Fleece newbie!!

[DEBSPIGZ]

OKAY folks,

This is a desperate post because I'm planning on making a C & C cage for my piggies next week and I'm really trying to hash out all the loose ends before building time. My piggies are currently housed in 2 custom made cage stacks of 4 cages each? I used to have a lot more piggies than I do now, but we were down to 3 and with our two adoptiees from the Humane Society that makes 5 so you can kind of see how many empty cages I have. I want to make a cage set-up very much like the 2 x 5 grid layout with the bright blue coroplast? It's in the grouping of pictures on this website, except that my two girls will have the top all to themselves and my 3 little boys on the bottom. Anyway, I saw from some of the postings that Walmart was having a sale on fleece---they didn't have it at my store here so i went to JoAnn Fabrics and took advantage of the 50% off sale there. The postings said Polar or pill-free fleece. I bought SCADS of what they called BLIZZARD fleece which is also pill-free but it seems awful thin to me. I can double it up and have two layers, but what will that do for the washing capabilities? I plan on layering newspaper first, then quilt batting, then towels and my fleece. How thick should the quilt batting be? Should I double layer that too? I'm going to have to buy more of the batting because they didn't have enough for me to use if I'm going to double it and have enough for at least 2 different changes. How about sewing the layers of the same of each material together and making mats out of them so they're easier to wash? I still haven't gotten to the laundromat with my fleece yet------there is no way my machines at home would be able to take all thie stuff I bought and wash and dry them 3 times in a row without burning out. I thought I could go to the laudromat and use one the those jumbo washers for everything. I'm afraid of having some very angry ladies staring me down if I take up more machines than that for that length of time!!! When I bought my fleece I bought enough for both my boys and girls to have a doubled layer for each change and I bought 3 different patterns so I we could have a nice color change once in a while. I have my scent free laundry soap and my white vinegar handy---am I supposed to use the vinegar when I wash the fleece for the first time too? Does that help cut through the sizing of the material at all?
Please wish me luck piggie slaves!!! I really care for these guys and this C & C cage is going to be the first of it's kind around here in almost 10 years!
Can I also ask-----what have you folks done with the cages that you have left after you set up your C & C? I'll have 2 singles, 1 double and 2 custom made 4 stacks that I'll need to be getting rid of-----does stuff like this sell good on Craigs List?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this, ok? I appreciate all of your experience!

Debbie

[lissie]

Hi,

I'm happy for your pigs that you are getting them the C&C cage. From what I've read, I understabd your cage will be stacked cage like this one (except yours will be 2x5)? Stacked 4x2 c&c cages - Guinea Pig Cage Photos
I think it will look great and the pigs will really enjoy it.

For your fleece, the first 3 washes you don't need to use vinegar. Vinegar is for helping cut down the urine smell. Just make sure not to use fabric softener. Some people use vinegar as fabric softener, so it's up to you if you want to use it or not.

I've sewn fleece to 4 layers of batting. It came out too thick, and hard to wash in a regular washer. It worked ok in the cage but I find sewing fleece to mattress pad is so much easier to wash. This is my current setup, one layer of fleece on top, sewn onto one layer of mattress pad, then lay down disposable incontence pads on the bottom of the cage. I've also used fleece on top of towels before, it cost too much to wash and dry (I use coin laundry). You'll only need one layer of fleece, too many layers will prevent urine from wicking through.

You can use the bottom of your old cage as their kitchen area. You can also keep the cage for transport. I would like to recemmend against selling them to others. You don't want people to think it's ok to keep their pigs in tiny cages.

[ferndalezoo]

Don't bother with quilt batting. It's made from polyester, and while it is thick and cushy, it's NOT absorbant. At all. I use several layers of towels (3), and a single layer of the anti-pill fleece from JoAnn. It works well. I have 4 boars in a 3x5, and change twice a week.

[shamrockmommy]

I have tried fleece with many different underlayments and the absolute BEST arrangement I have come up with is much like LIzzie's.

One layer of fleece sewn to a cut to fit (your coro) mattress pad (the cotton rich mattress pads in the bedding section at walmart). Leave enough extra fleece so you can wrap it around the edges and a good inch or two on the underside of the pad when you sew it. This washes super well in the washer and dries nicely too. Does a good job of controlling odor as well. I change about twice a week also.

The piggy pad (as I call them LOL) is heavy enough to keep my burrower pig, Marquee on the top side instead of underneath. they are also very easy to roll up, take outside to shake off, wipe down your coro and flop in a fresh one, super easy.

Good luck