Outdoor guinea pig enclosure

[JONKS]

Hello all…. I am currently in the process of making an outdoor enclosure for my pigs. It will be approximately 125sq ft, I’m looking for something like a non-absorbent wood-chip that’s on the market that could also be bought in bulk. Initially I was leaning to get hemp shiv but that is quite absorbent so the exact opposite of what I’m after. Alternatively I was looking to fill the area with bark as I have seen this done at some other sanctuaries for Guinea pigs, but again not sure if there would be some barks I would have to avoid? So ideally looking for recommendations for non absorbent wood chip/shavings.

Many thanks

 

[weepweeps]

Wow that sounds amazing.

I haven’t got any suggestions sorry. Just bumping up your post.

 

[JONKS]

Wow that sounds amazing.

I haven’t got any suggestions sorry. Just bumping up your post.

Thank you I will add some photos shortly maybe this will generate some interest.

 

[Piggies&buns]

You don’t just want it to be grass?
As far as I know all wood chip/shavings are going to be absorbent - that is why they are used in hutches.

I’m not sure i can think of anything else that is going to let water through and be safe/comfortable for them. Most of us just put runs on grass (mine live in a shed and I just put the piggies on the lawn in their runs on summer days) - I think those on the forum who do have permanently positioned outdoor playspaces connected to sheds are just laid to grass. I'm thinking of @teddymouse who may have a suggestion but I’m sure I’ve seen her piggies just on grass.
A children’s play bark may be too rough on their feet, it’ll get wet and degrade etc.

 

[Betsy]

Where I used to live I put my piggies just on grass and move the run around the garden. The piggies "mowed" the lawn and saved my OH from doing that job. I can't put my piggies outside anymore as there are foxes in the garden day and night. So in the spring/summer they have a daily delivery of grass brought to them which they love.

When I lived at my old house, a Salesman came round one day and asked if I would like an artificial lawn as it would save me from mowing it and it would be green all year round and look lovely. I told him I didn't mow the lawn as I had 5 organic lawnmowers who did it for me. He didn't understand what I meant until I told him I had guinea pigs. He laughed and said that he had clearly come to the wrong house and left.

 

[JONKS]

Hi all thanks for responding. I currently have a run for my pigs which they do go in on a daily basis. As you probably know you have to move it every day as they will eat the patch of grass they are on. Long term I'm looking to move them to a more permanent enclosure which I think they will love. If I grass all this area inevitably they will eat through until its nothing but bald. I've seen some enclosures people have created online and they seem to have a woodchip/bark material I just need to find one that's not harmful.

 

[Piggies&buns]

They are going to eat the grass but in such a large space it should last longer. Perhaps could fence sections of it off if any needs to recover?
How many piggies do you have?

I think there is more to consider than it just not being harmful. What I have in my mind as a bark I would imagine walking on is going to be quite difficult and rough on their feet and it is still going to degrade.
From a very quick search, children’s play bark is made from softwood and conifer trees - these aren’t things you want your piggies to have access to.
Any wood chip (ie I use snowflake soft chip as bedding) is not going to be the sort of long lasting thing I think you are looking for.

I also assume it’s only going to be for summer access.
Perhaps you are going to add a roof which may make it a bit easier to bed?
I assume you are putting mesh underneath the whole area so nothing can dig in?

(I do have an indoor/outdoor permanent enclosure for my rabbits but the indoor area is laid to foam mats and the outdoor area is paving slabs. Rabbits are different to piggies though so that kind of thing won’t work for the piggies due to the much more nature of their feet.)

Perhaps you could link some of the outdoor enclosures you’ve seen as it may give us a better idea.

We have this old thread but my guess is the bedding is replaced very regularly in this case - it’s just hemp which is going to last a week in good weather and five minutes in rain!

Outdoor Guinea Pig Enclosure

 

[JONKS]

Hi there this is a few photos of a Guinea pig sanctuary I visited last year. I myself have four pigs. I have recently bought a 6x4 Wendy house which I’m going to modify for security and warmth, they will all be “living” in at night, with interior houses inside for them. The roof will be rat proof mesh. I have also dug 2.5 ft underground and put a rat proof mesh and hardcore which I have back filled with soil. I’m pretty much sorted on all aspects apart from this bit.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Could you ask them what they use?

Whenever I look into bark it’s coming up with the same issues - a lot of people saying they get fungi growing in it and if it doesn’t grow it then it’s because it’s been treated and you dont want the piggies on it.

My other concern is how comfortable it would be on their feet. How will you get poops out or would you just leave them in there to degrade? I’m not sure how sanitary that would be.

I’d personally not want anything other than grass down and would then just block off areas if it gets too bare to allow it to regrow. It’s a lot of space for four piggies so even if half of it got blocked off they’ve still got plenty of room.

To use anything else I’d think you’d do better with a roof on the enclosure to help preserve the longevity of the bedding and then to use an actual piggy safe bedding and/or hay and accept it would need to be replaced regularly.

 

[VickiA]

We’ve rescued piggies from outdoor enclosures with bark. They had serious health issues as a result of eating it and one died very young as a result. Having personally had to deal with the fall out I would stick to grass.

 

[Bill & Ted]

Could you replace an area with turf? Buy some turf, lay it down for a couple of weeks. then replace with fresh turf while laying out the original to recover? It very much depends on how much space you have for turf swapping

 

[JONKS]

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m not sure why she says hemp is not absorbent at all, hemp is absorbent.
I used to use aubiose (which is hemp) in my hutches. I stopped using it for one reason as my supplier was not consistent with it but also because it was so much more expensive than other options.
Put in very thinly water would go straight through to the ground underneath but it would also scatter and get trodden in - so they would be walking on the soil underneath most of the time.
Put in thickly to prevent them walking on the soil and it will absorb moisture more and would consequently need to have areas of it removed. Yes it will dry eventually but until then your piggies may be walking on wet bedding/have to be kept inside. Obviously if the roof is uncovered it’s all going to get wet.

Hemp, despite the maintenance of it outside, would be a much better choice than bark though.

 

[JONKS]

So my pigs new home has finally arrived today. My Guinea Pig enclosure is well on its way. Happy Days

 

[Betsy]

That looks really nice! Are you going to insulate it?

 

[weepweeps]

So my pigs new home has finally arrived today. My Guinea Pig enclosure is well on its way. Happy Days

Wow. Looks good.

 

[JONKS]

That looks really nice! Are you going to insulate it?

Yes I will. I’m just laying the turf now before it gets too warm

 

[JONKS]

Hi everyone hope you are all having a great B/H weekend. Thought I share some more photos of my enclosure that’s a work in progress.

*So I have now laid 90% of my turf and added some more fruit plants and some Solar lights.

*Today I have dug 2ft down and am in the process of laying small mesh fencing and hardcore.

Also I have added a “blink” motion camera to beef up the security at night.

Hoping to get my piggies into there new digs by the end of June.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome

The dream of a large outside enclosure has to be really carefully thought through because while it looks catching, it does have lots of snags and frankly takes lots of daily work (usually more than one person) to keep it running and to maintain it.
Faszination Meerschweinchen from Germany on Facebook is such a private initiative that is now maintained by a whole group of volunteers after the original owner had to step down due to age/health related issues. But it is still the best thought out and safe-proofed place I know of. Even they have an indoors area for ill piggies and cold days, predator proofing on the entrance to what is essentially a courtyard/enclosed garden area and from above. They have really struggled in recent prolonged heatwaves with temperatures over 40 C - which we could get here very, very soon; perhaps even this summer. Summer on the Continent (I am from Switzerland) can also mean major hail storms and torrential rain. Something else we are going to see more often. They can come up quite suddenly.

How are you planning for weather extremes which are going to become worse very quickly now since we are now in the steep curve of exponential development? Heat records are going to be broken nearly yearly. Cold periods are going to be colder, wetter weather is getting wetter. With the jet stream looping more, extreme weather patterns become locked more regularly running for weeks. With the sea around the UK warming up, the land can no longer cool down as much overnight. It all feeds into each other.

Guinea pigs are a species that have evolved living in tunneled runs in thick undergrowth in dense grasslands which are acting as a pretty effective insulation against South American weather extremes. But guinea pigs are not doing well with major temperate jumps and the extremes of weather because their way of cooling down is not the most efficient. They are also most active around dawn and dusk when temperatures are at their most moderate but avoid the temperature extremes in the middle of the day or night.

Please take the time to read these guides here and please think carefully about weather protection as we are moving towards a more variable climate with more pronounced extremes that resembles more and more the USA with its larger climate swings where outdoors living is not recommended since ideal days are rather few and far in between.
Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike
Cold Weather Care for Indoor and Outdoor Guinea Pigs

Please also think about rats (who kill guinea pigs), mice (who can get through everything you can stick a pencil through and birds of prey and how to safe-proof against them.

It is good that you are enquiring before starting.