Outdoor Cages?

[Lovespigs]

My piggies have an Eglu run for chickens in the garden, it’s 3 metres long, and they have a wooden hutch from pets at home they go in during the night. i love the eglu run it’s very safe and secure and my piggies love being in it, but the hutch i had an issue a few weeks ago with predators managing to get inside of it (the piggies were absolutely fine with no injuries, i took them to a vet just to be sure. it was really scary though) and i just do not feel safe putting them in the hutch anymore. i’m not allowed them inside during warm weather. Ideally i would like to get them a shed to go in, but i’m unable to afford that. Does anyone have any ideas on what i could do or enclosure recommendations? anything would be greatly appreciated. i do have a garage, but it’s not furnished and has no windows, it only has bikes in it.

 

[Piggies&buns]

What predators got in?

The issue is that once a predator knows they are there then they usually come back.
The only safe option, given they can’t go in the house, is to move them to your garage. I appreciate the lack of windows but safety has to come first if there are predators around.

Depending on the actual eglu items you have - but in general we don’t tend to recommend them for piggies as not everything is suitable.

 

[Piggies&buns]

To add, there are more secure hutches available than the pets at home ones.
The chartwell tend to be better made than PaH, but even then you may wish to still add additional bolts and padlocks and thick welded mesh if you know predators are around.
With that said, the issue regarding predators (foxes in particular) still stands in that once they know the piggies are there, it tends to then become unsafe to keep them outside.

 

[Lovespigs]

What predators got in?

The issue is that once a predator knows they are there then they usually come back.
The only safe option, given they can’t go in the house, is to move them to your garage. I appreciate the lack of windows but safety has to come first if there are predators around.

Depending on the actual eglu items you have - but in general we don’t tend to recommend them for piggies as not everything is suitable.

it was a dog, it wasn’t a wild predator, my garden is very secure and i’ve never seen a fox or badger, i was able to stop the dog just in time. it was a friends dog. considering how the dog did manage to get in made me realise that i need a safer night enclosure for them.
oh and the eglu is a flat one, it doesn’t have any steps that they need to jump on, it works really well for my pigs, it also has rain covers and sun covers. i modified the back of it to have a hay rack and a water bottle in the hutch part of it. i don’t keep them in the hutch part of the eglu at night as it’s too small, and both of my piggies are quite active.

 

[Lovespigs]

To add, there are more secure hutches available than the pets at home ones.
The chartwell tend to be better made than PaH, but even then you may wish to still add additional bolts and padlocks and thick welded mesh if you know predators are around.
With that said, the issue regarding predators (foxes in particular) still stands in that once they know the piggies are there, it tends to then become unsafe to keep them outside.

i am considering asking my parents if we can install a window in the garage so i can build a C&C cage in there, during the cold months my pigs come in my bedroom in a C&C cage.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Right ok, so with any luck it was a one off accident. As I say, if you have to keep them outside in the hutch then I would take the additional measures I mentioned to secure it.

It’s actually the plastic hutch part of the eglu that are considered unsuitable. They lack the necessarily ventilation and are potentially unsafe on summer days. Of course the choice is yours but do be careful with it, have a thermometer in there and check it doesn’t get towards 25 degrees and certainly never over 25 degrees.

 

[Lovespigs]

Right ok, so with any luck it was a one off accident. As I say, if you have to keep them outside in the hutch then I would take the additional measures I mentioned to secure it.

It’s actually the plastic hutch part of the eglu that are considered unsuitable. They lack the necessarily ventilation and are potentially unsafe on summer days. Of course the choice is yours but do be careful with it, have a thermometer in there and check it doesn’t get towards 25 degrees and certainly never over 25 degrees.

yes, on very hot days i shut the plastic part and take all plastic out of the run, i do have a thermometer in there as well as a pet cam, i’ve never left them inside the plastic part for the reason of overheating

 

[Bill & Ted]

The Chartwell hutches are very well made, there is a 5 and 6 footer although they are not cheap.