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[sarahlydear]

so ive heard you can use wood chips as bedding(like the kind you use for rabbits) i was wondering if that was okay and if it is what kinds can i get? It would be great since they are much cheaper than the kind im using thanks for any info

[RollinEK]

never use cedar, as far as i know, use aspen or kild dried pine. I use the pine, I buy 7 cubic yards for $6.

[left027]

I use a fleece bedding with a quilted material in the middle.  Works really well.  If you're going for a cheap bedding option and have a washer/dryer available I highly recommend this method.  There are several guides on how to make fleece bedding on this forum and on the internet.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

I use pine, pretty cheap too.
Did my stretch with cloth diapers with my daughter. I am not washing pee blankets for the chins.
I use fleece as birthing blankets so I really don't want them to pee on them too.
I toss them and use new ones.

[RollinEK]

I got some tiger striped fleece lining the inside of thier little houses but that's it. I leave it I. There till it looks dirty, then throw it away and cut new strips. 1 sq yard has lasted me 3 months so it's pretty cheap.

[left027]

Fleece bedding is sooooo easy though.  You just clean up what's on top daily with a hand vacuum and then wash it when it gets a faint smell.  I have two chins and the bottom of their cage is 36" x 18" so it takes about three weeks for the fleece/quilt to get a faint smell so I wash every two weeks so it doesn't get gross.  They like it too.  I see them snuggling into the fleece to sleep.   The other reason why I use it is because I have terrible allergies. 

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Yes and pine is bad for allergies.
My hands do break out now and then.

Great idea for those allergic and think they can't have caged pets.

[RollinEK]

Wow! I didn't know that humans could be allergic to pine. Learn something new everyday. But at least you found a pet you can handle.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Yes pine is a common allergen. My husband was into to making all those pine thingies way back. Ya know book shelves, trunks, and even bed room sets. He had to give it up his hands got eczema that bad.
I only get a few spots now and then when I do complete cleanings every week.
It's just a contact dermatitis, my skin is sensitive. Many never have a hitch.

[heiwa]

I also heard that smell release by cedar after pee is harmful for chins!! Pine wood chips is fine!!
I use carefresh and a cat litter call feline fresh as bedding!!
Actually in my city, we used to train our chins using a small triangle toilet to save bedding, does it also a common practice in the States or in Canada?? Or normally you guys place bedding at  the whole base of the cage??

[Hoppinchins]

I have fleece bedding also. I tried to litter train them so they would only pee on the pine chips i left in there in a pan, but didn't really work. I have to wash mine about twice a week with 2 chins, but i don't have a lining in the middle, that's a good idea. left, What kind of material do u use for that, i know you said it was quilted.

[left027]

I took two sheets of fleece and put about four layers of this quilt-like fabric and sewed it up like a pillow.  It felt like a giant pad by the time I was done lol.

[Hoppinchins]

Lol. I'm sure they love that.

[left027]

Yes!!! Sometimes I see them sleeping in their hammock, but usually I see them snuggled up in a corner where the bedding is super thick because of the sewing.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

We wear lots of fleece here in NL     Brrrrr
I get loads of old fleece jackets and cut them up for birthing house blankets.

I use the sleeves to cover tubes/hide aways for the kits.
And I cover a slab of 2x10 inch pine, about 8 inches long that sits for the floor of the birthing houses. I fits perfect, and I can even stuff in more for padding.  
When one side get dingy I flip then replace.