Bringing Two Males In For The Winter, How To Go About It?

Status
Not open for further replies.
cheeseandpeas

cheeseandpeas

New Born Pup
Joined
Jun 14, 2014
Messages
48
Reaction score
28
Points
175
Location
Oxfordshire
I have two boars, they live outside all year generally, we move their hutch under cover and put blankets over at night when it's very cold. This year we want to bring them inside so they get more attention and warmth. I got hold of a nice sized cage for them to live in temp over the winter, we thought we'd bring them in now so they don't gave such a big jump in temperature. Where in the house will be best for them? How best to manage any smells: bathing, bedding etc. Also us there a chance they could have fleas, and how best to treat /prevent this? Also my husband is a bit allergic to cats, how can I help him not be agitated by guineas?
Many thanks in advance :)
 
Hi not sure I can answer all your questions but might be able to help with some.

Smells: I have recently had one cage with fleece and one with Fitch bedding inside. Outside Fitch lasts a week in the hutch between full clean puts. Inside, I find it starts to smell after 3 or 4 days and so you need to change it more frequently. I have tried this week putting fleece in that cage instead and just last night I realised I haven't noticed any smell this week. You do need to change fleece every 3 days though. So, basically whatever you use as bedding, change it more regularly to keep smells down.

Where to put cage: totally your own preference. Probably not in the bathroom though! It's good to put it somewhere you can have lots of interaction but maybe not the living room if your OH may be allergic? Or you could try it there and move it if it does affect him. I'd try and avoid somewhere that is draughty or has damp or gets humid as those conditions could cause problems for your boars.

Fleas: I'm not an expert on this but if they have mites you want to get them treated whether they are living in or outside. I've seem many say the preventative treatments you can buy in pet shops are at best useless and at worst actually harmful so id avoid those. Hav a read in the health and illness forum on here for how to tell if they've got mites.

Good luck with bringing them in - hope you enjoy having them around more.
 
Mine have their own room next to the hall and we pass them every time we go in the kitchen so they get talked to a lot.May take them some time to get used to household noises but mine are so laid back now, don't even bother when I hoover next to the cage or when the dogs bark
 
Thanks guys, all helpful! We moved them inside now! I've not heard of Fitch? Is there a special type of fleece to use or will any old fleece blanket do? When you wash it do you use special detergent or normal?
With regard to fleas / mites - I don't think they have them, I'm just extra cautious because we inherited a flea problem when we moved house from the previous owners cat, it took weeks to clear the house of them!
I'm hoping they will live in the hall, just need to make space, it has hard floors so easy to keep clean.
They're in the living room now, my little girl had a tea party with them earlier and they're leaping about and settling in nicely.
 
Fitch is a recycled paper bedding. It's not the cheapest out there (if you buy in bulk it can be around £10 a bale but significantly more if you only but one bale) but I have found you get less of it kicked out on the floor than you do with woodshavings and it is dust free and lovely and soft.

Thread here with pictures: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/a-way-to-buy-fitch-bedding-a-bit-more-cheaply.118472/

Pretty much any old fleece blanket will do. It just needs to be 100% polyester. You may find a non-pill fleece blanket lasts better but I just bought a 2 pack of cheap ones from the Range and they've been great.

You need to wash it 3 times before use so that it will wick the moisture away properly when they wee. If you don't like the idea of that "waste", what I did was use it as a mat for floor time before washing it and did that 3 times before using in the cage - then I didn't feel it was such a waste washing it!

Wash in ordinary powder/liquid but don't use fabric softener ever as that stops it from letting the moisture through.

Thread here with pics of the fleece from the Range in use and details of what I put underneath it:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/we-can-hear-you-coming-hurry-up.119745/
 
Thanks so much that's great :D
I think the fleece is such a great idea, love the photos thanks, I have the same cage, will get some fleeces tomorrow.
Just gave my boys a bath and wrapped them up in a towel to enjoy xfactor!
 
Just wanted to update! We've had huge success with the fleeces, the piggies are very happy and so am I, much less smell, I think it was the wood shavings causing the smell, not their wees! It looks snug for them and it's much easier to keep clean than I thought!
Thanks everyone :)
 
Ooh yes will do some pics, fleeces are just washing while the boys have a roam. The puppy pads work great and there's barely any smell, my husband hasn't been wheezy or sneezy since we changed to fleece, I think the wood shavings were very drying.
 
Great pics - love the way he's looking up to see what you're doing in the first one!

What brand water bottle is that? I like the way it fastens on.
 
Not sure what brand, I bought the cage second hand and it came with it, sorry.
Quick question, when cleaning out fleece blanket, towel and puppy pads, how do you clear up the hay, it gets everywhere, and the bits that are stubborn clog up the washing machine! Thinking of hoovering the blanket before washing?!?
 
I tie my fleeces up in a old single duvet cover to wash them. But some people use horse wash bags.
 
I use a brush from a normal dustpan and brush set and hold it over our wheely bin while I brush it off. I'm usually left with just seed heads and some hairs after that.

I would agree with the old duvet cover/horse washbag suggestion too.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top