Fleece problems - advice needed

[crazywiggy]

Well, after thinking my fleece was working fine for the last few months I now have a problem....

It has killed my hoover!

It was fine initially, then the last few weeks it has kept clogging up and needed emptying every time I used it.
Tonight it finally died - I took it apart, shook out all the dust/poo/hay/hair from every single part of it, dusted off the filters etc - but nothing, it won't suck a single poo. This was supposed to be a good hoover and its barely a year old.

We do have another hoover - a Dyson animal - but it is brand new. I know Dyson claims they do not clog, and it is supposed to be designed to cope with pet hair, but my folks don't really want me to risk it after what just happened to the other one.

I have tried sweeping but this was totally useless - took ages to get the poos up, messed up the fleece and did nothing for the hair or hay.

Any ideas?

I think the hay is a big part of the problem, but what can I do about it? They already get their hay in a hay rack, inside a cardboard box. I've just put a small barrier up at the front so they have to step over it but I don't know if this is going to stop the hay getting dragged around.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[naturegal592]

I just use and hand vac for my cage. It cost $15 and works fine for poop. I don't have much hay on the fleece but my pigs sometime dump the litter tray. When that happens I pull up the fleece and shake it in the cage, and sweep out, or I roll up the fleece, take it outside and sweep it off, and put it back in the cage. I wouldn't use the new vac, those are way to pricey to risk messing up.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Shop vacs work well but they do get clogged if you try to suck too much hay. I have a little 5 gallon shop vac that I use.

 

[luvmyzoocrew]

I hear you on the clogging, and I am jealous of your Dyson. I have the same problem and it is the hay that clogs it up so what I do is pick up all the hay I can, with my hand or whatever. Then I vaccum up the rest. I usually dont have that big of a problem when the hay gets clogged i have to pull it out or pull on the hose line to loosen up the other stuff so it gets sucked the rest of the way through. Maybe a shop vac, I too thought about getting one specifically for the piggies and buns and I dont think hay would be a problem with one of them.

 

[wheekypigs]

I'm actually using my vac less than when I got it initially. Partly cos I'd rather not be opening up the cup to clean out poop, hay and hair every time I use it. It also blows out air towards me when I vac the fleece and phooey the smell of poop can be quite a whammy!

Someone said she uses a ladle to scoop out poop off the fleece. I tried it with an old plastic ladle I had (the kind you might cook some pasta sauce in a pan with). it actually works quite well and is pretty nifty. quick and clean.

for the hay you might try a hay rack/area to keep it off the fleece. For the hair, maybe an oversized lint roller might work.

just suggestions, hope something works out.

 

[Newpiggiemom]

I have a totally separate hay rack/room. It pretty much keeps the hay off of the fleece. The hay room is in a plastic storage container. I use a hand broom and dustpan to sweep the poops out of the cage every day. It doesn't disrupt the fleece and doesn't scare the pigs. They like to chew on my brush.

 

[gpigluver14]

If I were you I wouldn't use the Dyson for your pigs. Ironically, it does clog!! I have a nice hand vac by Dirt Devil but, it gets clogged if I suck up too much hay. (I'm hoping to get a new one for Christmas!) And whats nice about hand vacs is that you can get them for only $15-$20.

 

[Jenni_Feathers]

I use a ladle, like for soup. Its wierd but it works really good, better than a vacume in my oppinion since its quiet, light weight and fast. Plus it dosent suck up the fleece or get clogged.

 

[Maisiepaisie]

Most of my pigs poo is under they hideyhouses so I put a piece of Vetbed under there. I take it out and shake the poos off twice daily and the rest of the poo I pick out by hand. I used to vacuum but the wet poo was making the bag soggy and split.

I was given a Dyson vaccuum but I much prefer my Little Henry. Henry has been dealing with hay for over 7 years (with just 1 minor repair) and still going strong!

 

[guineapigluver1]

We have a dyson for pets and I wouldn't know if it worked on guinea pig cages becuse I haven't used it on that, but we used to have a long haired dog and it works fine still, and there was hair EVERYWHERE! We have had it for almost a year.

 

[Malhablada]

I use a plastic spaghetti spoon like this to rake the cage before I vacuum. It gets about 95% of the hay up, and probably half the poopins too. Then all the vac has to deal with is tiny bits of hay, hair, dust, and the rest of the poops.

 

[Jess Z]

I have a pink piggie vacuum that was like $15 there are alot of these availible and if they break so what? I think that this is your best option.

 

[crazywiggy]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

Just to update... I have built a new hay box from my leftover coroplastm, with a lip at the front so less of the hay gets dragged out.
Fortunately I have been given an unwanted hoover by a friend, so I am sorted unless this one dies on me.

I did try using a hand vac once before - bought one specially - but it was barely powerful enough to pick up a single poo.

I can't get my head round the ladel idea.... I guess I would have to try it to see but it just doesn't add up in my head... I get the feeling it would take all night!

Anyway, thanks for all your help.