Fleece And Stinky Cage

Diane Owen

Diane Owen

New Born Pup
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Help I've only had fleece for day and a half and it's smelly already, what have I done wrong?
 
They might be scent marking it because it's new. Also, did you wash it a few times? Can't think of anything else...anyone?
 
Is there anything under the fleece or is it filled liner?
 
Diane Owen said:
It's home made, mattress protector sandwiched between fleece for main liner and towel sandwiched
between fleece for pee pads please help they pong lol x
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Hmm I have not tried fleece+mattress protector but that sounds very thin and not very absorbent judging by the mattress protectors I see locally. I would have leaned toward using the mattress protector as the waterproof base with something absorbent on top of it and then the fleece top.

Are the pee pads also stinking badly?
 
Fire the record my piggy liners were either fleece<Zorb>fleece or fleece<Zorb>water resistant backing material.

Neither smelled much at all and I only needed to change the Fleece<Zorb>fleece ones weekly. For extra precaution I sat those on disposal baby changing sheets but they rarely soaked thru. Zorb can be quite pricey though.

These were in a 2x5 c&c with only 2 piggies in. Smaller cages smell more and also how many pigs per cage size also factors in. Also used their loft area as a hay loft and sat a kitten litter tray there with some extra pee pads or just extra pee pads which I cleaned regularly.
Piggies pee most as they eat so around the hay area is where you will find the trouble spots are in a large cage.
 
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Squeakz said:
Hmm I have not tried fleece+mattress protector but that sounds very thin and not very absorbent judging by the mattress protectors I see locally. I would have leaned toward using the mattress protector as the waterproof base with something absorbent on top of it and then the fleece top.

Are the pee pads also stinking badly?
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It all stinks x
 
The only thing in my cages that start to smell are the litter trays if they have a lot of hay in and then the hay gets pee'd on. The fleece never smells and some of mine pee on it a lot. The babies just pee everywhere but the fleece doesn't smell. I use disposable incontinence pads underneath (like puppy pads but bigger).

As mentioned above, they could be scent marking? I did read on here that if you change everything in one go, bedding, fleece liner, tunnels etc, they will smell more for the first day as the pigs like to re-scent mark everything. What I read to do it not change everything in one go, just change the fleece but leave all the beds etc or change the beds but leave the fleece.
 
Squeakz said:
Fire the record my piggy liners were either fleece<Zorb>fleece or fleece<Zorb>water resistant backing material.

Neither smelled much at all and I only needed to change the Fleece<Zorb>fleece ones weekly. For extra precaution I sat those on disposal baby changing sheets but they rarely soaked thru. Zorb can be quite pricey though.

These were in a 2x5 c&c with only 2 piggies in. Smaller cages smell more and also how many pigs per cage size also factors in. Also used their loft area as a hay loft and sat a kitten litter tray there with some extra pee pads or just extra pee pads which I cleaned regularly.
Piggies pee most as they eat so around the hay area is where you will find the trouble spots are in a large cage.
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I really don't want to go back to shavings I might try corn
 
How new are the piggies? Or is the cage new? If it's either or both then they might still be working out who is the boss and THAT can cause some crazy pee spraying stink.

New territory or dominance squabbles can really smell even with females which is why I always chose an old blanket in the bath for introducing any pigs to a group.
 
Squeakz said:
How new are the piggies? Or is the cage new? If it's either or both then they might still be working out who is the boss and THAT can cause some crazy pee spraying stink.
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I've had them 2weeks so very new boy do they stink x
 
Diane Owen said:
I've had them 2weeks so very new boy do they stink x
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They may well be still trying to work out who is top pig. Also I am not sure if it's just the camera angle but the cage looks like it might be a bit on the small side for 2 boars.

Do you have the measurements? :tu:
 
Squeakz said:
They may well be still trying to work out who is top pig. Also I am not sure if it's just the camera angle but the cage looks like it might be a bit on the small side for 2 boars.

Do you have the measurements? :tu:
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This is what the pet shop gave me
 
Eileen's Mum said:
Are they boys? I've heard boys can be pretty stinky!
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Boar musk can be a bit whiffy but once they have worked out the ranking and have enough space to avoid each other when they feel they need to then they tend to smell a lot less.
The only flare up might be when they hit teenage piggy hormonal stage and have another battle for leadership.
 
Just to give a bit of reference here to what I mean. A 2x5 grid c&c cage is approx 185cm x 77cm.
This is the minimum I personally would place two boars in as it gives space to run around and avoid one another when they want a bit of personal space. It also reduces the smell a LOT.
 
Squeakz said:
Just to give a bit of reference here to what I mean. A 2x5 grid c&c cage is approx 185cm x 77cm.
This is the minimum I personally would place two boars in as it gives space to run around and avoid one another when they want a bit of personal space. It also reduces the smell a LOT.
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It's smaller than that but I'm getting a run for them
 
boars sometimes smell differently, but I wonder if you feel the smell putting your nose near the fleece or the smell is just around the room. Because it the fleece has its own smell, terrible for us, it does not mean it smells badly for them...:D
If you feel the smell all around, well, this is problem to be solved of course. You can try to put newspapers underneath the fleece, replacing the wet spots with new paper once a day. During floor time I suggest you to put the fleece outside for some cool air.
My fleece are washed once a week, but only because it is dirty, not because they produce bad smell in my living room. Sometimes I don't hang out the fleece (like today) but I don't feel any smell as well...
I use newspapers (actually I am using the flyers of supermarkets) covered by the piece of fleece.
Another ipothesis: sometimes the food eaten produces a bad odour of poo and wee; for example, broccoli make the wee smelling. Some pellets, too, are the culprit of the smell (even in cats and dogs).
If you have little space, you might arrange a room for piggies' floor time, using fences and boxes. Of course only if you have tiles on the floor and no carpet tiles.
This is what I have arranged in my kitchen (they actually don't go around too often). There is a mess, I know, but movement for them is important for preventing bladder infections and other health troubles. I am glad that the vet was satisfied of their good muscle mass (although they don't live into a big cage)
100_6688.webp
100_6478_LI (3).webp

100_6970 (2).webp
100_6967 (2).webp
this below is the cage with the paper:
100_6943 (2).webp

as you can see, there are little wet spots; there is no smell actually, but I replace the wet paper with some new one.
100_6626.webp
If you are feeding them with pellets (I give them only few pieces, hidden on the corners of the kitchen so that they search and move around) be sure it is a good pellet (grainfree/sugars free) made with grass.
If your piggies will have a diet based on hay and grass their poo and wee will have no smell at all.
 
It is probably them scenting the fleece because it is something different. My boars scent their cages everytime they get cleaned out, and when they come back in from an afternoon in the garden. My liners have a double layer of quilted matress cover between fleece, much quicker to dry than towel. Also the wee soaks through into the absorbant layer below, I use newspaper and puppy pads. I found towels just stay very wet and smell instead of passing wee through.
 
rome_italy said:
boars sometimes smell differently, but I wonder if you feel the smell putting your nose near the fleece or the smell is just around the room. Because it the fleece has its own smell, terrible for us, it does not mean it smells badly for them...:D
If you feel the smell all around, well, this is problem to be solved of course. You can try to put newspapers underneath the fleece, replacing the wet spots with new paper once a day. During floor time I suggest you to put the fleece outside for some cool air.
My fleece are washed once a week, but only because it is dirty, not because they produce bad smell in my living room. Sometimes I don't hang out the fleece (like today) but I don't feel any smell as well...
I use newspapers (actually I am using the flyers of supermarkets) covered by the piece of fleece.
Another ipothesis: sometimes the food eaten produces a bad odour of poo and wee; for example, broccoli make the wee smelling. Some pellets, too, are the culprit of the smell (even in cats and dogs).
If you have little space, you might arrange a room for piggies' floor time, using fences and boxes. Of course only if you have tiles on the floor and no carpet tiles.
This is what I have arranged in my kitchen (they actually don't go around too often). There is a mess, I know, but movement for them is important for preventing bladder infections and other health troubles. I am glad that the vet was satisfied of their good muscle mass (although they don't live into a big cage)
View attachment 69601
View attachment 69599

View attachment 69606
View attachment 69605
this below is the cage with the paper:
View attachment 69604

as you can see, there are little wet spots; there is no smell actually, but I replace the wet paper with some new one.
View attachment 69603
If you are feeding them with pellets (I give them only few pieces, hidden on the corners of the kitchen so that they search and move around) be sure it is a good pellet (grainfree/sugars free) made with grass.
If your piggies will have a diet based on hay and grass their poo and wee will have no smell at all.
Click to expand...
Do you use just fleece no liner or anything stitched in and just newspaper/flyers? Not sure I could find that much newspaper but might try, Aldo can I just feed them on hay and pellets? Is there any real need for veg and fruit? Will find a Guinean pig friendly area I love that idea thank you for your reply.
 
I think it's the boy factor you're dealing with here and it should calm down. Are you using vet bed/fleece or a regular thinner fleece? I find mine smell less using fleece but it's down to the liner underneath how smelly they get...if it's a disposable liner I need to change it daily or if it's a washable incontinence pad or towels I change them every other day. Vet Fleece I wash every 4 days but regular fleece I wash every other day. They're fleece tunnels and snuggle pouches really need a wash every other day.
 
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