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Fleece for 4x4 C&C, 5 pigs -- it starts to stink very quickly! Help!

conniehsc

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I have 5 piggers in a 4x4 coroplast home. All of them are girls, and I leave the door opened at all times so they come out quite often and carry all sorts of things outside with them (ie. shavings, hay, food, etc..). I got so tired of them carrying the shavings outside with them, so I tried switching to fleece, but the cage got smelly Very Very Very quickly. The first day was fine, but the cage began to stink terribly the next morning. I lined the bottom of the cage with newspaper, but the newspaper was soaking wet and the ink was stuck to my coroplast. Not only did I have to scrape up the wet newspaper, I had to scrape off the ink that was stuck to my coroplast. I changed the fleece immediately, and again the next day the smell was so terrible I switched back to using shavings.

I want to give fleece another try because it seems so much more comfortable for the pigs, but I have a feeling that the cage will stink up very quickly again. I don't want to use newspaper for the lining. I heard that you can use anything that absorbs liquid easily (ie. Towels), but you'll have to change it everyday. Would that be a lot of work then?

Other than newspaper and towels, does anyone have any other suggestions as to what to use to line the bottom of the cage? I'm hoping to get something that is more efficient time-wise (ie. does not need to be changed every single day).

How often do you change your fleece? And the materials you use to line the bottom of the cage? How long does it take before your cage starts to stink?

Maybe my 4x4 is not big enough for 5 pigs? I thought about expanding it to a 4x5, but the cleaning will get more difficult. Because for a 4x5 cage, I can't scoop up the shavings in the middle (I can't reach that far! hahaha!), and I don't want to climb into the cage and do the cleaning while sitting on pee-soaked shavings. If I can successfully switch to fleece, I'll definitely expand the cage since I don't have to scoop up the shavings anymore. Thanks a lot for your help!
 

suzy_99

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I have just switched to fleece also and I believe that best way to keep the smell down is to use several layers of materials. For example I heard of many people using one layer of fleece(two layers tends to stink more) followed by one or two layers of towels and finally something waterproof, such as a vinyl tablecloth. I beleive this will only have to be changed every few days. The only way to have your fleece not smell all of the time is to spot clean it a few times a day, this also makes it alot nicer for your piggies. Also, if your piggies tend to pee in a certain area, I would reccomend using a litter tray. I use it for mine and I have no smell for about 2 1/2 to 3 days, but I only have 3 guineas.
Lastly, I would say that your cage just meets the minimum space required. For 4 piggies it is recommended that you have a 2x6 cage, which is basically the same as you 4x4 cage. I would say that you should probably make it a 4x5 if you have room. Right now I am one cage size too small for my piggies (Had a baby that is now just starting to get big) and I have noticed an increased smell, so I will be upgrading very soon.
 

dagwellismypigy

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I think waterproof stuff doesnt work. The pee because like little puddles or pools.
I use fleece,cottonbatting,towels. I only have to take it out only like once a week and clean the poop every otherday. YOu might want to do it more often with so many pigs.
I think it tends to smelll less for me because it is soo easy to clean I do it more often, with the shavings I didn't clean it as religiously.
 

Ly&Pigs

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I have 4 sows in a 3x4 (equivalent of a 2x6) and what works good for me is I line the coroplast with about a 1/4-1/2" thick layer of newspapers. Then I lay down puppy pads or incontinence pads (like Chux pads you find in hospitals) then one single layer of fleece. The pads absorb any pee and only have to be changed every 3-4 days. Any pee that leaks off the edges of the pads is caught by the newspaper and I change that when I change the pads. My girls cage has never smelled bad. I spot clean the poos every day. I have used thick layers of newspaper with just fleece on top as well and I never had a problem with ink coming off the paper and sticking to the coroplast. If your just using a thin layer of newspaper that could be why. With newspaper and fleece alone, the newspaper has to be changed every day where it is wet. I have a litter pan in one corner and I line it with newspaper and put a small amount of hay in it then toss in some poo. CoCo uses it all the time where the other three only use it sometimes.
 

AngelsCavies

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Also did you try to use a litter pan. I know that when I first used fleece it did smell very quickly for the first few days cause they were used to bedding not fleece.
 
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