Switch from sawdust to fleece - Convince me?

[ZoeGregory]

Hello everyone,

I'm new here, my name is Zoe and I'm 29 years old. I currently have 2 rescue piggy sows (yet to be named so suggestions welcome!). I've had pigs before so I'm excited to get to know our new girls

I've always used sawdust as a base but at the same time been intrigued by the fleece/blanket base aswell. I've never taken the plunge because all I can think about is the mess! Hay stuck everywhere and the poops and peeps

Please let me know what you guys use and the pros/cons

 

[Sweet Potato]

Sawdust is not an appropriate bedding as the dust can irritate the piggies vulnerable lungs and cause upper respiratory infections. Dust extracted wood shavings can be used as long as they're not cedar or pine.

I use fleece and my boys love it and for us it's the most environmentally friendly option as we have no way to compost wood shavings where we live and cannot get wood shavings that don't come in plastic packaging. Also it definitely works out cheaper long term especially with a big cage.

 

[Swissgreys]

I would say a lot depends on your cage type, location and set up.

We started off with wood shavings in a hutch in the living room (they were supposed to live outside, but came home during a cold snap and never made it out).
This worked well in a hutch, but being inside it meant their were shavings everywhere!

We switched to a C&C cage and fleece and for us this has been perfect.
We have large hay trays to contain the mess a little, but hay actually brushes off fleece fairly easily.
I was everything inside a duvet cover and hake it out again after washing.

 

[Siikibam]

As above, I wonder if you meant woodshavings. It’s not really about convincing you because it’s what works for you.

Mine were on fleece when indoors and they liked it. They’re now on shavings but will move to fleece when the weather is warm enough. I like it, though you have to remember there’s washing etc. You need more than one liner and I’d suggest some pee pads for high traffic areas.

 

[rp1993]

We love fleece! So much less messy than shavings!
the poops are really easy to sweep off, we put a noodle bath mat and the hay end of the cage and the hay shakes and bushes off easily!
the only con is the extra laundry but I will take that Vs sweeping up shavings any day!
you will need a pet laundry bag as well so you don’t clog your washing machine!
And the best of all you can have fleece in all sorts of fun colours and prints!

 

[Piggies&buns]

My piggies live in a hutch in my shed and have free roam on the shed floor, so I can’t use fleece year round. Mine are bedded on aubiose/shavings topped with hay in the hutch and the shed floor during the winter. In summer, the hutch is still bedded with aubiose/shavings and hay but I use puppy pads and fleece on the shed floor. I do this as it saves on bedding costs for part of the year. Cleaning the shed when its fleece is easier in some ways, but personally, I prefer the disposable bedding over the fleece. I have the means to dispose of it though as I use it to mulch my plants but also my council do take small animal waste

 

[horsefeather]

Economics. I'm in the US so this is all in US dollars. I used paper bedding which cost $13.00/week.(plus it got tracked all over my house). I bought 2 guineadad fleece liners for my midwest cage at $110.00 for both. In 10 weeks, my fleece liners paid for themselves bc that what i would have spent on bedding in that time. I eventually bought a third one bc theyre heavy when wet and i needed to balance my washer.

Also, it takes me about 5 minutes a day to sweep up the poop. Ever 4 or 5 days i switch the liner. Again this takes 5-10 minutes bc i just sweep up the hay and poop, then shake the hay bits off outside. Wash them then use a hand held vacuum to clean the har and bits out of my washer.

With paper bedding it took about an hour, then i had to scrub the cage canvas base, every 2 weeks i had to take my cage apart to get the parts behind the bars.

Plus my gps can zoom alot faster when theyre not wading through paper. They like that.

 

[Merab]

Welcome to the forum.
Do you mean wood shavings rather than sawdust?

Mine are indoor piggies on wood shavings. I tried fleece but found that I simply couldn’t cope with the laundry so switched back to wood shavings.
It’s what works best for you in the end.

We would love pictures of your piggies

 

[ZoeGregory]

Wow thank you so much for all your responses!

I did mean woodshavings, not sure why I call it sawdust to be honest, I think its something I picked up when I was little and it stuck haha

I see lots of people on here using those noodle bath mats, I actually have one from ikea in my bathroom that looks similar. Would you recommend putting puppy pads underneath all the fleece/bath mats? I think that's also what I'm worried about, the pee not being soaked up. Also, how often do you find you have to wash everything?

I've settled on Trixie for this little torti lady, the white one (I think she's abyssinian) is still yet to be named though...

 

[rp1993]

Yes bath mats underneath will soak up the pee, we have two boys and I change theirs every 5 days, we just have smaller fleece pee pads on high traffic areas which we change out more frequently!
its actually pretty amazing how well the fleece soaks up and dries! Trixie is adorable!

 

[Siikibam]

You need something absorbent underneath the fleece to soak up the wee. The fleece has to be wicked before you can use it - making sure that urine soaks through rather than sitting on top.

I had mine on a fleece liner and used bath mats on top. I changed them every 2-3 days. Some were more mucky than others - under their beds and near their hay trays. The fleece lasted about 6-7 days.

I’m not good with names. But perhaps Tizzy, Izzy, Tiana or Tulip Ignore if they’re rubbis though

 

[Zanzan]

I use woodshavings because my house is so small I would have nowhere to dry fleeces when washed. Like other people have said it's such an individual decision depending on your circumstances.