New C&C Cage trashed in no time!

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pinkblossom

pinkblossom

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Having been inspired by all the great C&C cages on here, I built one yeah! It's not as big as some of the fantastic ones on here, but better than the piggies old cage.
I lined it with two fleeces meeting in the middle of the cage...they began by trying to eat the fleece, then the cleverest pig found he could burrow behind the fleece against the high back wall and tunnel along the sides until he came out. Round and round he went showing the others how to do it..great fun like Lazerquest for piggies. As he was running round he managed to conmpletely knock the ladder to the hay loft off too.
Also noticing it smells a lot more than woodchip, not good in my dining room :0
I'll let them have their fun tonight and maybe go back to wood chip in the morning unless there is any other bedding which absorbs odours and doesn't go everywhere?
 
Naughty piggies :(|)

Did you wash the fleece a few times before you used it?

I use puppy training pads under my fleeces and it helps keep them drier.
 
Fleece takes a while to get used to it but it's really worth it, don't give up !
Did you wash the fleece a few times before you used it ?
Did you use anything to weight the fleece down ? small bricks or small rocks ?
Give it a try you won't regret it, it makes my piggies so happy i could never go back (:
 
Did you put anything under the fleece? You need an absorbent layer for the fleece to wick the moisture into. You can use towels, newspapers, puppy pads, cotton mattress toppers or a combination of the above.

In order to prevent the piggies burrowing underneath ideally you need to not have any edges of the fleece on the floor of the cage. As has already been suggested you can weigh the fleece down with something or use bulldog clips to clip it to the sides. Alternatively, you can buy (or make) cage liners which usually consist of a fleece and mattress topper sewn together with sides that fit over the sides of the correx so the piggies can't pull it up.

To reduce smell it can also help to have litter trays with substrate in them in the places where the piggies spend the most time such as under the hay racks/in the hay loft.

As for keeping the ramp in place (I'm assuming it's a ramp you meant rather than an actual ladder?) I would use something to fasten it at the top (and side if you can). What is it made out of? You could use cable ties or stick on velcro depending on your setup. :)
 
I actually put the cage bit inside the correx bit so that it holds the fleece down. The cage bit gets a bit dirty over time, so every three months, I steam clean it in the bath. And I also put enough hay in a corner so that they can burrow under it.
 
Thank you

Thank you for all the replies,
I think the real problem is the back wall of correx is really high (nearly 14 inches) as I didn't want anything going down the back. So when the fleece is pulled up to the back it does 'tent' a bit, maybe I should try making a fleece pad and weighing it down. I washed the fleeces twice and have towels/old bath mat and newspaper underneath. I like the idea of puppy training pads underneath First time mum. The smell seems to have gone today, perhaps it was just the extra smelly wee male piggies can produce when upset or 'marking the new territory' if piggies do this?
Anyhow I'll give it a bit longer with the fleeces and re-work the ramp fixings to be super strong piggy proof. When it all gets sorted I will try and post a pic of the gang.
 
I use bulldog clips to clamp the fleece down to make it Matilda and Poppy proof! It's not unusual to find a lump in the fleece where Matilad has made herself comfy otherwise!
 
pinkblossom said:
Thank you for all the replies,
I think the real problem is the back wall of correx is really high (nearly 14 inches) as I didn't want anything going down the back. So when the fleece is pulled up to the back it does 'tent' a bit, maybe I should try making a fleece pad and weighing it down. I washed the fleeces twice and have towels/old bath mat and newspaper underneath. I like the idea of puppy training pads underneath First time mum. The smell seems to have gone today, perhaps it was just the extra smelly wee male piggies can produce when upset or 'marking the new territory' if piggies do this?
Anyhow I'll give it a bit longer with the fleeces and re-work the ramp fixings to be super strong piggy proof. When it all gets sorted I will try and post a pic of the gang.
Click to expand...

A bit of velcro in a strategic spot to hold fleece to correx? You can get the sticky stuff for the correx and sewy stuff for the fleece!
 
Katie Krafter said:
A bit of velcro in a strategic spot to hold fleece to correx? You can get the sticky stuff for the correx and sewy stuff for the fleece!
Click to expand...
Great idea, why didn't I think of that? I've taken up the fleeces as an extra long old thick cotton bath mat (4 grids long) seems to be doing the same job as fleece, I am now hunting for more of these online! The boys still have a fleece hidey corner, I didn't want to spoil all their fun. I've also secured the loft ramp now, but only the same clever pig has worked out how to go up. Ah how the small things amuse my tiny mind, lol
 
pinkblossom said:
Great idea, why didn't I think of that? I've taken up the fleeces as an extra long old thick cotton bath mat (4 grids long) seems to be doing the same job as fleece, I am now hunting for more of these online! The boys still have a fleece hidey corner, I didn't want to spoil all their fun. I've also secured the loft ramp now, but only the same clever pig has worked out how to go up. Ah how the small things amuse my tiny mind, lol
Click to expand...

Maybe a tunnel will have the same effect as blindfolding horses when they don't want to go somewhere? Good luck with your bathmat hunt - I use old nappies sewn together...
 
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