Hay Sticking To Fleece

[Angelyco]

For those of you who use fleece liners, what do you do about hay sticking to fleece? I currently use a metal "hay manger" and my two chins throw the hay all over their cage. I changed the fleece liner for the first time tonight (I just switched from bedding to fleece) and for the life of me, I couldn't get all the hay off of it. I imagine that you can't just throw the fleece with bits of hay in a washing machine, so what do you do?

Thank you!

 

[ChinnyMom]

i use a small dustpan broom (my kiddo lent it to me from her toy bin, lol) and although i don't have fleece liners yet, it does a great job at getting hay and stray pine shavings off Rhino's fleece tube and hammock. i just sweep over the same area a few times and it's pretty much clean after.

a nail brush (like the kind you get in manicure/pedicure sets) would work well too.

 

[GorillaJTA]

I take my dirty fleece outside and shake them off like a rug before washing them.

 

[Luci]

i also shake off my fleece outside. and i also rinse them in the bathtub before putting them in the washer (i want to be courteous of my roommates---give it a try, soooo much pee comes off them ewww).

but periodic spot cleaning also minimizes the amount of hay that sticks. vacuum and pick up old hay every so often. it'll help!

 

[Sdo9396]

I also use a dustpan to sweep up any hay and poos and shake the liners off outside before throwing them in the wash. If you don't, your next load of laundry will have hay stuck to it. I learned this the hard way lol

 

[Angelyco]

I shook it off as well as I could and even tried to use my Dustbuster on it, I do have a little hand broom that I can try. As much as I don't want to waste lint roller sheets, I might have to try those as well. I have to use a laundromat so I think I'm going to hand-wash the liners as needed instead of letting them sit in a bag until laundry day.

I'm still fighting with the idea of putting in a litter box for them. There isn't a lot of floor space left in their cage and I don't want to clutter it up even more. Oh, what I wouldn't give for an FN142 right about now...

What do you guys use to hold your hay that might keep it from being such a big mess in the first place?

 

[Sdo9396]

Instead of using lint roller sheets, you could use a piece of that clear shipping tape. That's what I use on my clothes if I can't find the lint roller =P

Maybe check craigslist or kijijifor a used FN. =) I picked up a FN141 off CL for a decent price. Search for "ferret" or "cage". =)

For hay, I use a fleece hay bag that is attached to the cage with a binder ring and Ruby just digs out the hay when she wants.

 

[Angelyco]

The price of the 142 isn't the problem, we have the money. We paid $100 for the crappy cage we have now, and we had thrown away the box after assembling it, so we can't return it. We'd feel bad for just throwing away all that money. Hindsight is 20/20

 

[Sdo9396]

Hmm maybe try to sell it on CL? OR you can keep it to use as a quarantine cage just in case you decide to expand your chinnie family? *nudge nudge*

 

[ChinnyMom]

agreed, hang on to the old cage, because you never know when it may come in handy. i know i'm going to keep my superpet cage once i find a FN or a CN for Rhino, just in case i get another chin some day or need it for evacuation or travel (it's a fair bit smaller than a FN and is easily moved).

as for hay containment, i'm just using a metal 'coop cup', large size, but would like to get a hay box or bag one day. Rhino is pretty tidy about his cage, and isn't a hay waster either (thank you chinnie gods, lol!). i put little piles of hay on a couple of his shelves too, just to give him different places to sit and munch.

 

[Chin_Up_Sunshine]

I use this and this from Ikea for my hay holders. I also have a little fleece baggie that I sewed up for them.
I usually just pick up left over hay or sweep it up with the dust pan.

 

[Angelyco]

I think I figured out what the bulk of the mess is on the fleece - it's not really from the loose hay, it's mostly from the pressed hay cubes. Gah! I've had over 30 cats at different times and rodents of all sorts and never had such a mess as these little chins )

 

[Irishsk8r66]

my little guy is huge hay waster and i idk what to do about it......i feel like im starving him if i dont put new hay in but i also feel like im wasting it if i do......

and yeah those hay cubes are a huge mess and wont come off until ou wash it from my experience.