General 4 boars in two cages. One cage smells fine, one constantly smells bad- why?

[Pandora4co]

So I've housed Percy and Peanut together for about 2 years now. I have fleece in their cage with pads underneath. I sweep poops every day, but even then the cage starts to smell of urine w/in about 3 days. At the end of the week it is getting really bad and when I pull up the fleece the pads underneath are saturated with urine through out most of the cage, some spots being worse than others . I I thought this was normal, until I adopted Felix and Chewie about 3-4 months ago and set them up in a different room in a different cage. Right away I noticed that their cage can go for a full week without smelling at all. And when I pull up the fleece in their cage at the end of the week, there is about half as much urine on the pads as there is in the other cage. Which is obviously why their cage doesn't smell and Piglets and Percys does. My question is "Why would their be so much more urine in one cage vs the other? Cage size shouldn't be an issue as Chewie and Felix's cage is 4x2 fleece with a 2x2 "kitchen" attached that has carefresh, and Percy and Piglets cage is 5x2 fleece with a 2x2 "kitchen' with carefresh. So the stinkier cage is actually the bigger cage. Any ideas as to why my original two pigs are producing so much more urine than the other two? Or how I can make the stinkier cage not stink as much? I'm about ready to use fabreeze or something but I'm not sure if that's safe or not...

 

[Onetwo]

Do not use fabreeze. Not even you should be using that toxic junk...

Some critters eat, drink, poo and pee more than others. Have you thought about humidity and temperature of the two rooms being a factor? If the room with the stinky cage is further from a base board or air vent or window where there might be less air flow the fleece and towels could be not drying out between pees. Could it be the cage blankets themselves? Maybe the stinky cage has old blankets (or new blankets) that aren't working as well? If its too hot and humid in one room it could cause poor circulation. It could also have something to do with the size of the room. Smaller rooms = less air. I know when I had a 1000 square foot 2 bedroom apt and I moved to a less than 700 square foot 2 bedroom apt, my cage (which is in the living room) smells worse... I bought an air purifier that is next to the cage that moves the air around better and removes the smell. I also open the windows even in the winter for a few minutes at least to refresh the apt. I don't use any smelly stuff like scented cleaners (or any cleaners other than vinegar) or laundry soap that isn't natural, or body washes or anything due to my oldest sons high fragrance allergy and asthma.

 

[Pandora4co]

The cages are in two bedrooms that are side by side. Both cages are on the 'outside' wall of the rooms, under a window next to a floor vent. The two bedrooms are identical in layout and size and the cages are in the same spot in both rooms, so I dont' think environment is a factor, but that's an interesting idea. Now I guess it could be the fleece. The less stinky 4x2 I use cheep fleece blankets I bought at walmart. These blankets don't quite cover the 5x2 (stinker) cage, so I bought some by the yard fleece at Joann's fabric for that cage. It'd be ironic if the less than $5 blankets I use work better at odor control than the 10$ a yard expensive fleece I bought for the cage that stinks..... It just blows my mind though how much more pee there is in Piglet/Percy's cage than Chewie/Felix's cage.

 

[Pandora4co]

The cages are in two bedrooms that are side by side. Both cages are on the 'outside' wall of the rooms, under a window next to a floor vent. The two bedrooms are identical in layout and size and the cages are in the same spot in both rooms, so I dont' think environment is a factor, but that's an interesting idea. Now I guess it could be the fleece. The less stinky 4x2 I use cheep fleece blankets I bought at walmart. These blankets don't quite cover the 5x2 (stinker) cage, so I bought some by the yard fleece at Joann's fabric for that cage. It'd be ironic if the less than $5 blankets I use work better at odor control than the 10$ a yard expensive fleece I bought for the cage that stinks..... It just blows my mind though how much more pee there is in Piglet/Percy's cage than Chewie/Felix's cage. And yeah I figured anything that you would spray would be bad, I won't even burn scented candles in the rooms they are in. I do use scented reed diffusers in the one room though.

 

[madelineelaine]

Do the two pigs in the stinkier cage drink a lot more?

Maybe the fleece isn't wicking properly? Or there isn't enough absorbent material.

 

[Pandora4co]

Do the two pigs in the stinkier cage drink a lot more?

Maybe the fleece isn't wicking properly? Or there isn't enough absorbent material.

You know now that you ask, my oldest boar Piglet who is 6 and in the stinky cage, drinks ALOT. A lot more than any other pig I have or have had. *smacks head* I guess I never stopped to think about the obvious result of drinking more water. What would cause a pig to drink an excessive amount of water? This isn't really new behavior, he's always seemed to drink a lot more water than other pigs. Maybe some pigs just like water?

 

[madelineelaine]

@Pandora4co some pigs just drink a lot.

My two don't really touch there water, but they gobble veggies. Some pigs drink a ton.

I know drinking a lot can be a symptom of diabetes, but if this pig has always drunk a lot and is 6 years old, I don't think theres a problem.

Probably just a thirsty pig.