hutch dilemma

[sazmatazz]

Hey everyone - as you can see i'm a newbie on the forum, got my piggies yesterday and i'm very excited! (See gallery for pics) I did have some when I was younger, 2 of which lived to be about 8 years old so i must have done something right - however i've got a bit of the 'new parent' jitters at the moment!

We bought them a large indoor cage with a view to moving them outdoors in the warm weather (already had a hutch and run - although hutch needs some bolts and run needs a new lid!) and having them indoors over winter.
They were out in the run yesterday whilst i was sitting outdoors in the sun on cat-watch, however have been indoors overnight because of the aforementioned DIY needed on the hutch. I am keen to get them outside.

I was just wondering, the hutch is currently sat on 2 bricks on the floor in the garden, would it be a better idea to lift it higher from the ground?
There are cats next door and a few squirrels in the garden, so i thought perhaps we may need to get a table or something to put it on. This said, i was a bit worried about the piggies making a jump for it when we are trying to catch them. is this likely? they are fine once they have been caught but do like to give you the run around! if they were to escape in the garden i have no idea how we would catch them, the garden is huge, and they would be able to get through the fences on 2 sides of the garden - unfortunately i cant do much about this as we are living in a rented house and so the garden isnt mine to modify!
Awkwardly, the hutch doesnt fit inside the run, which would fix this problem for catching them - would you recommend some run DIY-ing too?

Thanks for your help everyone.

|)

 

[sazmatazz]

any ideas anyone?

 

[Ryli]

I have a two tier hutch, the bottom is low but the piggies can escape up the ramp when the neighbourhood cats are about!

Mine have never jumped from the top when the doors are open but I had an incident where one of them was startled as I was putting her back and she jumped out of my hands and landed on the floor, I moved so quick, I thought she was going to make a dash under the shed, like you we have lots of places where she could escape.

I think its just a case of being prepared for anything they may so! I have a garden chair near the hutch and tend to sit there and have a cuddle with the hutch door open

 

[wind1]

The hutch would be better up off the ground. It makes it easier for cleaning out too if it's up higher. You do need to be careful when getting them out, mine give me the run around too but tend to stay at the back of the hutch. Having said that I did have one fall out once but luckily he landed on a pile of hay. He then ran underneath the hutch and sat there muttering away. He wasn't very happy! Your guineas will get more used to being handled in time which will obviously make it easier to catch them.

 

[Hannahlg1986]

well my max's cage is like 3 stoiries high up

i have a big cage at ground level for my boys then lilly and poppy's cage on top and the max's cage on top of that he has never jumped out of it

my lilly dose stick her head out of the cage when feeding her she has never jumped or falling out

and i have a cat aswell and he dosent borther with the cages which is on ground level he sometimes has a little look but thats it then again he is used to the piggies andfter 3 years and knows what he can and cant do