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!
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!