Cardboard Hidies?

3 Musketeers

3 Musketeers

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I have alot of cardboard boxes.

I want to make them into tunnels/houses/hideys
ect for my 3 boars.
So I put one in today, and put a slice of cucumber in to encourage them to go in.
After they found the cardboard, they started to bite it.

Are cardboard hidies not the way to go?
 
They will chew cardboard. I try and avoid cardboard boxes with a lot of colour printing on them.
 
Maybe more knowledgeable people will correct me , but i found cardboard boxes very impractical for one simple reason : if Reuben spends a lot of time in there he will inevitably pee , therefore you may have to change them often .
Maybe it's just personal but i wouldn't even use the same one that's been peed in for 2 days , I'd just used to change it.

If you have unlimited supply of boxes , this is of course not a problem at all!
I only use them for floor time now and got them fleece to go sleep and lay in , and made them 2 "kitchen" corners with hay and a tray to try and contain the hay going onto the fleece.
 
CriLondon said:
Maybe more knowledgeable people will correct me , but i found cardboard boxes very impractical for one simple reason : if Reuben spends a lot of time in there he will inevitably pee , therefore you may have to change them often .
Maybe it's just personal but i wouldn't even use the same one that's been peed in for 2 days , I'd just used to change it.

If you have unlimited supply of boxes , this is of course not a problem at all!
I only use them for floor time now and got them fleece to go sleep and lay in , and made them 2 "kitchen" corners with hay and a tray to try and contain the hay going onto the fleece.
Click to expand...


oh yes, he pees in there (:))) . I put a layer of Aubiose in the bottom and hay on top op the aubiose. I change the hay daily when I do a spot clean . I've managed to make a box last a week by doing this .
 
CriLondon said:
Maybe more knowledgeable people will correct me , but i found cardboard boxes very impractical for one simple reason : if Reuben spends a lot of time in there he will inevitably pee , therefore you may have to change them often .
Maybe it's just personal but i wouldn't even use the same one that's been peed in for 2 days , I'd just used to change it.

If you have unlimited supply of boxes , this is of course not a problem at all!
I only use them for floor time now and got them fleece to go sleep and lay in , and made them 2 "kitchen" corners with hay and a tray to try and contain the hay going onto the fleece.
Click to expand...

I also found this. I bought one of those cardboard Chubes and also a hay tunnel which is just hay stuck to cardboard and both had to be binned within 24 hours as they were covered in pee. I find taking the bottom off the box is the best way to go. They don't tend to climb on top so the box lasts much longer. The carrot cottage is great as it has no bottom. That's lasted ages so far.

I also use loo roll tubes with holes cut in the sides and stuffed with hay and treats. These are very popular with my lot and they chuck them around as they try to get the treats out.
 
Eileen's Mum said:
I also found this. I bought one of those cardboard Chubes and also a hay tunnel which is just hay stuck to cardboard and both had to be binned within 24 hours as they were covered in pee. I find taking the bottom off the box is the best way to go. They don't tend to climb on top so the box lasts much longer. The carrot cottage is great as it has no bottom. That's lasted ages so far.

I also use loo roll tubes with holes cut in the sides and stuffed with hay and treats. These are very popular with my lot and they chuck them around as they try to get the treats out.
Click to expand...

I think mine are just too young and restless and whenever they jumped in it , they would make a mess and throw all the hay on the fleece , which is not great when you want to wash it. I'm fiddling and playing around trying to find what they like best and at the same time something tidy they can still enjoy .
The problem with bottomless cardboard is that the hay goes on the fleece , a lot...
But then again one can always get a wash bag to protect the washing machine , i'd imagine.
 
Mine get cardboard boxes and paper bags stuffed with hay when they can't go in the outside runs,they are something different to play with. They get wee and poop in and the bags get torn up after a couple of hours and they get thrown away. Definitely worth the hay on the fleece for the excitement value. I brush hay off the fleece before washing with a stiff brush.
 
I just shake the fleece before I wash it and most hay comes off. If there are any stubborn bits I use a brush and they come away. I never got round to buying a wash bag, instead I use a pillowcase or a duvet cover if there is a lot to wash.
 
CriLondon said:
Maybe more knowledgeable people will correct me , but i found cardboard boxes very impractical for one simple reason : if Reuben spends a lot of time in there he will inevitably pee , therefore you may have to change them often .
Maybe it's just personal but i wouldn't even use the same one that's been peed in for 2 days , I'd just used to change it.

If you have unlimited supply of boxes , this is of course not a problem at all!
I only use them for floor time now and got them fleece to go sleep and lay in , and made them 2 "kitchen" corners with hay and a tray to try and contain the hay going onto the fleece.
Click to expand...
I am using some boxes upside down during their floor time and I put in an old christmas towel as an absorbant floor :D. It seems to work fine...
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anyway, they seem to appreciate even my most brilliant idea, when I bought a bread box although we don't eat any bread...:))
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100_6847.webp
 
I take the tops off amazon boxes and flip them upside down, they get chewed, but generally are solid enough to last months with some heavy abuse! The cardboard tubes and things you can buy are a bit pointless with my two, they pee on everything (hence making sure the boxes have no base) and generally are destructive beasts, but I will second the plain paper bags with hay in them thing!

As a bonus top tip, get a horse bag, all the fleece here is always covered in hay because my boys don't like hay containers, they prefer it free range. I brush it off with a stiff brush, shove the fleece in a horse bag and voila, no hay in the washing machine! You just shake out the bag after the wash. Honestly, it's like magic.
 
rome_italy said:
I am using some boxes upside down during their floor time and I put in an old christmas towel as an absorbant floor :D. It seems to work fine...
View attachment 68885
View attachment 68884
anyway, they seem to appreciate even my most brilliant idea, when I bought a bread box although we don't eat any bread...:))
View attachment 68886
View attachment 68887

View attachment 68890
Click to expand...

That's just brilliant!

I have a bread box my self and I think I'm going to try and use it as a safe house ... they might love it , especially Dexter as he still likes to feel secure when he goes to sleep .
Batista just lays flat on the floor , wherever , paws to the side and everything ....
 
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