The best way to do a kitchen?

[piggypuppylove]

Hi all! I just switched to fleece a little over a week ago. I love it, but I can't seem to get the kitchen right. I tried cutting openings out of a shallow plastic storage container and filling with bedding but bedding got EVERYWHERE! Then I tried covering the kitchen section with a second layer of towels and fleece and that also got yuck fast. Then i tried covering a plastic storage bin lid with towels and fleece and again...yuck. Now I've just got the plastic lid under the hay racks/water bottles/food bowls... and it is also yuck as I type this. My next move is to fill a box with bedding and hay it low enough that they can jump in but not so low that bedding will get everywhere.

So frustrated... what is everyone else doing? I want to contain the hay, and keep the rest of the cage relatively clean. I vacuum up poops twice a day and the fleece stays dry. I only have to change the fleece once per week... it's just managing the kitchen.

[Sophiepiggie]

I just use a cat litter box,that I got from Walmart, and fill it with bedding. It works awesome!

[SeeSpotSit]

@Sophiepiggie how many inches tall is your litter pan? I'm thinking of making a kitchen box out of coroplast to fit perfectly under the loft and I am wondering how high I can make the edges.

[Skippie]

Our kitchen is the upstairs loft of the cage. You can use the grids to make a hay bin. The hay stays upstairs while the downstairs is the big play area with the piggy sleeping bags, chew toys, etc. For me, this keeps the bottom (bigger) level clean. Obviously, the top gets messier but because its smaller and on top, I can clean it easily. I double-up the fleece in the kitchen so I can take one layer of fleece out when needed and continue using the bottom layer longer.

[piggypuppylove]

I've never had any luck with lofts... maybe it's my lack of ramp making skills? I also considered using a litter box... but I worry that they won't be able to get in... how high can the sides be?

[mmas4]

I use the bottom of a pet store cage for a kitchen/litter pan. I use hardwood stove pellets for litter. They don't get tracked. Hay gets on the fleece but I put a huge pile of hay in the litter pan. A hay rack would be less messy or even a smaller pile of hay.

[Kimberly713]

I used a regular sized cat box for awhile, and put a brick next to it so they can get in and out with no problem. Now I have a loft, and bought two tiny sized cat pans from walmart for $1, and filled them up with wood stove pellets. The bedding is too heavy to fall out, the only problem is the hay, which I pick up daily and vacuum the bits. Works well.

[piggypuppylove]

I've looked for pellets but haven't found any where I live... just aspen and pine shavings. I'm using a product that is similar to carefresh... and while it does a good job at odor control... they track it all over the fleece.

[piggypuppylove]

I'm going to try the litter box route. Hopefully that will be a permanent solution. I've considered just not using a kitchen at all... but I think that that would mean changing the fleece more often.

[arionat799]

I have a litter box made out of coroplast and the walls are the same height as the coroplast base of the cage, (6 inches) and i cut out a section for her to go in. Some pigs can even just jump in and out. (Ginger does some times) You could also make something like stairs/a ladder for the pigs to get in. I saw this like rainbow bridge thing @ Petsmart being used before in pics. Good luck!

[Tensonstar]

you could have a seperating wall for the kitchen and have a hole they can jump threw an 1-2in off they ground so the bedding dosent come back threw with them, at least not that much would.

[arionat799]

I really like this idea!! How/what would you use to make the wall?

[piggypuppylove]

I think I've finally got my problem solved. I got a medium size cat litter box and put it in the corner of the cage. I put a grid on one side to make another wall so I've got two hay racks in the litter box. For now, I have one of their crocks upside down as a little step for them to get in, but I've got a couple of sets of the fiddlestick bridges ordered and I plan on doing two more litter boxes for water bottles and food bowls and maybe another hay rack or two This will cover the end of the cage and leave a 3x3 space open for play.

Thanks for all of the suggestions! I'll get a photo once I get everything set up!

[Tensonstar]

to make the wall you could use coroplast or something like this Cavy Condo - Guinea Pig Cage Photos