Fleece advice

Status
Not open for further replies.
Amysmom

Amysmom

Teenage Guinea Pig
Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Messages
979
Reaction score
86
Points
370
Location
West midlands
Has anyone read what's written about keeping pigs on fleece on the Gorgeous Guineas website?

At the risk of causing debate i have to say I agree with every word she has said.

I know that members are told to wash fleece at 40 degrees but like she has said- this doesn't kill any bugs, you need a 90 degree wash to do this and I'm sure for many this would be uneconomical.

I think sometimes we forget that pigs need to be pigs and that means foraging and burrowing around in a pile of hay. Yes fleece looks neat and tidy but surely what's important is what makes a pig happy-a great big pile of hay to play in :)
 
Amysmom said:
Has anyone read what's written about keeping pigs on fleece on the Gorgeous Guineas website?

At the risk of causing debate i have to say I agree with every word she has said.

I know that members are told to wash fleece at 40 degrees but like she has said- this doesn't kill any bugs, you need a 90 degree wash to do this and I'm sure for many this would be uneconomical.

I think sometimes we forget that pigs need to be pigs and that means foraging and burrowing around in a pile of hay. Yes fleece looks neat and tidy but surely what's important is what makes a pig happy-a great big pile of hay to play in :)
Click to expand...

My wheekers are bedded on hay, simply because they live it!

I used to use fleece (and vet bed) and never washed it at any less than 60 degrees exactly for the reasons stated, to kill bugs etc. I accidentally washed it at 90 one day, and it was fine, and I now wash all my pig stuff (I don't use fleece but any beds, towels etc.) at 90 degrees.

I hate this whole washing at 30-40 degrees thing, I don't see how it can get clean when it's the same temperature as my bath water! 60 degrees plus all the way here, even my clothes!
 
Mine is done at 50. I'm sure it is hot enough as over 40 is too hot for most living organisms.

I am not sure how to get mine to 90

Anyway, nothing is wrong with a bit of germs. It's good to roll around in the mud now and again.
 
For the fleece users-do you still give your pigs the opportunity for them to rummage through hay?
I know some of you use hay racks to avoid the hay getting onto the fleece.
 
Amysmom said:
For the fleece users-do you still give your pigs the opportunity for them to rummage through hay?
I know some of you use hay racks to avoid the hay getting onto the fleece.
Click to expand...


DSC00692.jpg


While the bottom layer is fleece.
I don't know why someone would put fleece under a hay rack, it would make a right mess!
 
I do all our piggies vet bed on 60 degrees and they have a moosive basket of hay twice a day which ends up everywhere.
Many many times I shake my head after I spend my day off (often 12 hours constant) lovingly doing their washing and drying for them to trash the lot within 5 minutes mallethead
I read about this last year from GG and still use fleece/vet bed - as LittleEskimo states, some natural 'bugs' I think do more good than harm although I am obsessed with their husbandry and do masses of washing for them per week, every week. This scaremongered people before so really wouldn't worry too much.
Personally, I think too sterile conditions are not good - a warm, draught free pen helps keep them in good health. Saying that, my old girl is just got recovering from pleurisy/trachitis due to scar tissue from previous URI's before we homed her here so am still using vet bed for her, changed daily as she is more susceptible to URI's :...
People have good and bad opinions on bedding and it is finding a balance that suits - I could not live without the vet bed and am sure my piggies feel the same. It's personal choice and may not suit everyone
 
Amysmom said:
For the fleece users-do you still give your pigs the opportunity for them to rummage through hay?
I know some of you use hay racks to avoid the hay getting onto the fleece.
Click to expand...

:Ayociexp120: Our lot have large two storey pens and I put hay in their baskets and a handful in the upper levels. The hay is easily hoovered off although I am on my fourth hoover now in less than three years ! Seeing the mess they make really doesn't bother me in the slightest, the pens are clean, cosy and not meant to be a pristine show home. Hay racks look nice but I also prefer to watch the piggies rummage and bury themselves :))
 
We have a cat litter tray for the hay which does get spread about. Most of the time they prefer sleeping on the fleece but occasionally they will nap on top of the hay. We keep the fleece / vet bed combination as we have found this works best in the caravan so they dont have too much change when we go on holiday.
 
Amysmom said:
For the fleece users-do you still give your pigs the opportunity for them to rummage through hay?
I know some of you use hay racks to avoid the hay getting onto the fleece.
Click to expand...

I use fleece and vetbed combinations for all my cages and have done for just over 2yrs - all are washed at 60 degrees and i have no problems. My lot have hay in hay racks with cat litter trays underneath, within 48hrs the litter trays are over-flowing with hay that they've pulled down to lie in and eat - there is always at least 1 pig in the litter trays at any one time! My trays do nothing for keeping the hay off the fleece - as ive got 5 long haired pigs they drag it everywhere anyhow - so within 15mins of a cage clean it's covered in shavings and hay anyway.....

Ive got 5 cages with 10 pigs occupying them (a bonded pair of boys - two single boys and a group of 6 - neutered male and 5 girls) - ive tried the whole newspaper topped with shavings topped with hay, but it got dragged everywhere, i was hoovering my whole house multiple times a day! I gave megazorb and carefresh a go - while both were good bedding options, for the amount i'd need it would cost a small fortune per week and id much rather spend my money on other treats for them than throw my money away every week.

Fleece/vetbed suits me - it takes me 15mins to hoover each day and i do a full clean out every 4-5days - the washing powder i use is minimal, so compared to the cost of other bedding, fleece is a very cheap alternative (for me anyway). I personally didn't switch to fleece because it looks pretty or tidy - i did it for convenience and cost - and my lot are always popcorning, a true indication that they are happy piggies.....As long as they are treated like pigs and given everything they need i dont think bedding type is an issue.... at least it's not for my lot!!

My preference for fleece/vetbed also comes from the fact that i know exactly how clean my bedding is when i put it in their cage - i cannot say that for other bedding types.....

Good topic though and very interesting to hear all points of view :)
 
Sodapops said:
Fleece/vetbed suits me - it takes me 15mins to hoover each day and i do a full clean out every 4-5days - the washing powder i use is minimal, so compared to the cost of other bedding, fleece is a very cheap alternative (for me anyway). I personally didn't switch to fleece because it looks pretty or tidy - i did it for convenience and cost - and my lot are always popcorning, a true indication that they are happy piggies.....As long as they are treated like pigs and given everything they need i dont think bedding type is an issue.... at least it's not for my lot!!
Click to expand...

Same here. I was spending a fortune on sawdust alone! Now it is just hay and newspaper that I need, mainly for the rabbit hutch since they need to snuggle up in lots of hay :)
 
I think a combination of fleece and hay is a good idea-then they get the best of both worlds :)
My girls have fleece hammocks which I made and have bulldog clipped on. They climb into the hammocks and popcorn so they do like the feel of fleece and they love to sleep underneath the hammocks-I think they love the feeling of being in a cave :) they do have snuggle sacks but spend most of their time lying in the litter tray filled with hay or on top of their sacks.
 
We've tried alsorts of bedding & fleece was quite a good choice. We used a double layer of old towels with fleece on top. I found we needed to change it at least twice a week & you really had to clear all the hay & dry food particles before washing it. It was getting expensive as our indoor run is approx. 2.4m x 0.9m.

After reading a blog from a guinea pig rescue on North Tyneside saying they would not let anyone re-home their piggies unless they didn't use sawdust or shavings we decided to use what they recommended, Megazorb. We got some from our local farm supplies store (Farmway) to give it a try. The girls seamed to not like walking on it so we spread a layer of hay on top & they loved it. We use Vetbed in their sleeping area & the other bonus is that we now only need to do a complete change once a week. One bag which costs 8 pounds does 3 changes & we get a bale of hay from a local farm for 4 pounds, these bales last about 8 weeks. We add fresh hay daily. Remember ours is a big run so if you're using a cage or hutch the cost will be a lot let. The girls love it and can just sit with their noses sticking out of the doors eating hay to their heart's content.

Changing the subject, we discovered READIGRASS last year, bought a big bag online for £28 inc postage & it's lasted a year. We discovered that farmway sell it for only £12 so bought a bag last month as it was getting difficult to get fresh grass. This latest batch seems much better than the first bag which I suspect had been in stock a while. The new bag contains very green dried grass & the girls like it almost as much as fresh grass so it should keep them going over the winter months.
 
We have always given our pigs (and rabbit in the past) graze on which is very similar and they love it.
We have a huge bag from our local stables for £7 which lasts ages, it makes a nice treat for them and they get very excited when I sprinkle it around :)
 
My piggies have half fleece, half hay.. cheaper hay from dust free for bedding, softer and american for eating.. daytime, they build nests and sit in the middle or just walk around like a tumbleweed.. bunk beds are fleece and they only jump on these for my attention or to sleep at night, 10.00pm.. both of them crash out.. i give the piggies what they like..i think its pretty easy to tel when they are impressed..hehe i put a very soft fluffy baby blanket in and both lay flat out rubbing their bodies and faces all over it! they love half and half...
 
My guys have a big corner hay tray which is big enough to fit both of them in for a rummage about if they want to - so they do have the opportunity to dive about in hay whenever they like.

I went for fleece originally because I hoped it would smell less being in a tiny studio flat... plus they really love it under their feet you can tell as soon as you put it in! I may change at some point, but in between selling flat & stuff at the moment so will leave as it is for time being... they love their fleece.
 
Ours are on fleece but have huge hay kitchens or haylofts that they can burrow in, so they have the best of both worlds. In theory we shouldn't get much hay on the fleece but they walk it everywhere and pull it out of their dangly loo rolls too.
 
My girls have a big litter tray full of hay, changed every day, as well as their hay rack.
They're cleaned out thoroughly and given fresh fleece every other day with a general poop clean each day.
When they're not eating, pooping or sleeping they're playing and popcorning so I can only assume they are healthy, happy piggies.
Surely this is a better life than being stuck in a hutch at the bottom of the garden, in the cold, with the mimimum of attention regardless of how much hay they have!
 
I do wonder though how using fleece in guinea pigs cages came about as we are encouraged to keep animals in their natural habitat where possible.

I think a combination of both is definately the best thing to do for them, yes they love the feel of fleece but they also love to burrow in their hay. I know I tried fleece and even bulldog clipped it to stop them burrowing but I've come to realise that I was stopping them from doing what comes natural to a guinea pig which is why they are bedded on hay and will continue to be.
 
Hi Amysmom

slightly off subject of fleece.

Talking about natural instinct and burrowing etc... I thought that it would be a natural instinct for GPs (& all other animals) not to eat anything that was poisonous to them? e.g. potatoes (which i dont really understand, is it he black bits or the whole potatoe?) i noticed when feeding kale, spring greens, dark green, the calcium in the urine changed to chalky, as soon as this happened, they stopped eating the offending veg. when first reading on GP's care, I believed i would end up killing them after a stupid mistake. But no, i think piggies are intelligent enough to know what is good for them..like us all they indulge in unnatural favorite foods, but that is our responsibility not to offer any tantalising tasty treats, and as all us ladies know, that's when we all lose control.. MMMMHHH chocolate, gums!

I found that anything they had whilst in their little square glass display cabinet, they do not like...they used to be fed carrots, broccoli, cauli, oranges in PAH.. I cannot get them to eat any of this! Maybe we have spoiled them and given them choice and i think they are smart enought to know this and let us know. Well Maxi is, Minnie is a bit of dum dum..hehe.
 
I'm not really a fan of the theory of keeping animals as they would in the wild argument. I agree you should but if you use it for something like fleece you will have to start bedding them on naturally growing plants, create a huge area, allow them unlimited selection of wild plants all growing naturally, create a temperature simulation like that in Andes, preferably with the same altitude and day cycles. Add in simulations of natural predators and competitors. Get rid of medical care etc etc!

However, all of our Guinea pigs are a separate domesticated species, we all strive to do the best we can for them and I honestly don't think that any one type of bedding is better than another for Guineas, rather in terms of ease of cleaning, expense, smell for us! Domesticated animals rarely show any signs of stereotypic behaviour, like pacing or pulling out of fur etc as they have been selectively bred to be very adaptable. These behaviours result from animals unable to preform behaviours you would see in the wild, tigers pace their cages as in the wild they would roam for miles and miles. The fact we are all on this forum shows that we are incredibly passionate about our pets and want to do what is right!

I took on-board about what you said about the susceptibility for bacteria in terms of washing etc and will have a think about this, however, I think as long as the Guineas are healthy and happy, I'm happy!
 
I think it's important to recognise that domesticated species are very different to their wild relations. My pigs would never survive if they packed their bindles and went off to live in the Andes!
 
Interesting point re the whole how did fleece start thingy.
I remember when I first joined here and seeing pics of piggies on fleece and being like 'omg only in america surely?!' (no offence!) Now I do it and love it BUT the washing of the fleece etc can be a pain. I tried hay and newspaper and I'm not sure its too great on the pennies for me, i needed new newspaper EVERY day, sometimes twice. I have a hay rack for each pair but also put a cardboard box in there stuffed with hay like an old printer paper box, tissue box, whatever i can get my hands on from work, stuff it with hay and they love destroying it and foraging in it and i keep refilling the box until it falls to bits then get a new one :) It's just nice for variety.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top