e. extracting a maximum volume of material from said fork by manually shaking the fork while supporting lifted material and manure thereon to sift pelletized material pieces from the manure and permit their return to the bedding.