Advice on double hutch

[Sazbell]

Hello
I've had my baby piggies for 3.5 weeks now, they are 12 weeks old now. I brought a double hutch outside.
I haven't see them go upstaries so they sleeping down staries.
As the weather been horrible they haven't been in there outside run.
How do u set there hutch up?I've been putting paper, then paper shavings then hay on top but I watched few videos and some only have paper at bottom. Then all bedding at top.
I want to encourage then upstaries to sleep so they can play down staries more. Where u suppose to put there food?
Please any advice would be very grateful.
We still very new and piggys are still very little. Black one very nervous so not been able hold yet but she has just started taking food off me x

 

[Piggies&buns]

it sounds as if they are just nervous of the ramp. Piggies are ground roaming (which is why upper levels of cages don’t count towards their cage size) and are often scared of heights. Is the ramp too steep? Does it have sides on it? Without sides piggies can feel insecure about using ramps. Have you put food on the ramp to see if they will follow it up?
Do be aware though that even if they can use the ramp, they may simply never want to ‘sleep’ upstairs. Piggies nap in short bursts throughout the day and night and they will do it wherever they want to and won’t necessarily go up there to do so.

I have soft beds, hay and water on both levels of my boys hutch but they also have constant access to their entire shed floor during the summer months so I rarely see them go upstairs in their hutch at all now.
My hutch has newspaper on the bottom and then a layer of hay (both upstairs and downstairs)

 

[Siikibam]

Try perhaps lifting the bottom off the floor so it's not as steep. Perhaps place a brick or something underneath it to raise it a little. And covering the ramp with something as well - someone makes tunnels for ramps but I can't remember who. Also making sure it has something on it so they can get a grip while climbing.

 

[Chaz]

First piggies didn't know what a ramp was, so I put them upstairs to reassure them it was safe.

 

[Piggiefordayssss]

the advice above is very good. For bedding I use 4 newspaper sheets (to stop the mess soaking through the newspaper and I saved fully cleaning cleaning them out every few days which is very tiring!) And I put a thick layer of hay on top all over the newspaper. Some people don't think this is a very good bedding but it works very well for my piggies and we don't get on with any type of shavings. And to encourage them to go up the ramp it is best if it has sides and if it is not steep because some piggies get a bit freaked at climbing up stuff (mine do so now they only have 1 floor on their hutch) good luck!