4 guinea pigs! housing suggestions please!

[ali_clark]

i have two boys already well someone has two unwanted babies they are getting rid of and i said i would take them! mallethead which is not a problem lol but i was wondering how to do the cages? i wanted to re-do the boys cage anyway so i wouls need two sheets of coroplast and two different cages just in case any babies turn out to be girls instead of boys and because most males dont get along they are all 4 babies two almost weaned and two 6 weeks old. i was thinking making a 4 level cage and have 2 levels for each group until they can be introduced or in case they cant :o i could have two seperate cages but the space in my room wouldnt allow for two large cages it would only allow for two 2x4 cages but i could make 2x6 cages with levels?? any ideas would be very appreciated was a last minute decision and id like space for everyone

 

[Hanlou]

Hi! Just one word of caution - housing sows close to boars can cause fall-outs between the boars - so I wouldn't house them too close if they are sows.

Personally I think I'd prefer two pairs of boars to minimise the risk of fall-outs but having only kept pairs I may not be the best person to advise!

 

[Wiebke]

Please always house sows out of sight and away from boars or, if there is no other choice, below boars, so that the pheromones when the sows come into season do not trigger fights.

Boars are best kept in pairs.

 

[ali_clark]

if i do have any girls they will be moved away from the boys i was told they are boys i just am gonna check to be sure. but i was thinking if i do have 4 boys maybe building a 3-4level cage i have an extra 2x3 in the house so if i end up with a girl she can use the 2x3 anyways i can do a 3 level 2x6 it may be a little harder to clean but it would certainly allow more room than 2 2x4 cages would. unless anyone has a better idea though i dont really know how to make a multi level cage is it much harder than 1 level? it would cost me a bit but thats fine.

 

[Hermes]

I would be inclined to make two 2 level 2x4 cages and keep them as two seperate pairs. I think for multi-level cages there are various ways of doing it but you need to put grids on the base of all the higher levels and use something (like bits of wood) as a support under each level either as struts or going across the cage between the layers of grids. Personally, if I was making a multi-level cage with two full levels (rather than just a hay loft) I would put grids at the ends (and maybe the back) of the cage on the second layer and then build the third layer on top of that. That way the bottom layer is more accessible. If you wanted to reduce the number of grids you were using you could always have the two cages joined at one end (assuming you have the space) but I'd be inclined to use solid grids in that section so they can't fight through the wire.

The other thing is if you're getting these pigs from an essentially unknown source it would be wise to quarantine them from your current pigs (in a seperate air space ideally) for a couple of weeks so you know they is no risk of infection and they're not carrying any parasites. Also, if one turns out to be female then you have a chance of pregnancy so you'll need to be prepared for that. Of course these are all just precautionary measures, hopefully everything will be fine.