Building a Guinea Pig Aviary

Status
Not open for further replies.
sophiew (EAGPR)

sophiew (EAGPR)

Joined
Jan 22, 2008
Messages
7,948
Reaction score
23
Points
0
Location
Harleston, Norfolk
Hoping someone will be able to help! I'm aiming to build a large outdoor walk-in run for my sows to live in during the summer, like an aviary. I've seen photos of a brilliant one at Dandelion Guinea Pigs, it has tunnels and a water feature and all sorts! However I'm worried that my garden gets quite boggy (clay soil) and so was thinking about whether the base needs to be concrete, perhaps with planted areas for turf etc.

Does anyone else have anything similar?

There are no foxes here but plenty of cats so I would want it completely roofed and secure. I've got a large hutch on legs that I will put a ramp up to and I will secure them in this at night time. I don't want to attract rats!

Any suggestions gratefully received, and when I get around to building it (I've cleared a space - it's over 6ft wide and probably 8 or 10ft long) I promise to post some photos!

Sophie
 
Sounds like a great idea :)
I want to get that kind of thing for the summer when we move. Has Dandelion Guinea Pigs got a website so we can see a pic of the aviary?
 
Wow - that looks amazing! Wish I could give my piggies that - they would love it! They must be extremely happy little piggies. :smitten:
 
Still planning mine! I've got the area next to the pig's shed - am looking into getting either kennel panels or aviary panels. Just not sure about the base - whether I should concrete it and leave grass areas or put a different surface down. I'll post some pics once it's done!

:)
 
If you put some concrete around at least at the edge, you can make it very secure from wind and things getting under the edges.
You can screw things into concrete.
 
This is what I've got for the boys. Sorry no photos though. We bought an aviary from someone who made them and he came and put it up for us. I used to keep the girls in a big shed free range and they had a tube from the shed direct into a hutch which was inside the aviary (the aviary is right up against the shed), then on nice days I'd open the hutch and put a run down onto the grass. But the girls live inside now and so I've blocked the tube into the shed and I use the aviary for the boys now, as they are younger and I thought it'd do them good to have more to do (and keep their minds off sex and having a go at each other!). The shed doesn't have any guineas in now.

Basically the aviary is about 6 ft x 8 ft. Inside the aviary is a hutch on legs which is 6 ft x 2 ft. The panel comes off the front of the aviary and I put a ramp down to the ground. It is all laid to grass although obviously underneath the hutch the grass has died so it is just compacted mud, which is fine because it's dry and cool under there. We 'built' a small mound and put some drainpipe in it as a feature but they don't use it so I'm planning on taking the pipe out and filling it up. They seem to like running up the mound though! When the aviary was put in, we dug down all round the edges and pushed down metal grid stuff (got it free from Focus - it was old shelving). This will stop rats burrowing down. I also bought small half-brick sized paving slabs and laid all round the edge for the same purpose. Plus the guineas like sitting on them!

Mine live inside so will just be out there in the warm dry weather, they don't go out if it's damp and cold. They'll come indoors at night. My only worry is that if they're out in it during the day and I'm at work - if it starts raining whether they'll have the sense to go back into the hutch ::). Although the whole thing is very open, they don't seem phased by it. At the moment there is a climbing plant which has grown over the top of the aviary so has created more shade.

Obviously if you have grass they will eat it all down but you could divide it into sections to rest the grass? I just tend to cut grass from another part of the garden and put that in for them to eat. When you get a spell of wet weather the guineas aren't out and it grows back quickly.

Sorry, have rambled on a bit. It's great though. There's nothing like sitting watching them on a summer evening. Good luck.
 
That is fantastic - i think my boring grassed run is undergoing some changes when the weather perks up O0
 
Niki said:
That is fantastic - i think my boring grassed run is undergoing some changes when the weather perks up O0
Click to expand...
How about joining a couple of runs together? I remember seeing somewhere, think it was on the forum, somewhere where you could buy several and fit them together.
 
Thanks for the replies - I just keep going and staring at the 'blank canvas' in the garden and wondering what to do - definitely think your idea of concrete / paving around the edges would be good! I'd love to see some pics!

It's a shame you can't explain to the boys that if they'd just get along together they could live in big group too! They've all got their own runs.....

:)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top