guineas indoors

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amberannielola

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ok so went outside to feed my 3 girls and felt so sorry for them its blimming freezing outside and the hutch needed cleaning and i cant be bothered to stand out there and clean it,
i saw that thier feet were a bit mucky and thought hmmm ill bring them indoors and bath them later,
set the indoor hutch up and put shavings etc in, gave cucumber and carrot while i was bowls etc.

i LOVE them being inside although they do make a bloody mess
so now they are in the kitchen for now as my house is quite small and i have a viv with a dragon in, a boxer and fish tank lol and now my piggies
now i know the indoor cage isnt the best for 3 girls

however if i can just convince hubby and find a place to put the cage
he may let us keep them inside again
we kept them inside when we first got them as it was cold and over xmas
then i bought a hutch and they went outside

so I'm going to bath them later

have you guys any ideas for housing apart from c and c
that will make it easier to keep them indoors, like i know fleece etc will be less mess but i tried fleece in the past so any other cheap bedding soloutions, and also hay
I'm just looking for mess free ideas etc
and the best things to do to keep them tidy and clean and stuff really

i feel like they dont get the attention they deserve outside as when the weather is bad we dont really go out there
only to feed etc

they are now chomping away on the veg and chirping and chatting and laying down looking very comfy

i just need to find a space for the cage

HELP! : D
 
by the sounds of it space is an issue. is it possible to move the hutch indoors?

if you are bathing them today please do not put them back out today it will be too cold for them.
 
ohh no
thats my excuse to the hubby why ive brought them in cos tgey getting bathed lol
but i might do it tomorrow and prolong it so they can be indoors for a bit longer
i love seeing them,
yeah space is a issue with my little zoo lol
: (
 
I know that with C&C cages, you can make them into whatever shape suits your needs/space. Other options might be to stack cages on top of each other using a cheap desk or cage stand.

Our piggies are indoor piggies so I can give you some advice on bedding and hay. After a lot of experimenting, I find the best bedding to be a layer of vetbed (available online at reasonable prices). Available by the roll here:

http://www.petnhome.co.uk/veterinary-bedding-roll-c-11_29.html

We then cover this with a fleece blanket (cheap ones from Primark). What I then do is a spot clean pretty much every day just picking up the worst of their mess (sometimes every two days if I'm feeling lazy). This stops the cages from begin too smelly. Then I wash the vetbed and fleece every week (we have enough for two sets per cage so we can rotate when cleaning). I shake the fleece out thoroughly to get rid of most of the excess hay and then put everything inside an onld duvet cover (that way hay doesn't get inside the washing machine). I can then wash the cage bottom out in the shower using anti-bacterial spray. All in all I spend about 5 - 10 minutes on cleaning everyday and then about 35 - 45 minutes once a week to clean both cages.

As for hay, I find "Alfalfa Kings" Timothy Hay to be pretty good. It's not very dusty at all is generally very green and smells nice. You can, of course, try dust free hay but it comes in huge amounts and is quite expensive (although not per weight - it's a good price if you factor in how much you get):

http://www.dustfreehay.co.uk/store/two-bale-pack-options-p-9.html

We also feed readigrass mixed in with the hay. As long as you aren't too messy when you feed them, it doesn't create too much mess and we only hoover in the room where our cages are once a week.

I hope this is helpful :)
 
The ferplast 140 is a great cage and you can get a stand for it to go on so you can have storage underneath :-) and you can put light items on top of it :-)

finacard is a tidy bedding as it is heavy so doesnt fling around :-)
 
Shavings is the most messy bedding there is! I really do think fleece is best. Many people love vet bed too. Shavings can cause allergies with guinea pigs so it is best not to use it. If you have no space for a c and c cage can you maybe get rid of some furniture? I got rid of my television so the girls now have space for a nice size c and c cage. They really are ideal as not many other things give enough space.
 
I should say, AK Timothy Hay costs £7.99/1.8kg from P@H. I know Oxbow Timothy Hay is also very good but is less readily available. It's about the same price.

We get Friendly Readigrass from our vet (not sure where else you can get it) and that costs £3.49/1kg.
 
i use this hay but the plastic ones:
http://www.dustfreehay.co.uk/store/ten-pack-mixed-p-28.html
a bag lasts my 8 about 7-10 days depending on how much they decide to pull out and pee on :)>>>

bedding i've tried lots and they currently just have newspaper, very easy to clean out.

C&C is easy to change shape and to fit into spaces you have but with dogs and young children it may not be an option. if not the ferplast 140 is ok but ideally a 150 cage is better for 3 :)
 
i cant get rid of any furniture as its realy heavy stuff and cost me about 900.00 for two units two years ago and is my dream furniture
what is finacard and where would i get it
i know shavings isnt great but this is what i used outdoors
with them,
i just havent got a spare place to put them really : /
with the units fish tank and dog bed etc
i cant really move things any different to what they are
i dont really like fleece in the cage to be honest
i may look into vet bed if i can convince hubby to let them stay in
theyve been quite quiet up to now and well behaved lol
my house is pretty small a 2bed semi
small ish rooms new build
never mind
if i cant keep them indoors I'm gonna get a new hutch in time
the one i have has a pointy roof and 2 storey with ramp
however the bottom has no floor and the girls were really mucky off the bottom even though they are on concrete do no nasties can dig there way in
i felt so sorry for them tonight
i need to try and keep cost low tho as I'm not working at moment
and only hubbys income
 
Perhaps you can think about adapting an old chest of drawers or a couple of cheap bookcases for depth (if you'd like the piggies higher up away from the dog) for a cage on several levels with perspex in the front?

Unfortunately, piggies are messy and there is no ideal bedding.
 
or just get rid of the hubby :p
I'm sure i will come up with something
dog doesnt really bother them
they could go ontop of winstons viv which is where they were over winter
hmmm think thinks
ive got a bit of vet bed that the dog had but doesnt really use,
and try it before shelling out
 
finacard is peices of cardboard so it is heavy and absorbent, works out about 65p a cleanout for my ferplast 140/4x 2 C&C size cage so its cheap too. I only had to clean out 1x per week with 2 boars on it. It is much more absorbent than shavings and looks neat too as it is brown the poops dont stand out much at all.

http://www.finacard-uk.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=48&products_id=127

it is delivery only but I have had it delivered with no issues. i never got this trailed around my house (shavings, megazorb etc get everywhere!)

My 140 is still for sale btw wtih vet bed to fit :-)
My 140 is on top of two shelving units :-) my house is a two bed too , you could stick shelves on the wall custom cut from MDF to take a cage somewhere out of the way to keep it well above the dog for example.
 
i know i would love your 140 cage but i just havent got the money at the moment with me not working we r strugling
its such a shame cos I'm only round the corner from you i think?
: (
I'm sure i will think of something, the girls would love the extra space in the 140
annie particullay loves being indoors shes been squeaking and popcorning since they came in lol
I'm gonna look up the finacard though
i couldnt get away wiyh fleece over winter
so i plodded on with hay and carfresh in the poop corners etc but carefres was expensive and i couldnt afford that now!
 
I like vet bed in the winter due to it keeping pigs warm and not smelling because its cold, I dont leave the heating on in the house, but it needs washing too often and its a load of faff getting it cleaned off for the washer.

I <3 finacard but I dont have any left or id have given you some as I live near boro.

Carefresh is crazy money!

You could make a correx tray if money is tight. I made a 6x2 tray out of a 5mm thick sheet of correx and that sheet was only 11 so you can make a 5x2 for the same price if that fits your space better. Ill link you photos and where to get it from soon but I am at work so its a faff here
 
I sacrificed my dining table and chairs last year to make room for more piggies :{ Worth it and I have got used to eating meals from a tray on my lap now :(|)
Indoor piggies are brilliant - we have 18 in our lounge and love it x)
 
mmmmm the correx sounds ok you will have to tell me where you got it from bekki
i could put a correx tray on top of the viv maybe depending how big i need it
what dimensions do i need for 3 girlies?
140/150 by what?

i know i thought about my dining table but i cant see hubby lettin me,
hmmff
 
amberannielola said:
mmmmm the correx sounds ok you will have to tell me where you got it from bekki
i could put a correx tray on top of the viv maybe depending how big i need it
what dimensions do i need for 3 girlies?
140/150 by what?

i know i thought about my dining table but i cant see hubby lettin me,
hmmff
Click to expand...

It was that or the other sofa which nobody really uses but the table lost :x
Well, we still have some of it - OH just stripped it down to the legs and built the piggy pen from there...:(|)
Cook him a nice meal...;)
 
amberannielola said:
mmmmm the correx sounds ok you will have to tell me where you got it from bekki
i could put a correx tray on top of the viv maybe depending how big i need it
what dimensions do i need for 3 girlies?
140/150 by what?

i know i thought about my dining table but i cant see hubby lettin me,
hmmff
Click to expand...

150 by 60cm is the smallest for 3 really :)
 
Bekki2308 said:
577689_10151005365032573_779327572_11621324_1634475512_n.jpg


The cage!
Click to expand...

5ft x 2ft is for three, and up to 6ft x 2ft can be made with one sheet of correx. Its super easy to do. Working in feet is easier trust me :-) draw a pencil line 1ft away from all four edges , score the edges but leaving flaps on the end bits (you see where I folded it and stuck it together? and fold it and its done :-) you could do 4ft x 2ft if that is still bigger than the cage they are in now, actual 4ft x 2ft is larger than a 120cm cage for example so would still be an improvement. If you are intrested ill draw you a picture showing you what to score where :-)

https://www.protection.co.uk/products/proplex-5mm-recycled-plastic-sheeting/ 8ft x 4ft sheet of correx, delivery is 10 if you dont mind waiting in two days, I paid for one day delivery though
 
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