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why fleece?

pigger

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I'm a new pig owner. I'm used to other rodents so using fleece seems strange to me. Doesn't it smell? How often do you have to clean it? Do pigs seem to prefer fleece? Doesn't it look messy after a few days?
 

HandcuffedAngel

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I prefer fleece because it's cheaper, it's easier to clean for me, it provides a softer bottom for my pigs, and I think cleaning the cage is a lot easier now.

It does not smell. Mine doesn't. I clean it twice a week [usually every 3 days]. If you spot clean a lot [at least once a day] then you can make it last a week. My pigs like the fleece a lot. It's soft on their feet and for them to lay on. It does "look" messy sometimes depending on what's all in there. After I clean mine my pigs throw hay everywhere so mine looks pretty messy after just a little while. But ... it's just hay and they'll eat it sooner or later. Lolz!
 

Wheek Weak

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I changed to fleece because it seemed more soft, cozy, and comfortable. I tried to envision how MY feet would feel after walking around in wood shavings (what we used to use) all day and all night (and I don't have soft, smooth little feets).

The fleece has saved us money (not buying bags of bedding, trash bags, and extra hay all the time).

Time (just pick up the fleece, shake it off, and toss it in the washer. No scooping, scooping, scooping, newspaper, soaking and scrubbing calcium deposits off the bottom, laying hay on top for some softness, etc.).

Gave us peace of mind knowing that our babies are more comfortable, warmer, drier, and (to be honest) more like a pet, or member of the family, than a rodent.
 

Jennicat

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Ditto to what everyone else said, although to me, it doesn't look any messier than the wood shavings that get strewn everywhere. :)
 

Wheek Weak

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As far as looking messy...the way I look at it - it's THEIR house. If they like it that way, and want to do it, fine with me. When I clean and straighten, they just put everything back to the way they like it. After all, they live there, I don't.

Or, as my husband put it one day when the girls had made an extremely bad mess overnight - "girls just wanna have fun"! :)
 

keylime

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fleece is fun too.: ) you can pick different designs for different holidays,you can change it up alot,you can find all of different patterns at a fabric store(joanns)or maybe walmart might have some in there craft section.
 

Wheek Weak

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We made the mistake of getting a leopard print.

It is a great camouflage for poos. Fine if you want to hide them, not so fine if you are trying to find them to sweep them up!
 

valerie k

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Gave us peace of mind knowing that our babies are more comfortable, warmer, drier, and (to be honest) more like a pet, or member of the family, than a rodent.

HEY! I have "rodents" and believe me, they are as much a part of the family as the pigs are. I dont skimpt on any of the family members in the family,.
 

momof2pigs

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Does anyone PREFER standard bedding (aspen or carefresh) to fleece after trying both??? I am really struggling with switching to fleece. The thought of lugging several sheets(a weeks worth of fleece) of urine stained/somewhat soaked fleece down to the apartment laundry room and washing it in the same machines that people wash their clothes in doesn't sound to appealing. I do enough laundry as it is.

Right now I use Kaytee comfort bedding in a 2X4. It isn't too bad. I scoop and replace once a week. Other than the expense, I have no complaints. I am still tempted to try fleece though as it looks better than the bedding.
 

PiggieMom

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There are a couple people who perfer regualr bedding. Fleece isn't for everyone.
 

Jennicat

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Living in an apartment could definitely quell your love of fleece! We live in a hour with our own washer so that it's not so much of a haul.
 

Wheek Weak

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HEY! I have "rodents" and believe me, they are as much a part of the family as the pigs are. I dont skimpt on any of the family members in the family,.

No offense intended when I used the word "rodent"! I meant it in the way people usually think about rodents.

We had five ratties and just loved them dearly. They were the sweetest, most lovable little characters that we have ever had the joy of being loved by! It just tore our hearts out five times over when they died.

We would love to have rats again, but they just don't live long enough and we're still not over the deaths of our little ones (and that was about five years ago).

((big rodent hug))!!
 

aml1676

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Does anyone PREFER standard bedding (aspen or carefresh) to fleece after trying both??? I am really struggling with switching to fleece. The thought of lugging several sheets(a weeks worth of fleece) of urine stained/somewhat soaked fleece down to the apartment laundry room and washing it in the same machines that people wash their clothes in doesn't sound to appealing. I do enough laundry as it is.

I started out using aspen shavings, and did so for about a month. I *hated* the shavings all over the place -- I'm *still* finding them stuck in my couch 3 months later! I decided to switch to fleece; I originally used a layer of puppy pads on the bottom, topped with 2-3 layers of towels and/or recycled queen-size mattress pads, and then the fleece. When I eventually ran out of puppy pads, I didn't buy more. Now I put down a mattress pad layer, then 2 layers of towels, another mattress pad layer to sort of even out the lumpiness, and the fleece on top of that.

I change the fleece every 3 days, and I can fit all the bedding + cozies /cuddle cups from a single change into a load of laundry. For me, the fleece is more economical. My water bill hasn't gone up significantly; I live alone, so I usually only have 4 or so regular loads of laundry, and then I have 3-4 additional loads of bunny/piggy laundry each week. I do live in a house, so my laundry room is a lot more accessible, and I imagine I'd probably get tired of lugging it any kind of distance.

I've never understood why people are bothered by washing pig laundry in the same machine used for their own laundry. By the time I run the bedding through the "whitest whites" cycle, and a second rinse/spin with vinegar, any germs are gone. I shake all the hay and leftovers off the fleece before it goes in the washing machine, so the worst thing that goes in there is some guinea pig hair. Before I had a washer/dryer of my own, I took everything -- including bunny laundry -- to the laundromat once a week... with 8+ rabbits at any given time (due to fostering), I left a lot of bunny hair behind! I just made sure to wipe down the inside of whatever machines I used, and figured what other people didn't know sure wouldn't hurt them. Besides, it's no different to me than someone who washes their child's cloth diapers... they're just as urine-stained/soaked, and our urine is certainly just as germy.

I can't imagine going back to the shavings... the girls run around on the fleece so much more easily, and the mild obsessive/compulsive in me doesn't have to worry about adding shavings to or evening out the bare spots they'd make. If they dump their pellet bowl, it's no big deal; if their salad falls off the plate and onto the floor, they don't have to dig around for the small pieces of pepper and no shavings get stuck to their tomatoes! I hand sweep the poops a couple of times each day, but they tend to pick the spots they like best, so it's not like there are poops all over the cage. I just can't think of a compelling reason to switch back FROM fleece.
 

vics2004

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For those who started using fleece after other bedding-did your piggies not mind? Its just arnie would rather hide in the straw than in his pigloo, so he would not have anyone to burrow in if we had fleece (paul on the other hand loves his pigloo)
 

Wheek Weak

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We use plastic bins (with an opening cut out of one side) to keep the hay in. A lot if hay still gets on the fleece, but I just sweep it up along with poos.

Our girls will burrow down in the hay bins to eat hay, but they still use the pigloo or cuddle cups to sleep in. Arnie would still be able to sleep in the hay and have fleece, too!
 

fairysari

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For me, I tink it's important to have a separate area with some sort of littler when you are using fleece. My cage is mostly fleece, with some 'kitchen areas' filled with Yesterday's News kitty litter. They hay racks are in the YN area, so they can dump the hay and play in it if they want. They also just enjoy making little comfy spots in the YN, or 'burrowing' under pieces of fabric that are hung from the grids. The kitchen areas also help keep the fleece a lot cleaner.
 
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