Hutch!

This hutch is too small for two guinea pigs. It only measures 3 ft x 1.5 ft. For two sows you need 4ft x 2ft as a minimum and for two boars 6ft x 2ft. If you were to get this hutch, you would have to have a permanently attached run to the front of it to give them the large ground roaming space they need. The hutch upstairs area would simply be a bonus space and not included in the cage size.

Piggies as ground roaming creatures, need their space to be a large flat area. A ramp is fine provided it isn’t steep and has sides. Unfortunately due to this hutch being too small anyway, the gradient of the ramp would be too steep, a hazard and therefore unlikely to entice the piggies to use it. Guinea pigs aren’t naturally climbers.

If they are indoors, then a hutch in this design with a run underneath (although taking into account the size and ramp gradient as above) is fine but as an outside hutch, they would only be able to use the downstairs run area in the summer months (plus ideally, a piggies run space would be bigger than their cage to give them the exercise they need)
 
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Piggies&buns said:
This hutch is too small for two guinea pigs. It only measures 3 ft x 1.5 ft. For two sows you need 4ft x 2ft as a minimum and for two boars 6ft x 2ft. If you were to get this hutch, you would have to have a permanently attached run to the front of it to give them the large ground roaming space they need. The hutch upstairs area would simply be a bonus space and not included in the cage size.

Piggies as ground roaming creatures, need their space to be a large flat area. A ramp is fine provided it isn’t steep and has sides. Unfortunately due to this hutch being too small anyway, the gradient of the ramp would be too steep, a hazard and therefore unlikely to entice the piggies to use it. Guinea pigs aren’t naturally climbers.

If they are indoors, then a hutch in this design with a run underneath (although taking into account the size and ramp gradient as above) is fine but as an outside hutch, they would only be able to use the downstairs run area in the summer months (plus ideally, a piggies run space would be bigger than their cage to give them the exercise they need)
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Alright! I've taken your advice and I've found a hutch which is basically the same as the small one but bigger. This is it. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Business-D...sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=hutch+48+inch+x
 
hellosunshineave said:
Alright! I've taken your advice and I've found a hutch which is basically the same as the small one but bigger. This is it. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Business-D...sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=hutch+48+inch+x
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it’s better but is still less than the recommended 8 sq ft minimum. It’s 4ft wide but it is only 20 inches (50cm) deep whereas 24 inches (60cm is needed). Believe me, having it actually be 2 ft (60cm deep) makes all the difference particularly as you are looking at cages which only just meet the minimum .
 
Piggies&buns said:
it’s better but is still less than the recommended 8 sq ft minimum. It’s 4ft wide but it is only 20 inches (50cm) deep whereas 24 inches (60cm is needed). Believe me, having it actually be 2 ft (60cm deep) makes all the difference particularly as you are looking at cages which only just meet the minimum .
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Ah okay. Do you have any good ideas for a hutch that is a reasonable price?
 
This is our Cage Size Guide

For two sows, you need a cage to be at least 4ft (48 inches of 120 cm) by 2ft (24 inches or 60cm). Totalling 8 square feet of single level space. This is the welfare minimum. We recommend a cage for two sows to be 5ft (150cm) x 2ft (60cm).

Is it to be outside or inside?
If it is to be outside, you need to pay more though for it to withstand the weather. If you pay too little, then you will be wasting money as it simply won’t last. I’ve got a hutch I spent £150 on and then another £100 for hutch covers and it has stood outside for nearly 8 years and is completely fine.
ive also got another cheap hutch which I spent £99 on and the only reason I spent so little was because it was in my shed for my piggies to live in and therefore completed protected from weather. The piggies now have a new hutch in their shed and the cheap £99 is outside...it’s been outside for five months and even with a cover on, it is showing signs that it won’t survive until next winter.

In terms of decent hutches, a Chartwell hutch is a good investment.
 
I bought a cheap hutch first of all for my piggies similar to the first one you mentioned and it only lasted 18 months outside and was rubbish and a complete waste of money. I also had to modify it by winterproofing the open sides on the bottom bit and also putting on a false floor at the bottom of it. I now have a Chartwell hutch which is much better quality. It is a double decker hutch as I used to have 5 piggies and 3 lived at the top and two at the bottom. It did 2 winters outside and is now in the garage (I have moved and have space in the garage now) It is almost as good as the day I put it together. I now have my 3 remaining old girls living in the top of it.
 
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