Cage Lining Question (fleece vs wire in trays)

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tiffyskaar

tiffyskaar

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 24, 2009
Messages
81
Location
Eastern Idaho
Hey! So I don't currently have a chin, but when I did, I always had the pull out trays with the wiring on top so the droppings just fall into the bottom so you could pull out the tray and you could keep the chin in there (shortly, as you could quickly have lil poos all over your floor!).

But lately I've seen chin cages where you line them with a fleece piece of fabric just straight on the tray and the chins romp around on that.. to me that seems a lot more comfortable way to live as a chinnie... but a lot more of a mess to clean!

So, I was wondering how does that work? do you have several pieces of fleece and just switch out when you change the cage and wash that piece with all the little poo's on it or... how does one start doing that?

Thanks for readin, sorry if my explanations aren't very adept!!

- Tiffycakes
 
I use wire floors in my cages because it makes my life much easier and I don't have the chins getting bad cage stains from being right on the bedding.

I've never tried liners. I know a lot of people here do, so by tomorrow morning you should have a half dozen responses telling you how it works. I don't think I could keep up with it. I currently have 128 cages with chins in them...there's just no way I could do it!
 
Oh dear! Yeah, I am interested on getting to know the different ways again and see if there would be something I would like better haha. When some people put down bedding most bedding is bad for respiratory problems right so I wonder what everyone uses.. I used to use that cottony looking recycled paper it would come in like a turqoise/see through package, was rather expensive to buy in a big store like Petsmart.. That was the only thing I felt was safe! Haha.
 
We started in a Super Pet type cage with carefresh, then went to pine shavings (he tried eating both).. found out Stitch had bumblefoot from sittin on the flat bottom cage (he'd push the bedding away to lay on the floor) and wood ledges, so switched to fleece liners. Fleece is easier on his feet, no more bleeding from pressure sores.

I sweep the poops off the fleece one day then change it the next. It's pretty easy to clean with only one chin. I sweep the poops off as much as I can and toss them; take out the liner, shake it out outside, and then throw it in the washer. I sanitize the pan and replace with a new liner. E - Z enough for me.

I know a few others dust buster the poops, but my Dyson tries to eat the liner. :) The dollar store mini dust pan works for me. I have to say though the hair does stick to the fleece. I can see the advantage of a dust buster if you could get one that will still vacuum the hair off, and not try to suck up the liner. Stitch is a black velvet, I believe, so his dark hair shows up on the liter colored liners making them look dirty quicker. You don't notice it so much with the darker liners.

He does like to pull the liners off the pans, I just have them tucked over the edges. He's in a Ferret Nation cage now with the plastic pans on top of the wire bottoms. When I see him pulling the liners off I just go over and tuck them back. I'm going to make little ties or something to keep them on the pans, so he can't chew the plastic. I have the little wire ramps and am also planning on covering them in fleece, so no toes get caught. I have yet to cover tubes in fleece but that's another project.

The cost of the liners will pay for themselves over time. I figured if I can save myself money in the long run all the better.
 
I am not a fan of liners, it is just really nasty to me to wash the peed on fleece. It is also not economical when you have the wash the liners ever 2 days, unless you do it by hand. Ick. It is not reasonable for me to do this with 50+ cages. I love pine bedding, it is cheap, easy and the chins love to chew it. Even if they have a tray bottom I give them a handful.

I think fleece may be ok for 1 chin, but much more than that it is a mess. I had such a hard time trying to shop vac the fleece and not have the chins mess with the liner and then pee on the solid floor and get all full of pee. Not working for me!
 
I use fleece liners and I love them. I made two sets, so every 2-3 days I take the old ones and put the new ones in. Then I just throw the dirty ones in the wash. I vaccuum them each day to remove the old hay and poops. It takes me about an hour each day to clean and vaccuum all of my cages and feed everyone. I have twelve cages total, but I have fleece in only half of them.
 
With over 20 cages, it'd be pretty hard to keep up with fleece cleaning.
Most of my cages, they're on pine chips, and on the ones with wire floors, I always have some 1 by ? KDP for them to sit on! Was cutting 1 x 8' dia. applewood slices, but they crack when they dry out, and "shrink" when chewed on! I usually make a "T" shaped hidey house for the wired floors - and they seem to love them!
 
I have wire bottom cages, and I really like them. It makes it super easy to clean the cages. I also give them a pan of shavings in one corner so they can use that as their spot to pee in, which I change out more often than the shavings in the bottom of their cage.
I just also make sure and have granite tiles and plenty of shelves and fleece tubes for them to rest their feet on.
 
I just recently switched to fleece liners and I have to say I don't really care for them too much. It's kind of a pain to have to shake out all of the liners and wash them and dry them. I think it's alot easier to just pull out the pans, wash them, refill and replace. The cages always look dirty to me with the fleece liners. 10 minutes after you get done removing the old liner, cleaning the cage and replacing it with a new one, there's about 30 droppings and disgusting again. Needless to say I'm pretty sure I'm going back to my old ways- using the wired bottom cages.
 
Wow thanks so much everyone for your responses! So it is just a trial and error, what you like best, what your chin will behave in, haha.

Do most chins pee in the shavings if you stick some in a bowl or something? I've heard of that but that sort of sounds like training them to go in a litter box which I heard can be done.. but how often does that happen?

Also, I had an idea.. if someone could figure to put grommet type pieces (like what are on the hammocks) on the four edges of the fleece liners, and add those little attachment hooks on them so you can pull the hooks to hook onto a wire on the bottom of the cage or something like that, it might be easier so they don't pull up the liners as easily. Just an idea, haha, if it helps anyone, try it!

Man I am so excited to get another chin again! Still debating on one or two, since i've heard about all those cage fights, I'm kind of worried..

Thanks so much guys!

-Tiff
 
I use fleece liners and I like them alot. I shake them on wednesday and wash them sunday. I also use a litter pan which I empty every day. I find it easy because I have two liners for each cage so one goes in right as the other one goes out and as I do laundry once a week anyway it works really well for me.

From what I've noticed bedding fashions come and go. As it seems from the rest of the replies fleece liners are no longer en vogue. Give it a try and if it works for you keep it. I would suggest just buying a peice of fleece, just a single layer as that would be cheapest, and just see if the method works for you before investing in the triple layer padded version.
 
tiffyskaar said:
Also, I had an idea.. if someone could figure to put grommet type pieces (like what are on the hammocks) on the four edges of the fleece liners, and add those little attachment hooks on them so you can pull the hooks to hook onto a wire on the bottom of the cage or something like that, it might be easier so they don't pull up the liners as easily. Just an idea, haha, if it helps anyone, try it!
Click to expand...
I made fleece slip covers and use binder clips on the open side to clip it down. I put newspaper underneath it so it's not just one layer of fleece covering it. Even with binder clips, they still pull it up occasionally. Mine will chew on the plastic every chance they get, even with wood shelves and chew toys to gnaw on.

I have no idea how people keep chins with the FN142 plastic pans without fleece covers, because I know they would chew too much of the plastic without them. They came from a cage with a wire floor and slide-out pan which I agree was so much easier to clean. I wish someone could make a 0.5x0.5" grid that could replace the FN142's bottom grid, then I think it'd be okay.
 
I also love my fleece liners. I shake out the liner every other day and then wash them once a week. My guys do use a little box for the most part. My father/son pair aren't as good about using the litter box so they often get their liner washed a little sooner. Either way, it's much less mess than the shavings were. I always had shavings on the floor with my ferret nations. Now I just have some hay and poo which is much easier to clean.
 
tiffyskaar said:
is there a difference between fleece liners and fleece slip covers?
Click to expand...
I don't know if anyone else does it but me, but they're basically like pillow cases (open on one end). So, in theory, they won't be able to chew on the plastic. Unfortunately, I made one set a little too small, and they are able to pull it up if I don't clip it down thoroughly. Then, like I said, I put newspaper in between just so the plastic doesn't get soiled.
 
Ahhh, I see. thats a great idea, I was a little confused! I might try that when I am experimenting.

Thanks everyone for the replies you are all very informative! I'm lovin to be back with all of you :)
 
What we did when we decided to go fleece was to get the non pilling better quality stuff such as at Joann Fabrics. The quality of the fleece is much thicker and holds up well to repeated washing. We then bought old thinner comforters from Good Will etc., and cut them to fit the bottom of the cage, and lastly made a "pillowcase" type sack of the fleece with velcro for the end closure. I was informed though that when washing them, it is best to NOT use fabric softener as it decreases the repellancey of the fabric.
We also use litter pans for them as others have mentioned. I find this way of cleaning cages to be much easier and cheaper as we do not go through NEAR the amount of shavings as before. As for the shavings.... we bag 'em up and then periodically take them over the a dairy farmer and he lets us dump the waste in the manure spreader...talk about eco friendly.. lolol saves on landfill and helps fertilize his crops.
Kathy
 
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