Mould Prevention on Wood Hides

[C1994]

Hello,

So I have some wood hides for my two sows, they like to do their business in them, a lot.
So now they have gone mouldy by the look of them. I don't like the idea of plastic hides since they are chewers.

Is there a way of stopping wood hides from going mouldy?
A wood treatment that is pig safe would be the perfect solution however I have a feeling that's a hella long shot.

Cheers!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Do the hides have plenty of ventilation? I have never found my wooden hides go mouldy but I use mostly bendy wooden log bridges so there is always constant air flow through them.

Perhaps you could put extra pee pads underneath the hide so that it has some extra absorbency, plus you can change out the pee pads daily so inside the hide stays drier

Id recommend cleaning them with F10, but if they are too far gone, then you may just have to start again.

 

[C1994]

They have a bit of ventilation but not a lot. The cage gets cleaned daily, they are on wood shaving, and they are normally running about all over my flat anyway.

I was thinking about giving a new set of hides a coat of animal safe garden paint, if I remember Johnstone's make one.

 

[Swissgreys]

I would be worried if your hides are getting mould so quickly.
I have always used lots of wood hides, and the only one that ever went mouldy was in our rabbits outdoor cage during Winter, when everything got pretty wet for an extended period of time.

Personally I would throw the hides away and start again with new ones - once mould spores are in there it isn't worth risking using them.
Normal wood hides in a dry(isn) cage should never go mouldy. Some of ours are 5 years old and we have never had this problem.

 

[C1994]

The plan is to get new hides, the trouble is even with daily cage cleaning the hides still go mouldy after a month or so.

Going to have to do some more research on the animal safe paint idea.

 

[Piggies&buns]

That shouldn’t be happening after a month, there’s something not quite working right somewhere. My piggies live in my shed (I’ve also got outside rabbits) and I’ve had my wooden hides for years without any problems.

 

[Swissgreys]

The plan is to get new hides, the trouble is even with daily cage cleaning the hides still go mouldy after a month or so.

Going to have to do some more research on the animal safe paint idea.

I agree that there is some underlying problem if hides are going mouldy.
The beauty of wooden hides is their breathability and ability to absorb and excrete moisture, making them a much healthier and more natural environment than plastic ones.

Can you post a photo of your current set up and the hides?
It sounds like something else is going on and causing the mould to form.

 

[WWDrew]

I got some ideas off your guys posts. I was thinking of soaking my wooden hides in some water vinegar solution and drying them out in the sun for a few days. If there is something I missed in my idea please let me know.

 

[Swissgreys]

I got some ideas off your guys posts. I was thinking of soaking my wooden hides in some water vinegar solution and drying them out in the sun for a few days. If there is something I missed in my idea please let me know.

Are you having a problem with mould on your wooden hides?

If so it might be better to adjust your cleaning schedule, and make sure you replace the pads/bedding underneath more often.

 

[piggieminder]

I always had a problem with wooden hides going mouldy too, despite changing the pee pads everyday. I ended up painting them with Johnstones? water based paint which worked really well. I eventually went over to fleece hides after the piggies got giardia and the wooden hides had to be disposed of. I'm now trying painted wooden ones again in one of my cages as I'm trying to cut down on washing. The fleece really mounts up with 6 piggies in 5 cages and the beds take a lot of washing machine room as they are bulky.

 

[eileen]

i have found some wooden huts get slightly mouldy,i use bedding,and change out wet bedding everyday.so ive done like piggieminder suggested,paint them with cuprinol paint.i do chuck my wooden hides and replace each year,as wood can harbour fungal spores.i find the wooden logs.are much better .

 

[Cue]

Personally, I’ve had much luck with a straight mineral oil finish on wood. It prevents it from going rancid but is still perfectly safe for piggies to chew on.

I do agree with the above posts though, my pig room has very high humidity and even higher temperature, and we don’t have moulding issues with a once-a-week cleaning schedule.