Another fleece convert-with questions!
Feylin, did you ever grab a box of borax? That can help with hard water too, as can the various oxy powders. I like the stuff from Dollar Tree believe it or not. I've used both Purex F&C and the Naturals and both seem to work for me. Not sure why. We have fairly hard water here too.
TexCavy, very few pigs seem to chew the fleece. Cotton things yes but they seem to know not to chew the polyester. If a pig DID chew excessively, that would indicate an incompatibility between that pig and fleece. I've never heard anyone have this problem though. Hiding edges helps too. My pigs chew edges of things but not the floor fleece since it's folded under.
TexCavy, very few pigs seem to chew the fleece. Cotton things yes but they seem to know not to chew the polyester. If a pig DID chew excessively, that would indicate an incompatibility between that pig and fleece. I've never heard anyone have this problem though. Hiding edges helps too. My pigs chew edges of things but not the floor fleece since it's folded under.
- WEAVER
- one pig at a time.
I also have a few pigs that chew things. I have one that think she is a hairdresser (Allie Belle) and barbers nonstop. Natasha has a fetish with stuffed animals and will chew them to no end. I had to stop putting them in that cage in fear of her harming herself. I have a few that pull on their berber pads and than seem to lay down. It is almost like the fluffing their beds :) I have never had a pig though chew the fleece on the floor of the cage. I don't even have any that burrow *knocks on wood*. I do have a couple that burrow under pads, but never the fleece itself.
- WEAVER
- one pig at a time.
Ok, I think one of the main questions we have on GL is how to use fleece. Today, while cleaning my herd I took step by step pictures. There are nineteen pictures in all so please do not post before I finish the discriptions. Hopefully some of you interested in fleece or thinking of trying fleece will find this helpful.
There are many benefits to using fleece. Not only is it healthier for your pigs and for you and your family, it is also helps our landfills and environment. It is very cost efficient once you have the items needed. The towels last forever along with the fleece. I do recommend that you buy enough to have two changes for your cage so when you change out one and it is washing you can just put the other set in the cage and the pigs don't have to wait. I highly encourage those of you to have been thinking about using fleece to give it a try. I would never go back to traditional bedding.
To start off you want to wipe down your coroplast with vinegar and water 50/50. I have it in it's own spray bottle and just wipe down with paper towels.
Once your coroplast is completely dry you want to line it with puppy pads or newspaper. I use newspaper to save on cost and the environment. This 2x5 takes about two whole newpapers to completely line.
Once you have your newspaper down you want to than lay your towels. You want to lay your towels as flat as possible to later help keep your fleece smooth.
In high spot pee areas I use extra towels to help absorb the urine. Larger sized hand towels work great for this and take up less space in the washer later when it comes time to wash their linens. I prefer to use all white towels to show if any of my pigs have blood in their urine, but any cotton towels will do the job.
You want to line the entire cage in towels at least two layers thick, three in high pee areas. Once I complete that, it never fails, I always have a few of my inspectors stop by to make sure that I am doing their cage correctly :)
There are many benefits to using fleece. Not only is it healthier for your pigs and for you and your family, it is also helps our landfills and environment. It is very cost efficient once you have the items needed. The towels last forever along with the fleece. I do recommend that you buy enough to have two changes for your cage so when you change out one and it is washing you can just put the other set in the cage and the pigs don't have to wait. I highly encourage those of you to have been thinking about using fleece to give it a try. I would never go back to traditional bedding.
To start off you want to wipe down your coroplast with vinegar and water 50/50. I have it in it's own spray bottle and just wipe down with paper towels.
Once your coroplast is completely dry you want to line it with puppy pads or newspaper. I use newspaper to save on cost and the environment. This 2x5 takes about two whole newpapers to completely line.
Once you have your newspaper down you want to than lay your towels. You want to lay your towels as flat as possible to later help keep your fleece smooth.
In high spot pee areas I use extra towels to help absorb the urine. Larger sized hand towels work great for this and take up less space in the washer later when it comes time to wash their linens. I prefer to use all white towels to show if any of my pigs have blood in their urine, but any cotton towels will do the job.
You want to line the entire cage in towels at least two layers thick, three in high pee areas. Once I complete that, it never fails, I always have a few of my inspectors stop by to make sure that I am doing their cage correctly :)
- WEAVER
- one pig at a time.
Once you have your towels in you are halfway done. The next step is laying your fleece, but before using new fleece you do have to prep it first so it works correctly. I recommend washing and drying the fleece four to five times to get it whicking properly and easily. If you fail to do this step your fleece will puddle urine and your pigs will get wet. This step is very important.
You want to lay your fleece over the towels and begin stretching it flat by running your hand across the fleece over to the edges. It is very similiar to making a bed or a baby crib.
Work all of the wrinkles out of your fleece until your fleece is very flat. The extra edges of the fleece will be up against your coroplast all around the cage. (try to persuad pigs to be patient)
Next you want to tuck the fleece all around the edge. You want to keep running your hand from the middle of the fleece to the edge and than firmly tuck your fleece around your towels. Don't tuck around your newspaper layer, just the towels.
I always do the sides first and than go back and do the ends of the cages.
You want to lay your fleece over the towels and begin stretching it flat by running your hand across the fleece over to the edges. It is very similiar to making a bed or a baby crib.
Work all of the wrinkles out of your fleece until your fleece is very flat. The extra edges of the fleece will be up against your coroplast all around the cage. (try to persuad pigs to be patient)
Next you want to tuck the fleece all around the edge. You want to keep running your hand from the middle of the fleece to the edge and than firmly tuck your fleece around your towels. Don't tuck around your newspaper layer, just the towels.
I always do the sides first and than go back and do the ends of the cages.
- WEAVER
- one pig at a time.
Tucking corners seems to be a difficult task for many, but once you have the hang of it, it's pretty simple. You want to start on one side and work towards the corner. Fold it around. Than take the other adjoining section and tuck that under as well while holding the first tuck.
Your corner should look like this to make sure it does not come apart once you need to vacuum the cages later.
Once you have your corner work your way towards the other corner by tucking the same way you did the sides.
When you are done your corners will look like this and your fleece will be pulled tightly.
Your corner should look like this to make sure it does not come apart once you need to vacuum the cages later.
Once you have your corner work your way towards the other corner by tucking the same way you did the sides.
When you are done your corners will look like this and your fleece will be pulled tightly.
- WEAVER
- one pig at a time.
Now it is time to put all of your pigs' things back into the cage. I use an area mat outside of my kitchen area to catch hay and bedding from them jumping in and out. This makes clean up easier and stops the bedding from getting stuck to the fleece.
My kitchen area is actually a seperate piece of corplast from the rest of their cage. This makes life easier to just remove the kitchen pan and bring it outside to dump. To keep the pigs safe inbetween the two pans I roll a face cloth and place it between the mat and the kitchen pan to close that small gap.
Next, I lay their pads in their favorite sleeping area to help keep the fleece clean in this spot. It is much easier to just remove a dirty pad than have to clean the whole cage because they soiled their rest area.
In goes their hidey house that their daddy built for them. Houses with more than one exit work best and helps pigs remain happy. Less fighting and more escape routes.
In goes their beds...
Now you are almost done! All you have left to do is sit back and enjoy your piggies. They appreciate your hard work and really like having a nice clean cage, almost as much as you do ;P
My kitchen area is actually a seperate piece of corplast from the rest of their cage. This makes life easier to just remove the kitchen pan and bring it outside to dump. To keep the pigs safe inbetween the two pans I roll a face cloth and place it between the mat and the kitchen pan to close that small gap.
Next, I lay their pads in their favorite sleeping area to help keep the fleece clean in this spot. It is much easier to just remove a dirty pad than have to clean the whole cage because they soiled their rest area.
In goes their hidey house that their daddy built for them. Houses with more than one exit work best and helps pigs remain happy. Less fighting and more escape routes.
In goes their beds...
Now you are almost done! All you have left to do is sit back and enjoy your piggies. They appreciate your hard work and really like having a nice clean cage, almost as much as you do ;P
- Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
I used to use some cool stools I got at the dollar store. Loved the bright colors (green was my fave though). www.guinealynx.info/-pigs.html
Great pics and description, Weaver! I love everyone's descriptions of how they make it work.
I used to use heavy cotton cloth in public areas. It didn't need to be changed out often. This was in a whole room. The sleeping shelf and litter tray with hay needed more frequent attention.
Great pics and description, Weaver! I love everyone's descriptions of how they make it work.
I used to use heavy cotton cloth in public areas. It didn't need to be changed out often. This was in a whole room. The sleeping shelf and litter tray with hay needed more frequent attention.
- WEAVER
- one pig at a time.
Lynx, I am so impressed with the setup your piggies had. For some reason I have never come across that page with your piggies on it. I don't know how I missed it after all of these years. You had some spoiled pigs that is for sure. I should have known that, after all you are "LYNX" ;p Seriously, nice "room". Hopefully someday when the human kids move out I can actually have an entire room devoted to my piggies. Even than it won't be a huge 400sq ft room like your lucky stinkers had!
Thank you so much for posting this WEAVER! I am going to be fixing my set up again already!