What's the crack with fleece?!

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thehappypixi

thehappypixi

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I've seen loads of pictures of people lining cages with fleece, OK I can get that it's cheaper as its washable, but how is it on odour and absorbency? Also do they not like to dig and forage in substrate? I HATE sawdust, it's all I have at the moment but I used to get cardboard bedding when I had rats. Unfortunately it comes in 20kg bags and my storage space is limited :/
 
There are so many different variations on bedding, most of us try out a few until we find something that fits our lifestyle and pocket.

I'm not a fleece user, I tried it and didn't like all the washing but then I do have well over 40 pigs to accommodate. The fleece (once it is washed 3 times without fabric conditioner) allows the urine to wick through to the absorbent material used underneath - this can be newspaper, towels, inco pads, puppy training pads, etc. A quick sweep up/hoover up of the poo keeps it looking clean and the pigs do really like fleece to lay out on .

I use puppy training pads with deep litter hay, topped up every other day and cleaned out once a week, the pigs love it and the volume of waste is low as the 'uneaten hay' (council won't take animal bedding) goes in the garden recycling and the pads fold up nice and small for the bin.

For the poorly pigs I deal with I use puppy pads under vetbed, again the urine wicks straight through and the pigs stay very dry and very comfy. Vet bed goes in the wash and the pads in the bin once a week.

HTH

Suzy x
 
I use fleece, I have 3 large thermal fleeces (suprisingly 2 from ALDI at reasonable price) I have dry nites bed mats underneath to soak up and keep fresh. Fleece is tough to sweep off the hay and bedding so I make sure I put it in a laundry bag in the washing machine although I have had to clear the filter a number of times! I only have two boys so it works for me. I live in a flat and they are in the lounge and I've not found it smelly.
 
i use fleece with puppy pads under and it works brilliant for me i change their cage every other day and it saves me a fortune on bedding
 
I tried fleece for a few months and hated it. I had to clean out twice a week and the odour was still very strong! I'm now using Medibed (very finely chopped straw) with puppy pads underneath. I love it and so do the piggies!
 
Hmmm, I might try it, I'm liking the idea of changing it on a daily basis as they are in my sons bedroom :)
 
I gave fleece a really good go but I just found it high maintenance.
The first time I tried it they kept burrowing under it so I bulldog clipped it which did work.

I found I was poop picking everyday because you notice their poops more on fleece and I was changing it every other day.
Now it's newspaper, sawdust and hay, I clean out twice a week-roll it all up and start again plus they can forage to their hearts content :)

It might just be me but I think hay looks more natural than fleece and to me piggies should be allowed to forage otherwise they must get bored.
 
I couldn't have as many piggies in my living room without fleece; but admittedly, there is a lot of washing; apart from the daily poo picking! I change it every 3-4 days.
 
I tried fleece for a few weeks and just couldn't get on with it. A lot of owners swear by it though.

I use vetbed with a few layers of newspaper underneath - I've only got two cages so the washing isn't too bad. Each vetbed is washed twice a week and the newspaper is changed every day. I spot clean every morning and evening.
 
I used fleece/vetbed and washable inco pads for about a year but I found it high maintenance. It looks lovely when the cage is freshly made up but it shows EVERY poop adn I found I got a bit OCD about sweeping up poops whenever I walked past the cage! Because the poops lay on the surface, I found the pigs would walk on them and get a squishy poop mashed into their feet. However, once purchased, it was very cost effective.

I then went back to newspaper, aubiose and hay. Having observed the piggies, I can honestly say that they MUCH prefer a deep bed of hay and go MENTAL when the hay is plumped up or is freshly changed. They love to burrow in it and make little nests to sleep in. As for cleaning, it is more messy than fleece/vetbed but I just change wet hay daily and change the substrate once a week, thus ensuring that the top layer is always dry.

ETA - my new cage has newspaper/aubiose/hay downstairs and fleece upstairs and the piggies choose never to sleep upstairs (where they also have fleece beds and burrows) which only confirms my belief that they prefer the hay.
 
I use washable incontinence pads and fleece in the biggest part of the cage but also a huge section that is newspaper, aubiose and hay. That way that get the comfy luxury of fleece and the option to forage. I do a poop scoop every day on the fleece and add a fresh layer of hay in the other part.
I do a complete change every 3-4 days.
 
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