Cheap pet bedding (rabbits ect)

lindseykim13

Bit random i know, but we have 4 cages in the garden of lovely pets-rabbits//guinea pigs.
We got the animals when we could afford them! Now things are a lot tighter I am hoping someone may have a genious idea on how to keep them clean and warm. During the winter they go through way too much sawdust and straw/hay to keep them warm.

Did ask on freecycle if anyone had any left overs but no luck there.
I wondered if anyone had done something like washable bedding ect and had tips?

TIA

babyshoes

What about shredded newspaper? Plenty of that around for free if you ask in the right places! I put a box next to the bin at work with a sign saying 'newspaper in here please' and it filled up quite quickly - I use it not as bedding but for ferret poo. If your colleagues use public transport they may well pick up free papers or buy ones to read on the way!

Bedding for my ferrets is fleece pet or baby blankets from pound shops/charity shops / freecycle (old fleece clothes too) etc. It is easy to wash and dries quickly. Apparently bunnies can't pull the blankets round themselves though, according to friends who visited and were enchanted by our ferrets making their own beds, so you may want to cut the fleeces into strips/pieces (it doesn't fray so no need to hem) so they can burrow into a mass of fleece. I have seen it done for litters of baby ferrets. If you have 2 or 3 masses of fleece for each cage, you can wash them regularly. Pieces of fleece would be awkward to dry without a tumble drier though. We take our blankets to the laundromat when we are running low (have a huge pile so we wash quite seldom) as it avoids our machine getting clogged up with hair.

zaxdog

We fostered a hedgehog last winter and I took home teh shredded paper from my office. Worth asking local businesses of you can cart away their shredding?

Raksha

Buy hay/straw by the bale? Or sawdust/shavings by the bale from an equine supplier/Farm shop.

Raksha

if you are using somebody elses waste, you may need to supply a waste disposal certificate. Other wise, what's to stop you fly tipping it and them getting the blame...

alec_eiffel

Do you have something for the outside of their cages to keep them warm? My buns live indoors but I know people have used tarpaulin and the silver foil insulation to make a hutch cover to protect from cold and wind. Straw is warmer than hay so is better for bedding, you could try lining a cardboard box with it for them to go into so you'd be using less straw but they'd still be warm. If there's a shed or somewhere else like that it would keep them warm too. A snugglesafe does cost money but is a great way to keep them warm too.

I think the RWAF has a factsheet you can look at online with some tips. If you got your pets from a rescue you could always contact them, if they can help you then they will.

lindseykim13

Thanks some great ideas there! I love the box idea for newspapers lol
Shredding it would be a pain as no shredder lol but i guess the kids could help rip it up. I think i have lots of fleece left over in my craft stash so thats another fab idea.
I will look into bulk buying-we already buy the biggest bags in the range but i guess a farm shop might be cheaper.

vgstar44

my local farm supply shop sell bales of hay for couple of quid so its defo worth looking into as the shop can charge that for a small bags worth.

Only downfall is storing it and transporting it as it is pretty big.

lindseykim13

Thanks very much everyone have just managed to find a farm nearby that has an over stock of hay bales and charging £3.50 a bale. Should fit a couple of them in my greenhouse! Much cheaper than the shop and will use newspaper and fleece too to keep us going.

cte1111

That's good news that you've found a cheaper source of hay. I was interested in the fleece idea, but for my rabbits I'd be worried that they would eat it. Hay's a key part of their diet so best to make sure they've got plenty of this I think rather than risking them munching on the fleece.

Mind you, one of my rabbits ate a big chunk out of the plastic mesh from one of the garden chairs (children left it tipped over and it was evidently in her territory) without any ill effects!

jackel

Hi there - the trees are dropping their leaves at present. You could get a sack and collect some. We are using them at the moment for our goat. Make shure they are dry. jac xx