Bedding: Cost of Care Fresh verses Fleece bedding

[Rnd210]

I really don't have a question per say but I do want to add or possibly show the reality of how much one person is spending on care fresh bedding each month verses the start up price for Fleece which after the first time will not cost anything else since it is reuseable.

Fleece sets consisting of Fleece and a mattress pad sewed together to make a mattress pad for the cage, plus I added a little extra mony to that incase any one wanted to anything else to go in between the mattress pad and fleece fore more absorbancy like a cotton blanket thats only $5.00 at walmart.

For a 2x3 cage if you changing the care fresh bedding correctly then you should be going through 3-4 big packages at about $21.00 a bag thats atleast $63.00-$84.00 a month. Start up for fleece is about $25.00-$40.00 for 2 sets.

For a 2x4 cage, if you are changeing the care fresh bedding correctly then you should be going through 4-5 big packages so again at $21.00 a bag that is $84.00-$105.00 a month. Start up for fleece is about $25.00-$40.00 for 2 sets.

For a 2x5 cage, if you are changeing the care fresh correctly then you should be going through 5-6 big packages so again at $ 21.00 a bag that is $105.00-$126.00 a month. Start up for fleece is about $35.00-$50.00 for 2 sets.

As for a 2x6 I don't think I really need to go there cause if you already have a 2x6 cage then you are probably already using fleece.

Not to mention this but using fleece is not only healtheir for your piggies but it helps you to detect any illnesses that your piggie may be trying to hide such as pooping issues.

This is just an average estimate of the cost of bedding that should be used 2nd to fleece based on complete weekly changing that you should be doing.

Thanks for reading this and if you haven't already changed to using fleece and you want or need to save money then maybe this post will help you think about it.

[ferndalezoo]

We buy our fleece when it's on sale at Jo-Ann for $5 a yard. We have a 3x5 cage, and 2 yards covers it perfectly. I use 5 towels in the cage which I got for $1 each at the thrift store. So for $15, I can outfit a cage our size with bedding that lasts...... until it dies? I do have added expenses of washing 4 extra loads of laundry a week (and I don't have those figures), but I'm sure it's far less than I'd spend on even the cheapest disposable bedding.

[MOMof3Kidz]

I want to try fleece but some things turn me off it! Like I heard about the need to shake it outside before wash and getting pee on yourself! eww

I also worry about what the smell and so on could do to my washer and dryer?

At the moment Im using carefresh. For me at the moment its about convenience! I like to be able to just scoop it out give a good scrub and replace.

Anyone who has used both have pros and cons of either choice?

[Peggysu]

Originally Posted by MOMof3Kidz

I want to try fleece but some things turn me off it! Like I heard about the need to shake it outside before wash and getting pee on yourself! eww

I also worry about what the smell and so on could do to my washer and dryer?

At the moment Im using carefresh. For me at the moment its about convenience! I like to be able to just scoop it out give a good scrub and replace.

Anyone who has used both have pros and cons of either choice?

I roll my fleece and towels up and take it outside and shake it off my deck. I've been using fleece now for a year and i have never had pee fling on me. If that happens then the cage was filthy and that means they were laying in their pee, which doesn't happen in my house.

In regards to the washer and dryer I take mine to the laundrymat. It still saves me money. If I don't go to the laundrymat I do it at my parents house. They don't mind and it doesn't mess up their washing machine and dryer. My stuff comes out clean and smelling fresh. The washing machine is to clean off dirt, that's the purpose of it. What do you think your clothes do to the washer and dryer? You don't think you stink?

I have used both and I love carefresh. It's expensive and dusty so it's not a good choice. I have allergies and I can't handle the dust, plus no matter how high I put the sides it still flung out everywhere. With fleece my piggies sprawl out and get comfy and they can easily run. I will never have a different bedding, unless someone figures something better out.

[Sponge]

Well it's because of this site that I use fleece and I don't regret it. I put one layer of fleece on top of a vetbed which is on top of newspaper which is on top of kitchen towels. I change the Newspaper and fleece twice weekly and wash the vetbed once a week (fleece 2 or 3 times depending on how much my piggies have been weeing).

I'm glad I went with fleece. It cost me £8 per metre and works wonderfully. I don't mind cleaning out their number 2s either and shaking them off in the garden is no problem when I consider how much money I'm saving and how much my piggies love fleece.

They do hoever love to crawl underneath it sometimes. I guess their hidey houses just aren't good enough *rollseyes* that or the fact that the vetbed is luxuriously fluffy!

[enkiRoll]

I have two silkies and a peruvian, and I just switched them to fleece because I find any kind of disposable bedding get stuck in their fur and aggravates problems with matts and tangles. Also, I think the dust in Carefresh bedding makes them sneeze a lot (my roommate who keeps rats also has this problem with this bedding).

In general, my girls seem a lot happier on the fleece. There was immediate popcorning after the switch.

[MOMof3Kidz]

What do you have to change more often?

[lissie]

I've used carefresh for the first week I had my piggies then switched to fleece. I love fleece. Carefresh is too dusty for me. For fleece, I use soup spoon to pick up poop 2 times a day and wash weekly. I've recently made a hay loft for the pigs and now I don't have problem with hay sticking to fleece so I don't need to shake it outside. I live in an apartment with no washer/dryer so I have to take it to the laundromat, I'd still prefer it more than carefresh.

[Peggysu]

I do a complete cage change about every 6-8 days, but I can go that long because I have a big cage. I change litter boxes under hay racks about every two days. Sometimes I change just the fleece layer once.

[Rnd210]

Originally Posted by MOMof3Kidz

What do you have to change more often?

I think the carefresh would have to be changed more often because it starts to stink after after about 3 days.

However after 3 days with the fleece it doesn't stink, but both require atleast a complete cleaning change once a week.

But I would say the Fleece last longer because it's reuseable, and you don't have that musty stinky smell that you get with using the carefresh.

The fleece is wonderful and cuts down on smell.

[MOMof3Kidz]

Im using the carefresh right now. So far so good! Once a day I have been picking out wet spots I see and poos and it seems to be working no smell and it on day 3

[MapleOwl18]

I love my fleece. Carefresh always seemed way to expensive for anything other than putting under their hay racks.

My dad was so impressed with how much better the cage smelled with fleece. He was the one who always got stuck cleaning it when we had piggies in gradeschool, and used aspen chips. Their cages used to reek, even before a week was up. He's like you must be doing something right, keep it up.