New owner help

[Rosie87]

Hi everyone ,

We get our boys on Saturday and just want to ask a few questions (sorry if it's a long post)

We have bought an outdoor hutch 2 tier, the bottom is just mesh but we have covers for the not so nice weather, will this be ok?

Also it has a ramp which we have adjusted so it isn't as steep , not sure why it's designed so steep but I read they shouldn't be steep. I'm thinking of getting a tunnel to attach to it, so they can't fall. Any ideas where to source one?

I've read so much from Google and other sites with do's and don'ts but it's all mixed messages so I'm a little worried. Any handy tips much appreciated!

Thanks

 

[Piggies&buns]

Is the bottom part of it directly on the ground or does it have its own wooden floor? If it has a floor then they can have access to it all the time. The hutch covers being used for warmth in winter (thermal covers are needed for outdoor piggies) and rain protection.
If the bottom part is directly onto the ground and is entirely mesh on all four sides , then it is considered more of a run so would could not be used year round - they can only have access to it during good weather and during the day. Don’t let them go in it at night or during winter. Therefore, the covers being on the mesh part may be irrelevant if it doesn’t have a floor
It can sometimes be easier to add a picture of a hutch to get advice on it, and it can make things easier to understand for us as well.
Good you’ve reduced the ramp slope. It’s a design fault in a lot of hutches and piggies are not natural climbers and prefer their living space to be on one levell
As it’s outside, it would be best to try to add a higher balustrade to it rather than a tunnel. Most tunnels are made of fleece and it’s not recommended to use fleece outside.
However, if it is a ramp which needs to be closed at night itself (some ramps are hinged and act as a door) (ie some hutches have a separate trap door on the upper part of the hutch to close off access to the bottom) then adding anything on to it could be problematic and prevent closure .

The key with boars is space - the hutch needs to be 180x60cm (a 6ft hutch).

 

[Rosie87]

This is the hutch , it has a floor and we are thinking when the weather is colder to add perspex to the back and side to keep the wind / rain out although we will have it covered.

 

[Rosie87]

This is the dimension

• Dimensions: 99.5H x 157.4L x 53Wcm. House: 48H x 71L x 41Wcm. House door: 26H x 30Lcm. Underneath Run door: 25H x 30Lcm. Side run door: 47.5H x 29Lcm. Underneath run: 32H x 70L x 41Wcm. Side run: 60H x 70L x 41Wcm. Ramp: 61L x 14.8Wcm

 

[Piggies&buns]

Ok. I really don’t like doing this and hate being the bearer of not so good news, but you are likely to struggle with that kind of hutch - space wise and in winter.
Sadly it’s overall measurements are too small for a boar pair who really need 180x60cm on a single enclosed level of living space. At 157x53 this hutch comes in at just over 8 square feet. Boars need a minimum of 10 square feet but 12 square feet is recommended to stop space related problems. They are more territorial and if they don’t have enough space it can make them fall out.
You will need to add another water bottle and at least two open ended hides (nothing enclosed with only one exit as fights can occur inside hides if one piggy gets trapped by the other) - this is another reason any space matters to fit in all their enrichment and houses.
The enclosed part house area of the hutch can never be used as an area to lock them into as it is far too small and doesn’t meet any welfare requirements. And given they can never be shut into the wooden part, keeping them warm in the open part all winter is likely to be a struggle - it can be hard enough in a fully wooden insulated hutch.
Do you have just a waterproof cover or is it thermal as well?

My two boys live in a hutch in my shed and the shed provides a huge amount of protection for them. Even in the shed and out of the elements, in winter they have a thermal hutch cover, two blankets, a normal waterproof hutch cover (used as an extra layer given the shed provides their weather protection), and then a duvet pulled over all of it. Inside is stuffed full with hay and four snugglesafe heatpads. Even with this, I’m on constant watch to make sure they remain above 15 degrees at all times during winter.

 

[Rosie87]

We have quilts and blankets and tarpe to cover them with from the top of the fence over

 

[Piggies&buns]

We have quilts and blankets and tarpe to cover them with from the top of the fence over

Thats good, but it will take more measures to keep them above 15 degrees in winter.
i would definitely add something around the back and sides to make the bottom part more like a traditional hutch. It will stop heat from escaping in winter.
As a lot of it is open, you will need to make sure summer rain doesn’t make bedding wet. The roof doesn’t look to have much of an overhang to help prevent water going in. It may be too hot during a summer rain shower to have covers down

How old are the piggies you are getting?
Its the size of it which you obviously can’t do anything about and that is a concern given the nature of boars.
8 square feet is the minimum welfare size for two piggies but that only really works for two sows (and even then we recommend 10 square feet for sows) and a lot of boars would, particularly young/teens, find 8 sq ft too small.
I know it’s disheartening to hear this after you’ve put a lot of effort in but we do sadly see boars falling out from being in cages which don’t give them enough territory each.

Do you have hides etc to add into the cage?

 

[Rosie87]

We will add more bedding in the winter and attach either perspex or wood to the back and sides. We have a large garden umbrella which can be tilted so we were going to tilt it to the front for the summer rain.
They are roughly 7 months, we have lots of hides to add and to use in there seperate run we got. We also have a play pen for them to come indoors so they will have lots of time out of the hutch also

 

[Piggies&buns]

Ok so they are teenagers.
They will go into a period of reestablishing their relationship for about two weeks once they move to a new environment. Do make sure the hides all have two exits. Because there isn’t a huge amount of space in the hutch, you don’t want to create any dead ends which could cause problems particularly during the heightened dominance over the next few months.
Its good they’ve got a run etc, but it doesn’t count as living space. The hutch they live in needs to be big enough.

I would screw some wood around the ramp to make sides on it given it can’t be closed. Attaching a plastic tunnel is the other thing you could do. They aren’t easy to clean but as it’s only a short length it might not be too bad.

Do remember you can’t bring outdoor piggies indoors for playtime in winter (unless they are going to stay inside permamently all winter) due to the temperature fluctuation, so their hutch will be the only place they have.

I know it may feel that I’m going on about the hutch size a lot, but it really does matter to boars. Just want you to be prepared in case you see issues

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars