|
|
Post by PigPog on Jan 26, 2008 12:02:46 GMT
Tell us what you think of fleece as bedding.  |
|
|
|
Post by guineapoo on Apr 25, 2008 9:10:12 GMT
Hi, we're trying out fleece with Angel and her bubs as keeping 8 piggies on Carefresh is ridiculously expensive. It's been in for 3 days and so far so good. No wetness, even under the water bottle. We washed the fleece 4 times before using it to break down the water barrier, and have three layers of towels underneath.
I never realised they pooped so much! We sweep out the poo every day with a dustpan and brush and check the fleece for dampness.
The piggles seem to love it, although Angel was a bit confused at first as she always sits on a big wodge of fleece for lap time (she wees on us otherwise) and when we put her in she stayed still for ages like she would on our laps.
If it's a success, I'll definately let you all know and our other piggles will be put on it too - think of the savings as it just has to be stuck in the washing machine once a week!
|
|
|
|
Post by PigPog on Apr 25, 2008 17:06:47 GMT
Thanks for this one.  Fleece sounds good if you have a handful of piggies. I expect if I tried it with my nine hutches and three pens I'd be washing it all week like I was with my Vetbed.  My washer got clogged up numerous times and I had to keep doing an empty hot wash between piggy washing and people washing. Ergh! |
|
|
|
Post by guineapoo on Apr 26, 2008 10:39:09 GMT
I've decided to keep a bit of a Fleece Diary, to keep you all updated on the realistic day to day ins and outs of using fleece as a bedding. Its now day 4. I dont think I put enough towels underneath as they feel a little damp. We're using towels given to us by Tuks mum who's just retired from the hairdressing business and we've nabbed a whole hairdressing shops worth of towels (thanks Pat!) The towels are rather thin, so I reckon we'd need to use 5-6 towels to make them last for a week. The absorbency of big fluffy towels would no doubt be better. Plan of action - add 2 more towels to the layers under the fleece to see if they make it to 7 days. The fleece is a pleasure to clean, just a dustpan and brush to sweep up the poo daily, and aside from a few bits of sticky hay you've got a brand new looking cage again! The following link may be useful - it got us convinced... www.guineapigcages.com/forum/bedding/21568-fleece-project-study.htmlif this doesent work, go to www.guineapigcages.com then forum>environment>bedding>the fleece project study |
|
|
|
Post by guineapoo on Apr 28, 2008 13:03:11 GMT
The Fleece Diary - Day 6Decided to do a full cage clean today as the fleece was looking a little grubby. Angel and the bubs have a temporary home-from-home on the living room floor with hay food and water and their piggy tent while I'm waiting for the fleece to dry (1-2 hrs over the radiator - how quick is that!) When I took the towels out there were no nasty niffs whatsoever, and a good shake of the fleece out of the window got rid of all the sticky bits of hay before washing. With the towels being a light colour (pink - arrrgh! ) its easy to see where they've been peeing, so I've put in 4 layers of towel with an extra one folded in half under the pee-spot for extra absorbency. Munch and Ginger Pig will be going onto the fleece today too, seengs as week one in the 'test cage' has been a success  Yippee! no more spending half my wages on Carefresh (I hope)
|
|
|
|
Post by guineapoo on Apr 29, 2008 7:37:11 GMT
Munch Ginger Pig and Zippo are all on fleece now. When we put munch in, he ran into his house, ran straight back out again and err... theres no polite way of putting this, but he promptly ejaculated  so either he REALLY loves his fleece or I accidentally tickled his bits when I was carrying him. Anyhoo, pleased to report the fleece promptly absorbed said bodily fluids, and they've all been lounging around looking very smug and comfortable  |
|
|
|
Post by Hugs-Cavies (Doris) on Apr 29, 2008 10:21:19 GMT
Munch Ginger Pig and Zippo are all on fleece now. When we put munch in, he ran into his house, ran straight back out again and err... theres no polite way of putting this, but he promptly ejaculated so either he REALLY loves his fleece or I accidentally tickled his bits when I was carrying him. Anyhoo, pleased to report the fleece promptly absorbed said bodily fluids, and they've all been lounging around looking very smug and comfortable  Oh dear!  Thats good that the fleece managed with the urm boar glue as well as normal pee. The only experience I have had is at shows we used to put Bod on fleece, which worked quite well, but the drawback was having to wash it! |
|
|
|
Post by PigPog on May 1, 2008 5:56:42 GMT
Thats good that the fleece managed with the urm boar glue as well as normal pee.  Boar glue! Does the fleece accumulate much hair, Ell? |
|
|
|
Post by guineapoo on May 1, 2008 7:18:30 GMT
No, oddly enough. I thought it would, especially as it's 'moulting season'. I think it depends on what fleece you use (we're using polar fleece which has a very smooth pile). It does accumulate a bit of hay (those little tiny annoying bits) but they just come off and stick to whoever is unlucky enough to be walking under the window at 'shaking time'! All in all I've been pleasantly surprised at how un-sticky it is! |
|
|
|
Post by eppingstrider on May 1, 2008 9:11:24 GMT
Work wise I do stuff like water and energy efficiency and carbon footprints (I'll get round to my weblink if you're interested...)  It just makes me wonder with the fleece, how much extra unnoticed expense you have from all the washing..... And do you have metered water, which would also make a difference? Do you wash it at 30 degrees? And how many washes a week. Glad to hear it's air-dried rather than tumbled. |
|
|
|
Post by PigPog on May 1, 2008 11:09:26 GMT
I'm surprised the hair isn't sticking to the fleece because it sure as heck sticks to me!!!  It's useful to know what type of fleece you're using also. Where did you buy your polar fleece? |
|
|
|
Post by guineapoo on May 1, 2008 11:29:57 GMT
I'm on unmetered water, and I like energy friendly whatnots too, I never wash over 30 degrees and use the quickest wash I have. The Girls are going to get through 2 lots of towells a week (theres 5 of them) but I don't use the machine unless I've got enough to pack it to bursting point so I'll keep soggy towells til the end of the week so I only have to do one wash!
Polar fleece is stocked in most fabric shops, we got ours in Cwmbran In-shops for £6.50 per meter - got 2 meters which did 3 cages. I know what you mean about the hair - everything I own is always covered in it!
|
|
|
|
Post by guineapoo on May 1, 2008 13:35:10 GMT
ES, you got me thinking about costs and suchlike, and I'm so bored at work, I figured a few bits out... All my utilities are on direct debit, so it's a fixed price per month. My annual useages are; Electric £300.00 Gas £420.00 Water £456.00 I also worked out how much I spent annually on CareFresh 4 Bags per week for 3 good sized cages = approx £15.00 which works out at (horror!) £780.00 per year! Thats one hell of a cash saving which should fund mine and tuks plans for luxury C&C gages in the living room |
|
|
|
Post by eppingstrider on May 1, 2008 19:28:20 GMT
I'm the sort of person that sets up a spreadsheet and works it all out!  I'll porbably have some time in a couple of months to take a longer look at these relative costs, if anyone is interested. I've been working long enough hours recently to jutsify taking the whole of August off! But then - I wouldnt want to do a micro-analsyis of guinea pig costs, would I?  |
|
|
|
Post by guineapoo on May 1, 2008 19:49:33 GMT
Not to give you extra work ES, but costing could prove interesting... (I know what you mean about working extra hours - just prank call 118 118 if you want to get your own back ) But £780.00 a year on CareFresh... jeez thats alot of dosh. |
|
