Wood shavings

[fuzzyvalefan]

Hi

I've always used wood shaving for the floor of our pigs' cage but ive noticed a lot of people on here use fleeces and such. That would seem to be a much tidier and easier to clean floor covering. Which is best- wood shavings or a fleece? What do other people use?

 

[bsjlmb]

i always used shavings but since joining this forum in march i have been converted to vetbed. i think it is the best thing i did. it is warm, soft and the wee goes straight through to the bottom leaving the top fluffy part dry.

 

[Toffeewoffee]

It always takes time to find something that suits you and the piggies, i did not get along with fleece, i found that all of the fine dusty bits of hay got stuck to the fleece and after 3 washes, much shaking, and brushing it would still not come off.

Hay on newspaper was ok and easy to manage because you just roll it up and replace and its done in 5 mins, but it smelt so quickly and with 4 piggies just didn't work for me, there was a lot of waste and was rather expensive.

I use a thcik layer of newspaper, then a thick layer of shavings then a load of soft finely chopped russel bedding straw and hay in a hay rack, i do have to spt clean under the hay rach every other day as the waste hay doesn't get eaten but gets pee'd and poo'd on so does start to smell, but i just use a carrier bag turned inside out to grab a handful then replac with fresh straw.

xx

 

[mikulinek]

I think a lot of people start on wood shavings and I don;t think there's much wring with that. You quickly learn, however, how much hassle they are when cleaning - it's a nightmare isn't it?


We switched to vetbed very early on:

http://www.petnhome.co.uk/veterinary-bedding-c-11.html?gclid=CJq3v4_T3LACFSghtAod3lPFvA

You can cut the right shape out from a roll and it's not too expensive. They last a long time.

We put a cheap fleece blanket (a couple of quid from Primark) over the top of this. When it comes to cleaning, give everything a good shake and then what we do is to wash it inside an old duvet cover to stop any hay getting in the washing machine. Much easier, a lot less mess and, in winter, vetbed is great for you piggies as it's a good insulator.

 

[Toffeewoffee]

Sorry to slightly highjack this thread, where is the cheapest place to buy vet bed, i have often considered it but it seems to expensive initially?

 

[Pink Jumper]

I used to use wood shavings but found it really annoying to clean the cage whilst using that.

I converted to fleece and have never looked back. I use a layer of towels underneath the fleece. I just poop scoop every day to keep on top of it and then on cleaning days (3 times a week) I sweep up the hay, poops etc with a dust pan and brush and then shake the excess hay off out in the garden. Then pop the fleece and towels in the washing machine. Easy.

Make sure the fleece is flat and secure as otherwise your piggies will probably hide and play underneath it.

If you choose to use fleece and it is a new fleece, make sure you wash it a couple of times before hand so that when you put it in the cage their wee doesnt just sit on top for them to lay in.

I havent had a problem with the hay and the washing machine, although I do shake it off thoroughly. Mikulinek above mentioned a good idea about washing it in an old duvet cover.

Hope this helps

 

[Toffeewoffee]

Yes wash it a few times wihtout softner. x

 

[fuzzyvalefan]

I think i might do that. When we bought the piggies they had their own room but we have had to move to a smaller flat and now they are in the main living room and the wood shavings flying everywhere when they have their little crazy running sessions in the evenings is making the room a right mess and its becoming a pain having to hoover every other day. I think the fleece option may be better. Will be easier to spot clean the poos as well.