Bedding. Fleece v shavings?

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Shells

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So, my cage has a thick layer of news paper, then a thick layer of wood shavings. But I have to have news paper down outside the cage to catch the mess as the piggies kick it EVERYWERE. Also, they've only been in the cage for 4 almost 5 days, and although I've been spot cleaning daily the cage is starting to smell, So tomorrow I'm going to change it all again. Is fleece less smelly? and how do * clean all the poops off of it that they seem to produce by the minute? hehe
 
I used fleece and I found it smelt worse :-(
I'm back to using a thick ish layer of newspaper and just a small dusting(as I like to call it ) of shavings then loads of piles of hay with some hay in there rack, I clean the cage out everyday and they don't smell at all. I've only got 2 boars and could poss get away with cleaning them out every other day but I like them to have clean bedding everyday

Helene
 
Its personal opinion. I dont find fleece too bad, but some people find it more smelly. My herd have there moments. Poo is easy to just poop scoop or sweep up off the fleece. I would also put a layer of towels under it too so soak up any excess wee if you do go for fleece.

x.
 
you I only have two baby boars at 8 wks old, but wow can they smell, maybe an every 2nd day clean is needed then, can get pretty pricy that though I would think with all that bedding an hay getting thrown out every 2 days no?
 
Skittle was brilliant on fleece - shavings would go everywhere, up his man bits, all over the flat - i'd find it in my bed :)) it would be a mare to brush off pre-wash but it saved me a fortune, he loved snuggling into it and it was never damp, all his wee just soaked straight though to the towel/sawdust beneath.

The sooner i get my girls onto fleece, the better.
 
Maybe I could buy some cheap fleece and try it, I've tried the shavings and so far I'm not to impressed so maybe I'll give fleece a try and compare both and see which is better for my personal preference:))
 
I use fleece and find it really easy to deal with but I have to clean out everyday and put new newspaper and fleece in otherwise it stinks!
 
Shells said:
you I only have two baby boars at 8 wks old, but wow can they smell, maybe an every 2nd day clean is needed then, can get pretty pricy that though I would think with all that bedding an hay getting thrown out every 2 days no?
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I spend about £3.49 on the bag of shavings per month and a bag of hay of same size which cost £3.79 lasts me 2 months :)
 
Mine also get cleaned out everyday :red
I don't put a deep layer of shavings tho only enough to cover the paper but can still see paper through the shavings :)
I've learnt who much they eat everyday so although there is some waste theres not masses, and the hay in the rack is always kept topped up so they are never without hay :)
Ikea had fleece blankets for £1.50 I think I paid and I got 4 pieces that line the cage out of it, so very good value and they like it, although I felt they missed digging and ripping the paper up as the forever kept lifting the fleece
 
don't use the 'dusty' shavings, they get up their nose. Big flakes, as big as you can find, and dust extracted!

I use about 1-2 inches of shavings and find that's better for lasting a bit longer, also I found that the newspaper makes it smell a bit worse, so try it without and see how you get on.

You can always try cat litter...the wooden pellet kind...I used it when I had a cat and it's pretty good a stopping their smelliness...you could put a layer of the pellets on the bottom and then shavings on top, to make it easier on their little feet. :))
 
Fleece is good if used with puppy pads or waterproof mattress covers ( the ones that soak up and lock away the wee - not the ones that are just waterproof on top ). If you decide to stick with compostable bedding then I'd recommend Megazorb ( horsebedding ) or something similar, far better than shavings: more absorbent, easier to spot clean and lasts longer.
 
We have just changed over to fleece on vets advice from shavings / hay, and i am finding it so much easier to clean, smells less (I do clean them out every day though), we line the cages with newspapers, then a cage size piece of carpet then the fleece on top, and fleece beds. the piggies are loving it :)
 
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