Switching To Fleece

Status
Not open for further replies.
katanamoon

katanamoon

Photo Competition Winner
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
2,302
Reaction score
3,332
Points
1,235
Location
Gloucester
...At least, giving it a trial run.

In the 18 months I've had my piggies, I've tried Snowflake shavings and fitch, but never taken the plunge and given fleece a fair trial. I use it up in the loft area and, to be fair, it seems pretty low maintenance, with the only drawback being the amount of hair that shows up on our clothes when they come out of the washing machine. With the warmer weather, and the inability to do total poo pickings on shavings, I'm getting a bit paranoid about flies so tonight I am going to go for it and lay fleece down throughout!

Got a nice big litter tray for hay, as I think there would be instant mutiny if the hay pile suddenly disappeared.

So, wish me luck!
 
Good luck!
You could try washing the fleece in a pillowcase or an old duvet cover, I found this cut out the hair/hay problem in the machine. Now we are using Vet Bed in a bigger cage I can only just get bedding in the machine without a cover so I'm back to trying to brush every bit off before washing.
 
i have been using fleece for just a week.. i like being able to see the poo to get rid of it quickly ! I have a hay tray as wee and wet hay are not a nice mix on fleece. so far so good...
 
You have to give it a good go, but when you get used to it you wonder why you didn't do it earlier!
 
i bought one of those special wash bags for horse gear, about £13 online, hopefully this will stop any stray hairs or hay..
 
Lucky Thor, Pixel and Widget. They are going to adore fleece all over! I use puppy pads underneath the fleece and have a huge pile of hay in the hay trays. I just use an old duvet cover and wash the piggies bedding in that separately from our clothes. Everyone is happy with that. You'll have happy piggies for sure x
 
VickiA said:
Lucky Thor, Pixel and Widget. They are going to adore fleece all over! I use puppy pads underneath the fleece and have a huge pile of hay in the hay trays. I just use an old duvet cover and wash the piggies bedding in that separately from our clothes. Everyone is happy with that. You'll have happy piggies for sure x
Click to expand...
hi, which puppy pads do you use ?
 
I used to use those puppy pads when i used fleece, they are good :)
I just have enough washing to do with two kids uder 5!
 
So far so good! I have puppy pads and newspaper underneath, with a big litter tray full of hay at one end. So far the reception has been very good, much popcorning and chuntering :yahoo: I can see myself getting a bit OCD with poops and bits of hay, haha!

20150614_202227.webp 20150614_202454.webp 20150614_202549.webp
 
Awww it looks lovely :) I switched to fleece liners a couple of months ago and I'd never go back to disposable now unless I was going away and someone needed to look after the pigs. I get OCD about the hay and poops too! Nothing like cage cleaning day when everything looks lovely and neat again... even if it does only last two minutes. :))
 
I treated myself to a Vax Gator Pet - handheld sucker-of-all-things-hairy! It's really good, gets up so much hair - I just vaccum the fleece with it before washing. A lot less hairs now :)
 
I gave up picking up the hay from mine. I just scoop the worst of it up and pick up all the poo. I do love the fleece when it is all fresh and new. But I know they are enjoying it more and it is less mess in the long run for me than tons of shavings.
 
There is some weird satisfaction after you've poo picked the cage. One of my girls Amber, likes to nibble and follow the dustpan around whilst I do it too. Then popcorns because she knows that food follows!
 
@VickiA do your hay trays have high sides? The one I've got is only a bit shorter than the pigs themselves and they seem happy enough jumping in and out, but I'm a bit worried they're going to damage themselves!
 
@katanamoon I use a litter tray that is around the same height as my pigs. They are fine jumping in and out. I've started using a brick next to the tray, to keep them from moving it around and acts as a small platform to get to and from the tray if they don't feel like jumping in. :)
 
katanamoon said:
@VickiA do your hay trays have high sides? The one I've got is only a bit shorter than the pigs themselves and they seem happy enough jumping in and out, but I'm a bit worried they're going to damage themselves!
Click to expand...

Yes Rachel, mine are just cat litter trays. I line with newspaper and some shavings before piling in the hay in a mound. So although they have to climb in it's not a big drop on other side. Never had any injuries, and all have been happy to dive on in. but poor old Mrs Fudge couldn't manage the trays in her last few months as she had bad knees :( So she just had a hay pile on a puppy pad. Still miss her x
 
Good plan! Thank you @ayemee, that sounds like a good idea - I'm pretty sure I'll find the whole thing tipped over at the rate they're going!

They are properly loving this setup!
 
VickiA said:
Yes Rachel, mine are just cat litter trays. I line with newspaper and some shavings before piling in the hay in a mound. So although they have to climb in it's not a big drop on other side. Never had any injuries, and all have been happy to dive on in. but poor old Mrs Fudge couldn't manage the trays in her last few months as she had bad knees :( So she just had a hay pile on a puppy pad. Still miss her x
Click to expand...
Aww, poor Mrs Fudge :( She was a very special lady, with a very special home x
 
katanamoon said:
Good plan! Thank you @ayemee, that sounds like a good idea - I'm pretty sure I'll find the whole thing tipped over at the rate they're going!

They are properly loving this setup!
Click to expand...

Yeah, before I used the brick to keep it in place I would find the hay tray in very random positions the next morning! :))

Aww bless them! :D
 
ayemee said:
Yeah, before I used the brick to keep it in place I would find the hay tray in very random positions the next morning! :))

Aww bless them! :D
Click to expand...
I found my tray in a completely different place one morning too!
 
oooooooooooooooooooo love the fleece, where did you find that one?

I was very lucky enough to win a hammocky hammocks washbag years ago but just looked at the website and they don't seem to do it anymore. We have a very old inbuilt washing machine in the kitchen which is starting to give up so we brought a new one... so now... the pigs have their own washing machine :)) it might be old and clunky but it gets their fleeces clean!
 
Lady Kelly said:
oooooooooooooooooooo love the fleece, where did you find that one?

I was very lucky enough to win a hammocky hammocks washbag years ago but just looked at the website and they don't seem to do it anymore. We have a very old inbuilt washing machine in the kitchen which is starting to give up so we brought a new one... so now... the pigs have their own washing machine :)) it might be old and clunky but it gets their fleeces clean!
Click to expand...
It's from B&M, in their pet section. Just over 5 feet long and folded in half too - a bargain at £3.99! I got two of their 2-pack polar fleeces too, in a light and dark shade of blue, also £3.99 each :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top