Member Gallery: Hutches

[Bluebell]

Lovely hutches those but I think they would be too heavy for me to handle, with a dodgy back I'm looking for a lightweight one or I'll never be able to put it up!

There is a company on Anglesey, North Wales, called The Welfare Hutch Company that make bigger than average sized hutches, well built and worth a look, they also make large outdoor runs.

 

[gizzy]

What a fab setup

 

[Cavy_lover]

Lovely hutches those but I think they would be too heavy for me to handle, with a dodgy back I'm looking for a lightweight one or I'll never be able to put it up!

I think they will build them up for you if needed. But yes they are very heavy I have a 6x2ft double hutch - it takes 3average people to move or 2 very strong men. It's a very strong hutch though - will last and last.

 

[madd]

Ightfield are nervous of ramps. Is any way of making the ramp less , or ting haps turn it into a tunnel?

good news! I have not been topping their food up at night but instead trailing their favourite food down the ramp and putting lots at the bottom. Well today i have found piggie poo in the bottom of the hutch! So someone is getting braver! Yippie!

 

[Critter]

good news! I have not been topping their food up at night but instead trailing their favourite food down the ramp and putting lots at the bottom. Well today i have found piggie poo in the bottom of the hutch! So someone is getting braver! Yippie!

Horaay! That's very encouraging Once they master the ramp there's no stopping them x

 

[madd]

Feel like a proud piggie mummy! X

 

[Alexa]

Just spent the evening covering the base of my hutch floor! My boyfriend thinks I am mad Hoping it will help it last longer. I got stuck on floor "tiles" but they keep in unsticking. Hoping once the newspaper and bedding is on it will push them down! I cannot wait to get them now

 

[Lucy1666]

finally got my old rose cottage hutch in the shed its looking good i think
need to put a bit of wood on the ramp but besides that its looking fine cost 45 second hand if anyone wondered with a run too but its folded up for winter x
the woodsharvings are snowflake ones using them up then going onto easibed

 

[pigmumsar]

I've attached a couple of pics of our set up - I'm a novice however and have only had our piggies just over a week!

Cage Type: 8ft x 10ft summerhouse. We chose to let them be 'free range' by sectioning off a large area by a short fence. They have an 8ft x 3ft area so plenty of room for pigloos and toys and in the summer we will have a run so they can also graze outside in the garden. Apart from wanting to give the guineas lots of space, another big benefit of the summerhouse is we are sheltered from the weather when we look after them. My son, who turns 8 tomorrow (his pressie after wanting them since he was 4) is able to sit on a stool inside the 'cage' with them and all the hay/food/cleaning equipment is stored in there in the dry. Cleaning them out in the torrential rain at the weekend was a doddle as we were all nice and dry :-)

Where it was purchased or how it was made: After a lot of research into summerhouses, we chose a Waltons summerhouse and my husband built it on his own, taking about 3 days (plus a few days digging foundations for cement base) It obviously wasn't a cheap project, but we know the summerhouse is the best option we had for giving space to the pigs and us enjoying looking after them. We do have the cold weather to worry about but we have bought several snugglesafe heatpads so we can have one in each pigloo in the depths fo winter. At the moment we've just been putting one in the bigger pigloo at night and they both sleep together in there.

How many piggies are kept in it: We have two baby sows, aged 11 weeks called Bramble and Smartie.

How easy it is to keep clean/if you'd recommend it: As I said, we're novices but so far it has been very easy to clean and maintain. We have gone for fleece which I bought VERY cheaply in Primark and Ikea, plus a ton of towels that go underneath. My son does a spotclean on poop twice a day and we have already noticed they have a toilet corner which is easy to brush up with the dustpan. We have done one proper clean out and found the fleece stayed dry and easy to put in the machine inside cheap ikea washbags to avoid any stuck on hay clogging up the machine (there was quite a bit of hay stuck on but it has washed well)

 

[Guineapigfeet]

This is where my three little pigs live. Purpous built as piggie accommodation. Cleaning out is a bit of trial and error at the moment; the floor is lino'ed and they seem to go mostly under the step stool and under the wooden house ( the house is *obviously* not for going *in*) so I've bought a large gardening tray I put underneith, which should
help with cleaning out.
Picture taken through the end window which is why it looks funny. There is also a corner hay tray, corner house and cardboard box under the window which are not quite visable.

 

[justjo14]

Would you like me to make you one?
I have a couple more ideas on paper now

Please add me to your list of requests too Tim

Hi Tim,
I'm new to the world of piggies but already know this is a fab creation/size/layout I've been looking for run shelters for months and no good ones. Do you sell these yet?!

Jo

 

[Veggies Galore]

My guinea pigs live in a 2 storey hutch in a shed



The ramp has a cover at the top



Here is Max relaxing on top of the ramp cover



The ramp has a "Bannister" and I use a ramp tunnel too




I have geenhouse heaters fitted inside the hutch - they are linked to a thermostat



when it is really cold. I can cover the front of the hutch



Here is a picture of Bess enjoying a hay tray downtairs ( you may just be able to make out that ther is an oil filled radiator under the hutch ).



I have an extension I can add for exercise ( I call it "The exercise yard ")

 

[orangeinepig]

I can't believe I haven't posted my guinea pigs new hutch which I got a few months ago so here it is

So after many hours of painting my guinea pigs new 6ft hutch is ready for everyone to see! I stained the outside a dark oak colour I believe and painted the inside a pet safe willow colour so I'm gonna stop talking and show you guys the photos of the hutch

. Oh one last thing the pigs haven't been fed today, spot cleaned, poo picked or had all the bedding replaced in the sleeping area today which is why it looks a mess

Naught Piggies already chewing their hutch!

 

[Namaah]

Not sure if this would be the right category as it is a hutch but not an outdoors one

This is my new house for my guinea pig. It is roughly 4 foot by 3 feet (12sq foot) on the bottom and 4 foot by 1.5 foot (6sq foot)on the top. At the moment it only houses 1 guinea pig but if all goes well he should have a girlfriend in there with him soon.

I love the hutch and the space it has but it wouldn't work as an outdoors hutch as there is no bottom to it. I built a unit in my living room to sit it on and covered the top of the unit in PVC fabric to waterproof it. It is pretty easy to get into, i didn't screw down the top of the run so it just lifts up and the door on the front is big, I can easily fit the whole top half of my body through the door and I'm not skinny. The top has 2 doors that open so you can get full access to it and has a plastic base. I covered the ramp in carpet and added a railing as I didn't think the ramp was safe enough for guinea pigs. I also plan on making the hole at the top smaller and putting a railing around it too. Once that's done I plan on covering the whole top area in hay instead of just in the "sleeping area" but at the moment it ends up falling into the hole for the ramp and I'm worried about Sam standing on it and falling down. I also need to find a bigger tray for in the bottom as well.

 

[smileyface:)]

in the process of moving my group (2 pairs in two hutches) into hutches in a large wooden bike store - they are in hutches in a shed down the garden but this means they can be beside the backdoor (hurrah!), which means access for electricity (woopee!) which means heating in store (yeeha!) - going to insulate the store before the hutch goes in and then insulate the hutch too - so will post pics once it's underway - got to get the store delivered first!

Had to give up my huge shed for bikes and other stuff but will be fun turning this into a piggie hotel!

 

[madd]

Not sure if this would be the right category as it is a hutch but not an outdoors one

This is my new house for my guinea pig. It is roughly 4 foot by 3 feet (12sq foot) on the bottom and 4 foot by 1.5 foot (6sq foot)on the top. At the moment it only houses 1 guinea pig but if all goes well he should have a girlfriend in there with him soon.

I love the hutch and the space it has but it wouldn't work as an outdoors hutch as there is no bottom to it. I built a unit in my living room to sit it on and covered the top of the unit in PVC fabric to waterproof it. It is pretty easy to get into, i didn't screw down the top of the run so it just lifts up and the door on the front is big, I can easily fit the whole top half of my body through the door and I'm not skinny. The top has 2 doors that open so you can get full access to it and has a plastic base. I covered the ramp in carpet and added a railing as I didn't think the ramp was safe enough for guinea pigs. I also plan on making the hole at the top smaller and putting a railing around it too. Once that's done I plan on covering the whole top area in hay instead of just in the "sleeping area" but at the moment it ends up falling into the hole for the ramp and I'm worried about Sam standing on it and falling down. I also need to find a bigger tray for in the bottom as well.
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Hope you find a friend soon, as they will have loads of space to popcorn! X

 

[Veggies Galore]

too. Once that's done I plan on covering the whole top area in hay instead of just in the "sleeping area" but at the moment it ends up falling into the hole for the ramp and I'm worried about Sam standing on it and falling down.

I also plan on making the hole at the top smaller and putting a railing around it too.

I was worried about the hole at the top of the ramp - I have a cover made ...

 

[Namaah]

I've already hopefully found him a friend. I know someone who has a guinea pig they want to rehome so if she gets on with sam then i'll be keeping her with sam. He's going in to get neutered tomorrow so need to wait until he is safe after that.

Thats a great idea piggyowner, I think i'll be borrowing that idea

 

[Veggies Galore]

Thats a great idea piggyowner, I think i'll be borrowing that idea

that's what we're here for! My guinea pigs like sitting on top of the ramp cover .......

 

[eileen]

thats a fab idea piggyowner!

 

[smileyface:)]

I've already hopefully found him a friend. I know someone who has a guinea pig they want to rehome so if she gets on with sam then i'll be keeping her with sam. He's going in to get neutered tomorrow so need to wait until he is safe after that.

Thats a great idea piggyowner, I think i'll be borrowing that idea

I got my wee boy Chewy neutered last year and then got him a wife from the animal rescue over here - they lived in separate hutches for 4 weeks until he was past the 6 weeks, and then I introduced them in a run - and they have always got on! Maybe it helped that they were able to watch and sniff through the bars for a few weeks first. Fingers crossed Sam finds a friend too.

 

[ayemee]

My piggie shed.

Upstairs of the hutch I use as the 'messy area' so hay racks and loose hay are put up there.

They're housed on fleece with the exception of the upstairs sleeping compartment. Where I use biocatlet litter and lots of hay.





Upstairs bed where they all tend to snuggle up.

 

[smileyface:)]

My piggie shed.

Upstairs of the hutch I use as the 'messy area' so hay racks and loose hay are put up there.

They're housed on fleece with the exception of the upstairs sleeping compartment. Where I use biocatlet litter and lots of hay.

View attachment 45009

View attachment 45010

Upstairs bed where they all tend to snuggle up.

View attachment 45011

love your setup - I have been using fleece in the hutches too and love it - so easy to clean out - was worried it would get damp in winter (don't know why!) but it didn't - you have such a huge herd and they are very cute.

 

[Cleyres]

My piggie shed.

Upstairs of the hutch I use as the 'messy area' so hay racks and loose hay are put up there.

They're housed on fleece with the exception of the upstairs sleeping compartment. Where I use biocatlet litter and lots of hay.

View attachment 45009

View attachment 45010

Upstairs bed where they all tend to snuggle up.

View attachment 45011

What size shed do you have? I was wanting a shed, but then bumped the car, oops! I've gotta get the paintwork done before the shed! Boo! x

 

[Cleyres]

We've got a Blubell hideaway hutch from pets at home, we have two sows in there at the minute, does anyone know if it is big enough for three as we'd love to get another little lady!
After trialing lots of different bedding, we are using fleece in the bedroom and newspaper upstairs, and downstairs we have a mix of carefresh and fitch.
We are going to have a shed set up before the end of summer, so will hopefully be on just fleece then with hay racks and trays. Here's a couple of pics from Sunday x

 

[VickieD]

I would also like to know if the bluebell from Pets at home would house 3-4 piggies?

Also people who line the hutches with lino, can I ask what you use to stick it down? The normal adhesive spray?

Thank you

 

[madd]

Not sure about the hutch size but I never stuck my lino down so I can lift it and air the cage out once in a while but also I can replace it if naughty piggies start to damage it lol x

 

[orangeinepig]

Not sure about the hutch size but I never stuck my lino down so I can lift it and air the cage out once in a while but also I can replace it if naughty piggies start to damage it lol x

Same here as pee always gets underneath it even when flat down so I'm glad I didn't seal it but I think aquarium sealer would work @VickieD

 

[VickieD]

Thanks this helps

Any idea how many sows I could have in 2 tier hutch 4ft poss 5ft or bluebell from pets at home

 

[Hank288]

In my 5ft bluebell I have 3 sows and would not want to put more than that in it. Mine do use the second layer but when all 3 are downstairs it is quite crowded with all the pigs and hides in it.
I also have lined with lino but would not seal down as this enables you to clean underneath it and to replace once old.