Hutch advice desperately needed.

[Mummybean]

Hi
I apologise for how silly some of these questions will be. I am completely new to owning piggies and I really want to do a good job of looking after them. We brought two male bonded piggies a week ago. They are both still very nervous. We have a small second hand starter hutch (single story) we brought second hand from a neighbour but I am already feeling it is too small. I have looked on line but have lots of questions. If you buy one with a run at the bottom that has no floor and put it on the grass how do you then clean all the poop up off the grass? are you meant to put hay only in the bedding area? If you have one with a floor on the bottom run what do you put on the floor - if anything. Do Guinea pigs manage the ramps ok? Also where do your piggies tend to poop. Ours have been doing it next to their food bowl is that normal? Do you have the food and hay rack by the ramp in a two story hutch or down in the run? Sorry about all the questions I would really appreciate any help.

 

[TinyPiggies]

I don’t think the ones with a run with no floor are recommended for piggies, only for rabbits. Better with a floor, and something waterproof on the wooden floor eg lino to stop wee soaking in to the wood.

 

[weepweeps]

Hello. My two boars are fine with a ramp. It took them two weeks to start using it though. And I had to encourage them a few times to start with. Lol. Mine tend to poop in two certain areas of their cage and not in their bed area. I haven’t trained them to do this they just like a clean bed I guess. I have a pile of hay upstairs and two hay racks downstairs. A food bowl and bottle upstairs and also bowl and bottle downstairs too. They have to have two of everything to stop them arguing and falling out with each other. They also have two hides with two exits in each of them so they can’t corner each other. Hope this helps.

 

[Piggies&buns]

A hutch with a run underneath is fine (as long as it meets size requirements for the level they are going to be locked into) but they can only go in the run in summer anyway. I personally feel hutch/run combos have disadvantages and would not purposefully choose one myself.
Piggies are not hardy and need to be kept warm, and being on the grass is only an option when it is warm and dry (april to around September/October time).
Outdoor piggies needs loads of hay at all times to keep warm but also as hay is their main food source. It needs to be everywhere in their hutch. You will also need snugglesafe heat pads, thermal and waterproof hutch covers.

A hutch with a run underneath is fine but it has several disadvantages And In my opinion you are better off to have a separate hutch (whether that is a single storey hutch of a double storey hutch) and a separate run. Moving a hutch/combo can be harder (theyre heavier than a run) and they will destroy the grass underneath so being able to move it is a good thing! Mine live in my shed in a hutch with access to the shed to play and then a separate run for summer time. They go in the run during the day in the summer and it is therefore possible to move it around the garden so they always have access to grass and it isn’t destroyed by them constantly. I simply pick the poop up off the grass and move the run somewhere else.
You can use a two storey hutch year round but not a hutch with a run underneath.

Some piggies manage ramps, some don’t - they aren’t natural climbers. Any ramp needs to be covered with something for them to grip onto, have sides and not be steep. Upper levels do not count towards the cage size anyway, so you need to make sure the hutch is big enough on a single level (the level they are going to be locked into) and for two boars a hutch needs to be 6ft x 2ft. Boars need a lot more room, to stop there being problems due to lack of space.

They will poop everywhere, but do often poop where they eat. If they are indoors, you can put a tray with hay in it so they can poop in there, but piggies can’t be litter trained so you’re going to find it everywhere. If they are outdoor piggies, then having hay everywhere is important for warmth so i see little point in putting a tray in as they’re going to eat the hay from everywhere and therefore poop everywhere.

Ensure pellets are kept strictly limited to one tablespoon per pig per day, they should not have access to pellets all the time as they are unhealthy and least important part of the diet. Hay is the only food they should have constantly

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Cage Size Guide
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[Siikibam]

Are they living outside and were they living outside when you brought them home? If not then you can't house them outside. It's still too cold for them to be out. Boars need minimum 12sq feet, so a 6ft hutch. Additional floors don't count as guinea pigs are ground roaming. I hope you find a solution soon.

 

[Mummybean]

Thank you for all the help. Yes they will be outdoor piggies, my husband has attached thick insulating panels (the ones you get in walls in houses) to the outside of the hutch surrounding the bedding area. We use a snuggle safe heat pad, because the nights have been cold we have been going out for the last time with the heat pad at 1am so the heat is there into the early hours. I have searched high and low and can find hardly any 5ft or 6ft outdoor hutches. They all seem to be 4ft. Most seem to be by a company called ‘bunny business’ which is the same brand as we have now but they get very mixed reviews. I will keep looking for a better alternative. We already have a separate run but too cold/wet to try it out.

 

[Swissgreys]

Thank you for all the help. Yes they will be outdoor piggies, my husband has attached thick insulating panels (the ones you get in walls in houses) to the outside of the hutch surrounding the bedding area. We use a snuggle safe heat pad, because the nights have been cold we have been going out for the last time with the heat pad at 1am so the heat is there into the early hours. I have searched high and low and can find hardly any 5ft or 6ft outdoor hutches. They all seem to be 4ft. Most seem to be by a company called ‘bunny business’ which is the same brand as we have now but they get very mixed reviews. I will keep looking for a better alternative. We already have a separate run but too cold/wet to try it out.

Where are you based (country and state or county will do)?
In the UK many members use Chartwell hutches, but not sure about the US.

 

[Siikibam]

It’s really not warm enough to put them out I’d they’ve been used to living indoors. The temperature change isn’t good for them, especially as they’re so young.

As above, chartwell do good ones. There’s another company that can customise a hutch but I can’t for the life of me remember the name!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you for all the help. Yes they will be outdoor piggies, my husband has attached thick insulating panels (the ones you get in walls in houses) to the outside of the hutch surrounding the bedding area. We use a snuggle safe heat pad, because the nights have been cold we have been going out for the last time with the heat pad at 1am so the heat is there into the early hours. I have searched high and low and can find hardly any 5ft or 6ft outdoor hutches. They all seem to be 4ft. Most seem to be by a company called ‘bunny business’ which is the same brand as we have now but they get very mixed reviews. I will keep looking for a better alternative. We already have a separate run but too cold/wet to try it out.

Definitely don’t bother with a 4ft, boars won’t cope with it.
5 and 6 ft hutches are available from
Chartwell Hutches (they are on Amazon, but you can also get from homeandroost.co.uk)
The Rabbit Hutch Company (rabbithutchcompany.co.uk - I got my 6ft guinea hutch from them).
Ryedale custom make hutches, so you’ll get a 6ft from them.

If you have a Pets Corner pet shop near you, their hutches are always excellent and may have some (They don’t have them online at present due to COVID theyre having supply issues when I last spoke with them about six months when I was looking for a new run). I got my girls rabbit hutch from them 8 years ago and other than needing a lick of paint, it’s just as good today as it was when new.

Pets At Home sell 5 and 6ft hutches but you will need to be careful with what you are buying - the wood tends to be thinner than the other places I’ve listed above so if needs a lot of covers and water protection.

Make sure the whole hutch is insulated and has plenty of thermal and waterproof covers. A thermometer attached al you can monitor what is actually happening inside the hutch. I would use more than one snugglesafe (I have four between my two piggies), and that the hutch is somewhere protected in the garden. I keep mine in a shed permanently and its always warmer in there (and they free roam during the day) than outside and it still takes four heatpads, two blankets, a thermal and waterproof hutch cover (Obviously not needed for its waterproof properties given they are in the shed but it’s another beneficial layer) and about 5kg of hay a week for stuffing in the hutch.

 

[Mummybean]

Quick update. Thank you again for all the advice. I have just placed an order for the 6ft chartwell single story hutch from Home and Roost. I gave them a call and the customer service was great, it is on back order as they are busy but should be here in 2 weeks max. Only small issue is that the cover is out of stock and it is very hard to find a 6ft fitted cover anywhere. Digby started taking food from my daughters hand yesterday and even Norbert had a little nibble but then decided he was too scared and backed off. Can’t wait to get them settled in their new home. Thanks again.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Quick update. Thank you again for all the advice. I have just placed an order for the 6ft chartwell single story hutch from Home and Roost. I gave them a call and the customer service was great, it is on back order as they are busy but should be here in 2 weeks max. Only small issue is that the cover is out of stock and it is very hard to find a 6ft fitted cover anywhere. Digby started taking food from my daughters hand yesterday and even Norbert had a little nibble but then decided he was too scared and backed off. Can’t wait to get them settled in their new home. Thanks again.

Look on Scratch and Newton website - they sell hutch covers in standard and custom sizes (i have a 6ft double in a standard size, and a custom size for one of my other hutches. The custom obviously takes longer to arrive). You will need the hutch snuggle (which is the thermal cover) and the hutch hugger (which is the waterproof one).

Use soiled bedding from the old hutch and move it into the new hutch. Any change in environment/territory will cause them to reestablish their relationship (an increase in dominance) so if you use soiled bedding, then it helps that it still smells of them and makes the transition easier.

Thats great that he was taking food!

 

[Mummybean]

Just wanted to say thank you for all the advice. Being new to owning piggies I really had no idea what they actually needed. I thought the little hutch and run I brought from a neighbour would be fine to start with but they needed so much more. I will be honest and say I had no idea how much expense and effort it sound actually be to make sure they had everything they need. The new hutch is here and assembled and we’ve added some Lyno to the bottom to make it easy to clean. Ready for the boys to move into tomorrow (waiting a day for the sealant to dry and offset). Thanks again to everyone who offered advice.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Looks lovely! I’m sure they will be very happy in there.
Yes, they do take a lot more care than people can realise!

Don’t forget to use the soiled bedding from the old hutch in the new hutch so it still smells of them and makes the move easier for them

 

[Swissgreys]

Well done for taking everything on board so quickly.
Your boys are very lucky.