Am I cleaning enough?

[Lulu's Piggies]

Hello all,
As a relatively new custodian of piggies, I want to check I'm doing all I can to keep our piggies clean and healthy. Also, I found a nasty little maggot while sweeping poos the other day and it worried me! Here's or setup and routine:
Max and Reggie 1 year old pair have a 6ft hutch and access to a run with a little tree for shade, and a sunshade for hot times of day. We shut them in their hutch when we're not around to keep an eye.
I made fleece liners for them which cover the floor of the hutch. Ontop they have a second layer of fleece wee mats which are smaller for more flexibility.
Every morning while the kids are playing with them I take up all the wee mats, sweep all the poos out and swap any wet hay for fresh. Then I put back any dry wee mats (if any!) and replace the soiled ones.
Wee mats never get used for more than 2 days in a row, and the base liner never for more than a week (usually much less).
The fleece layers seem to work really well as the base of the hutch is always bone dry and spotless.
Max and Reggie are still being tamed so it's not easy for me to check their bottoms just, apart from trying to get a good peek when they're out and about. But generally they look very neat and clean and they were checked by the vet last weekend and he was happy with their condition. They need to get a bit fatter as they were neglected before we rescued them, but we're working on that!
Anyway, the maggot worried me of course, and I'd love any extra tips if anyone can see something more we should be doing, especially as the weather heats up.
Lastly, we live backing on to a field which is sometimes grazed for cows, and unfortunately their feeding area is quite near to our garden. Will this create a greater risk of blowfly with all the cows and their associated mess? The cows are usually only there for a few months every year as the field is mainly for hay (great edges for piggie forage!)

All input gratefully received - fully committed to creating heaven for our piggies!
Oh, and for those of you worried about winter - we already have plans to move them indoors when it gets cold

Lulu

 

[Piggies&buns]

It sounds like your cleaning schedule is fine. As long as no wet bedding or hay is left.
The tricky bit can come with boars that the more you clean then the more they can become disrupted - we always recommend leaving some scent in the cage at each clean so they still recognise it as their territory.

I know it’s hard with new piggies, but checking bottoms does need to be done as we approach summer.

To add - You need to be very careful using fabric bedding outside - it is not recommended to do so.
It may be ok at the moment but as soon as there is any damp in the air or rainy summer days then you risk fleece outdoors not drying properly. It can also wick moisture from the air (which is why it shouldn’t be used outside).
Shavings and hay make a much better bedding for outdoor piggies.

You also have to be prepared that they won’t be able to stay in the hutch in summer due to the heat. Hutches can very quickly become incredibly dangerous as soon as any warmth starts - even in the shade of a tree it can be a risky place to be. Keeping piggies outside in summer is very hard, often harder than keeping them warm in winter outside. (Mine live in a shed and tend to need to more into the house most summers due to the heat but I’ve never had to move them inside to keep warm in winter).

The cows may pose a risk of flies being attracted closer than you would like.

 

[Lulu's Piggies]

It sounds like your cleaning schedule is fine. As long as no wet bedding or hay is left.
The tricky bit can come with boars that the more you clean then the more they can become disrupted - we always recommend leaving some scent in the cage at each clean so they still recognise it as their territory.

I know it’s hard with new piggies, but checking bottoms does need to be done as we approach summer.

To add - You need to be very careful using fabric bedding outside - it is not recommended to do so.
It may be ok at the moment but as soon as there is any damp in the air or rainy summer days then you risk fleece outdoors not drying properly. It can also wick moisture from the air (which is why it shouldn’t be used outside).
Shavings and hay make a much better bedding for outdoor piggies.

You also have to be prepared that they won’t be able to stay in the hutch in summer due to the heat. Hutches can very quickly become incredibly dangerous as soon as any warmth starts - even in the shade of a tree it can be a risky place to be. Keeping piggies outside in summer is very hard, often harder than keeping them warm in winter outside. (Mine live in a shed and tend to need to more into the house most summers due to the heat but I’ve never had to move them inside to keep warm in winter).

The cows may pose a risk of flies being attracted closer than you would like.

Ok great tip regarding the scent! Thinking about it, Reggie will often be investigating while I'm putting the hutch back together and new fleeces in. He starts his rumbling a bit sometimes and checking everything is up to scratch as the dominant one.
As for the hay, I'll try that too - perhaps with a liner to stop the wood of the hutch becoming all wee-stained and smelly.
They do have a thermal cover for the hutch and I make sure that's down if it's raining. We're thinking about putting up a much better shelter for them in future.
As for the heat, yes we will also bring them in on hot summer days. We are lucky that our garden is under some large mature trees and stays really cool for ages. I'm also going to order a thermometer for their hutch just to keep an eye.
Luckily these piggies are damn cute.

 

[Piggies&buns]

A cover won’t stop fleece absorbing moisture if it is a damp day. This is why fleece is not recommended as a suitable bedding for outdoor piggies. Do just be careful with it.

I lined my hutches with correx to protect the wood, but others have used things like vinyl flooring.

 

[Lulu's Piggies]

A cover won’t stop fleece absorbing moisture if it is a damp day. This is why fleece is not recommended as a suitable bedding for outdoor piggies. Do just be careful with it.

I lined my hutches with correx to protect the wood, but others have used things like vinyl flooring.

That's a good idea, thanks so much!