Fleece Bedding

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Daisy Lennon

Daisy Lennon

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Hi,

I have seen many comments and some pics on the forum regarding fleece bedding/cage lining, all of which are positive. I was wondering if a fleece user could let me know how often they change it, how it's cleaned, how many replacements are needed and how it stands up to being soiled?

Thanks :-)
 
My main fleece gets changed every week and a half but have smaller bits with towel underneath where they pee sometimes.These get changed when wet.Mine are more or less litter trained for wees.Have a bag to wash everything in.I have 4 main fleeces for two enclosures and about 6 smaller pieces for every day changes
 
I have fleece liners made from doubled over fleece with no wadding but sewn to size to fit the cage. I make them from cheap Ikea fleeces. Then I have puppy pads underneath. Under each of the hideys I have "pee pads" made of fleece to take the worst of the abuse! The pee pads get changed every day (unless by some miracle no one has used them). The liner and puppy pads I change twice a week ( could leave longer if needed). The fleeces get shaken outside then put into an old duvet cover and washed in the machine on a hot wash with non bio powder and white vinegar in the rinse. No fabric softener ( prevents wicking). The vinegar is an odour neutraliser. The pads and liners dry very quickly on an airer in the garage in the winter or on the line in summer. I love fleece and wouldn't go back.
 
I have, (A wooden double hutch) 3 or more layers of newspaper, more for the corners, 2 layers of towels, and 1 layer of fleece, in order to first use the fleece, you must wash it with just water (no soap) around 3 times, test by pouring some water on the fleece, if it goes through, then it's good to go!
When you wash it, never use fabric softener, it brings back the water barrier- and you don't want that!

I wash mine once a week on a sunday, and gets a spot cleaning for the morning and evening. You could change the cornered areas (spot they sit in most) each day, so it isn't damp.
 
Fleece needs to be changed every three days and washed on 60 degrees. I used it with towels. Bacteria spreads rapidly so it is not advisable to be left longer then three days. I discussed this with the head of Gorgeous Guineas and she stressed how important it is.
 
I use mostly fleece currently.

I have towels on bottom and fleece ontop changed every 2 days. I have soaker pads which I have made from 2 layers fleece with a flannel inbetween which are under water bottles and get changed daily I got flannels from homebargains for 29p each!

They have litter trays with layer of cardboard bedding then layer of wood pellet cat litter then hay ontop. I usually let these go 4 days to tie in with fleece changes (they get changed every other fleece change)

I am looking to change this set up though as I am doing too much washing with all the towels. I am going to make some additional soaker pads which are larger for under my hideys which will be changed daily. I will also by trying out some complete fleece bedding which I intend to make myself. That reminds me just been to town and forgot to visit abakhan for more wadding. :mal:

out I pop again as wanted to make at least One cage liner today :(

I also use aubiose instead of fleece in my shop bought nero 4 as i bought 2 bales to sample and need to use it up. but I think It'll be too messy for c&c. I may keep in though in some form in future as it does work well.
 
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Thanks folks, this is all great info. I plan on moving to fleece eventually as it definitely sounds like the way forward!
 
If you are planning on cage liners rather than loose layers. If you have a sewing machine or know someone with a sewing machine you can borrow it works out a lot cheaper to make them especially if you can source some cheap fleece etc...

My local market does plain fleece for only £4 per metre and it is very wide. Also they do really lovely patterned stuff at £6. Abakhan is also very cheap for patterned fleece if you use the "baskets" at 11.99 per kilo which works out a bit cheaper than my market but I have now exhausted my store for time being and bought all the fleece I like. Plain fleece is same price so think that works out slightly more expensive than my market. .
 
I have puppy pads on the bottom (30 for £4.99 at B&M are the cheapest Ive found so far), then a layer of towel, then fleece on top. I put soaker pads and lap pads inside in the areas that get used the most (usually the corners), I change the soaker pads every 3-4 days depending on how bad they are/which have been used the most. the main fleece I change weekly as it doesnt really get used like the soaker pads do. spot clean every morning, deep clean every week. Ive found the only downside to having fleece is getting the hay off it, it really sticks to the fleece sometimes, ive tried hayracks but my piggies seem to prefer it on the floor :)) but yeah, fleece is the best in my opinion! XD
 
Yes I have given up with hay racks lol. They still have hayracks but I used to pick up any hay on the floor everytime I passed the cage. Now I use litter trays with hay in with hayracks above as they seem to like hay on the floor but they do drag it all over the cage. :mal:
 
yeah I have a litter tray in too but they love tipping it so the hay comes out lol, i should have bought one with square corners instead of rounded ones so they couldnt tip it as easy
 
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