Wood Pellets/Chips kind of dissapointed in the wood pellets idea

I don’t use pellets, but from what I’ve read, you just stir them around so that the dust is spread evenly with the pellets.

The first youtube video shows how to clean a wood-pellet-plus-fleece cage at the end of each week (not replacing the pellets), and the second link shows how to clean the entire cage (replacing the pellets).

They were both posted by @CavieGuy on this forum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgk6jPJ6JhI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgRcu9QkR2s

Just stir them up. They'll last a long time. I've gone as long as 11 weeks, and only changed them then because I was introducing a new pig and had to have a completely cleaned cage.

I'm on 3 months and counting of pellets underneath fleece and it honestly doesn't look like I'll need to change them anytime soon.

I use 2 layers of very thin fleece over the pellets. The top layer gets changed out frequently (5 days or so). It gets soiled with poop, hay, and miscellaneous piggy debris on top, but because it is not in direct contact with the pellets/dust, it takes only 1 minute to swap it out with new fleece.

The bottom layer is there strictly to keep the pellet dust off the top layer. It doesn't get changed as frequently. Perhaps every 14-21 days. The 2 layers allows me to always have fresh fleece for the pigs to walk on without having to deal with the dust on the fleece as often. Whenever I change out bottom fleece I check the pellets, scoop the bad areas, and stir everything else. I use an entire 40lb bag of pellets in my 2x4. I'm not sure exactly how long it lasts because I've never had to change it out because of the pellets condition. I usually end up moving the cage or needed pet sitters (and thus removing fleece completely) which causes me to replace the pellets prematurely. I honestly think I can go another 3 months before changing them out. That's 6 months on a 40 lb bag that cost only $7. Those are savings I can put toward top quality pellets and veggies.

I'm actually having a similar experience @Wheekers135 . I thought I must be doing something wrong since I just don't LOVE the pellets!

I've used wood pellets and fleece from the start (except for the first few weeks when they lived in a pet store cage with aspen shavings). My cage is 2x6 with 3 piggies in it and I have about 60lbs of pellets in there. They've been in there for about 3 weeks and I would say at least 50% of them have broken down in to dust. When I change my fleece and stir the pellets it creates a lot of dust in the air. Also when I change the fleece there are a TON of wood pellets stuck to the bottom of it, which is just gross to brush them all off without making a mess of the whole room. And, I find that my fleece just gets gross and smelly (stubbornly stuck hay pieces, veggie juice stains, fur, etc.) and that I often change it twice a week. Maybe the pellets I have are not good quality? Not sure.

I'm trying fleece and U-Haul pads for my new upper level. If it isn't smelly, I might switch to that on my main level too. I have easy access to laundry, so not a big deal to do 2 loads of piggy laundry a week. So I can run a side-by-side comparison for the next few weeks and let you know!

Pellets break down into packed sawdust. That's what they're supposed to do. And you do have to change the fleece often enough to keep the food off of it, or it will​ smell.

So @bpatters how long can you keep using it once it gets to packed sawdust? Does it keep absorbing more urine? I thought you had to stir it because the sawdust did not absorb, so you need to bring fresh pellets to the top.

Forever, as far as I can tell. As I said, I went 11 weeks, and only changed them because I needed a completely cleaned cage. With a large cage, I can't see any reason that you can't go for at least 4-5 months.

How do you get the fleece to lay flat on top of the pellets? Today mine discovered that they could dig themselves between the pellets and the fleece. When I came home from work all 4 were under the fleece.

poop_patrol said:

I use 2 layers of very thin fleece over the pellets. The top layer gets changed out frequently (5 days or so). It gets soiled with poop, hay, and miscellaneous piggy debris on top, but because it is not in direct contact with the pellets/dust, it takes only 1 minute to swap it out with new fleece.

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I love this idea! I think I might try a layer of suedecloth on the bottom because it is smooth on the back so the pellets don't stick to it. Then pretty fleece on top. Thanks for the tip!

emilia0830 said:

How do you get the fleece to lay flat on top of the pellets? Today mine discovered that they could dig themselves between the pellets and the fleece. When I came home from work all 4 were under the fleece.

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I use tension curtain rods. My Snickers is a naughty mischievous piggy too! Here is a link to the thread about it:

https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...ding-down-fleece-over-wood-pellets?highlight=

You can also take a spray bottle filled with water and lightly spray down the fresh pellets to turn them to sawdust and pack down before putting the fleece on there.