Is it so WRONG?!

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rip_ernie

rip_ernie

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That i want my guinea pigs to live a natural life in small herds (four girls in one enclosure, three boars in another) in nice out door enclosures where they get a free range of, with a hutch in as a shelter and to be locked up at night. and have nice natural toys like willow balls and card tubes stuffed with hay? and to free range round a garden when i'm super vising them.
some poeple think it is wrong to do that! not mentioning any names!
 
I personally think it's a fabulous way for guinea pigs to live, though in the bad weather I'd prefer to see them indoors and possibly on a nightime too if you live in an iffy area or security is a problem :)
My guineas, well some of them are outdoors during the warm weather but cosy inside during the winter.

I think one of the most neglected aspects of guinea pig care (generalising here) is lack of exercise, so the more the better.

It would be important to keep the boars well away from the girls, although I am sure you have already though about this :)

Barbara
 
yeah i have and we are moving house soon and the new house has a 150ft lawn area :o so plenty of room
 
agre with barbara , they adore play time , the more the better ! good luck ! :)
 
I've been thinking of doing something like that for my piggies, great minds! ;D ;D

A friend rehomed two rescue pigs to a girl nearby who apparently has a piggy heaven within a walled garden and she said what a fab setup it was
 
I think it's great for them to have so much lovel outdoor space - though the weather here in mid Wales is too crap!
 
I dont see anything wrong with the way you want them to live.
Sounds lovely to me :)
 
I love to see mine playing out on the grass in the summer! :) While the weather is so cold and damp I am glad I have got them all indoors but once the weather is better they will be playing outside in the daytime! They love to munch the grass - my mini lawnmowers! LOL :D :D :D
 
furryfriends said:
I love to see mine playing out on the grass in the summer! :) While the weather is so cold and damp I am glad I have got them all indoors but once the weather is better they will be playing outside in the daytime! They love to munch the grass - my mini lawnmowers! LOL :D :D :D
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same here! Roll on the summer!
 
I don't see anything wrong with letting them free range in the summer - mine LOVE going out for a run on the grass when it's good weather. What I do object to is people that keep their pigs in a hutch or run in their back garden in all weathers (including temperatures WAY into the negatives) and think it's perfectly OK to bring them into the warm house for a cuddle for a couple of hours. We wouldn't keep hamsters, chinchillas, rats or other rodents out in the winter, why are guinea pigs so different?

Absolutely roll on the warmer weather!
 
mine are all kept in herds indoors but the shed door can be opened and the end of the runs taken down or connected to a run in the summer, they also have portable runs for on the grass, I'm all for herds rather then hutches anyway my own choice and preference though, who ever sees any wrong in the way of you keeping yours take no notice you do what is right for you and your pigs sweetheart,
 
Take no notice

At the end of the day as long as they are looked after and loved it doesnt matter whether they are inside or outside

Mine are in the shed where they are freerange and love it, however if they were inside they would not be and have less space to run about

Its personal choice and the goody too shoes that i know you are referring to some of them sadly need to get a life and instead of verbal abuse offer support but they life to get on their high horses
 
Up to this year mine have always been free range in a shed/hutches/outside all year round and seemed happy enough. I have brought mine in this winter for the first time and I've loved it because I can interact and watch them more - but I'm lucky to have been able to find enough space for them to have a big area inside.

You are a sensible owner and will take notice of the weather forecasts etc so know when to stuff them up with more hay (not very well worded!). I think it's really important that they live in a group and have the space, so just keep up the good work! A lot of it is personal choice, it's only wrong if they're outside on their own with too little warmth.
 
Jillybean said:
Up to this year mine have always been free range in a shed/hutches/outside all year round and seemed happy enough. I have brought mine in this winter for the first time and I've loved it because I can interact and watch them more - but I'm lucky to have been able to find enough space for them to have a big area inside.

You are a sensible owner and will take notice of the weather forecasts etc so know when to stuff them up with more hay (not very well worded!). I think it's really important that they live in a group and have the space, so just keep up the good work! A lot of it is personal choice, it's only wrong if they're outside on their own with too little warmth.
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Exactly !
 
i think that is fine nothing wrong with that setup

mine live outside in there cages all year long i have 4 8 day old babies out in there cage and there are allways worm when we pick them up i put lots of old blackets covers etc (think ones) over there cage when its very cold in the winter in the day time i also put them extra hay in if it gets really really cold to add to the moution of hay there all ready have - today this afternoon i put my older 2 girls covers up so there could see out

i only put mine on the grass in the summer and there are out like from 10am till 5pm

i mean not eveyone can keep them inside i still lvie with my mum and dad and she wont have there cages in the house even tho she lvoes the piggs to she dise let me bring them in for cuddles etc but there cage are like outside the windows so i can see what there doing then there covrs are up anyways
 
Hey that's great, what a wonderful setup you'll have at the new house, piggie palace :-*
Duke's an indoor boy but that was cause when we got him we had foxes and cats all around us, no way was he and Sully going to be outdoors :(
 
i think its great. i believe animals should be allowed to live like the wild. If i didnt have my cats and a lawn by a park, i probs do the same thing. i would wait until the summer though, my sweep died of a cold. (i think it was) has a baby and he was snuggled in the warm hutch with his friends in a garage  :( but these things happen.
But come March, i'm sure it will be great.
During summer months, my piggies are out in the run from 8 in the morning until 8 at night. This year we are buying a big run. (Since we have 7! and last summer we had 2) Wow, its amazing how fast your piggie family can grow.

i think a good idea is them hutches with attached runs, espically ground floor ones. that means your piggies can live in the wild but still have a cosy place to go at night. no need to put them back in the hutch ! :)

5d17_1.JPG

Something like this, which caught my eye.....umm shall i?
 
We have a 150 ft lawn too and I'm looking forward to getting our guineas out (mowing the grass for us?) in the Summer. ;) I'm not sure about having them completely out of a run - they could probably get under the fence to next door's dogs and there are cats prowling about too.
 
What is wrong with that ? i feel so bad when i mine cant do in their runs! i try give them my attention but at the moment our garden is like a swamp! and with mice poision dotted around hte house there is not way they are going free range! but good on you! i bet your piggies love it! mine would :( i might try set up a run in the actual shed but its teeny so might be tricky! ignore the negative lol if i didnt ignore all the negative critism that i got i would be a very different person!
 
I agree in that Guinea pigs need to be free (with good fencing,of course)my piggies,rabbits and pet hen,Have full run of the garden 28ft by 25ft,they also have a 18ft by 10ft run with their hutches,yep even the hen has a hutch that i made for her,piggies have a double decker,the rabbits have a very large home made hutch that my dad made about 10yrs ago.The hedging has about 4 fire guards that have been separated and dig 2" into ground.The "pen" has a gate for me to get in and out,also a small door for the pets to get in and out.If there are too many children in the garden(i'm a childminder,but with 2 kids of my own) ,then i lock them into the pen, to keep them save from little feet running around.I use my daughters play house lately for guinea pigs to use,put grids(C&G- fasten with cable ties) around the front like a garden fence and peg down with tent pegs so that Boris doesn't lift it up!But i do need to sort something out for the winter time "run around",they are in the shed in a double decker hutch,until summer. I HATE TO SEE ANY CAGED ANIMAL WITH NO ACCESS TO SOME FREEDOM,HOW WOULD PEOPLE LIKE IT IF THEY WERE STUCK IN THEIR BEDROOM/TOILET ALL DAY!
 
I think the main issue/problem of keeping any guinea pigs outside is the fact that we have weather that now seems to go from one extreme to another.

While outdoors is fine with me in hot/warm weather, as long as the guineas are secure...it loses it's appeal at this time of year.
Personally and Ideally I'd like to see a balance of indoor living with he opportunity to exercise outside in the fresh air as much as possible weather permitting.

I think it depends on how we like to relate to our guinea pigs and our "relationship" with them. Some people see their guineas as true companion animals and like to spend as much time as possible with them and so will keep them primarily or entirely indoors.
Guineas can live very happily this way.

Others, especially those with a lot of guineas are happy for them to live permanently outside of the human family unit in sheds...whatever.
In the right circumstances I am sure guins are happy with this too...though time spent in close contact with them is going to be generally limited comared with that of house guinea pigs. Again this will depend on owners circumstances.

Barbara
 
aww i think its a great way for them to live... i used to know this giirl who had a guinea who lived outside, they just put food onthe lawn i think, and it hid under all the plants.

You'd have to be careful of plants and weeds and poisinous stuff...

good luck!
 
my set up is girls in one shed boys in the other I am in and out all day every day they get more attention then hubby does or so he says they get plenty of attention from me and my daughter wont let anyone else in unless i'm with them as i dont trust anyone with them I am sooooo fussy when foot andf mouth was about no outdoor shoes were allowed in there hubby says I am too clean for an animal,
but mine get plenty of sunshine and fresh air despite being in sheds I leave the windows open as well ( with wire over it of course)
your ideas are fine as already said its the ones left outside in all weathers with no protection thats wrong,
 
natnat posted it half way down the page i only saw it a minute ago and went WOAH! lol
 
A friend of mine who also breeds/exhibits piggies (longhairs to be exact) free ranges her piggies. She has a shed which they all live in and the exhibition pigs, boars and sows with babies are kept in their own pens while the non breeding/exhibition sows live down on the floor. She leaves the she door open and these piggies can wander out and pootle round her garden. She has cats which don't bother the pigs at all and which will keep other cats out that might try and harm them. When you go visiting you have to watch where you're stepping as there are piggies trundling around all over ;D

Kat
 
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