shed cage ideas? please help!

[piggypoos]

hi so i have three boars who live in a hutch in their 8x4 shed. they have a run in their shed also and an outdoor run for the summer. but i dont think they really have enough space and so i am looking to expand it so they have the whole shed to run around in. so i have a few questions about it:
- firstly, if anyone has a shed set up similar to what i want it would be great if you could post some pics and explain where you got materials, costs, how you made it etc.
- i dont want it to be very expensive or hard to make - we are not great at diy ... something like c&c.. do people use it in sheds? what could i use thats easy and cheap?
- i also want to use something thats really easy to clean. eg i dont mind spot cleaning once or twice a day but i would only want to do a proper clean once a week. i currently use megazorb and i think its great and i can get away with only one clean per week. but i think it would cost a lot to fill the whole shed with it. would puppy pads work? how often would i need to change them?
- i would love to use fleece but my mum is a hygene freak and hates the idea of putting used piggie fleece in the washing machine infact she even hand washes all of their fleece cozies and stuff every week because she hates it so much are there any alternatives that dont need to go in the wash?
-would it be warm enough in the winter? obvs in the hutch its really cozy with all their houses and heat pads and beds etc and the whole hutch is insulated and they have a hutch cover and everything. plus i am allergic to hay so instead they have to have hay cookies. so i use lots of fleece beds etc instead and they are fine but i am worried it will be hard to keep warm?
-finally, as their run is currently in the shed, if they had the whole shed then there would be no room for a run. would an 8x4 shed be big enough for 3 boars without a run? if you get what i mean..
sorry its so long, you dont have to answer everything but any help is appreciated. thanks!

 

[piggypoos]

anyone?

 

[Gaile]

here are a few photos of my hutch in the shed! As the shed is used to store things, the hutch is above the stored item!

I made a shelf,covered with lino, which helps to protect the wood from the weee! I made a little house, the roof is bigger that the house so I make it into an upstairs! The ramp is fixed with a hinge!

 

[Puzzlepigs]

This is just an idea, but perhaps you could have a sort of 'walk in' shed. You could put shelves up on either sides and at the end of the shed. On the top of the highest shelf, put some sturdy wood there and drill it into place. Do this for all the sections. Then cut some corrugated plastic to the correct size. Attach grids round the outside of the corrugated plastic to create a wall to protect the guinea pigs from getting out.
It is quite hard to explain and it may not be big enough but it is just an idea. I've just got a normal C&C cage in my 'back room' so I don't have any pictures to show you of a shed!

The shape of the cage would be like this
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You would be able to walk through the center, with a 'bridge' at the end of the cage, connecting the two larger areas. Underneath the cage you could have shelving to store all of your supplies. It would probably be quite easy to clean and very accessible for when you would need to handle your guinea pigs and pick them up out of the cage. As you have three boars this may or may not work. I have no experience with boars but I know that they should have a lot of space to themselves when living together in same sex groups, in case of fall outs. Having two main areas may help as there is a different place to get away from each other. Sorry for the bad explanation! If you don't understand I suppose I could draw a rough plan if you were interested in the kind of set up I was suggesting.
Hope this helped.

 

[piggypoos]

thanks guys,
that hutch looks really cool how did you make it out of.. are they c and c grids? how big is it?
puzzlepigs - your idea sounds good, would it be possible to make the whole thing out of c and c? it would be ideal because they do fight a bit and like their space... thanks again x

 

[Puzzlepigs]

thanks guys,
that hutch looks really cool how did you make it out of.. are they c and c grids? how big is it?
puzzlepigs - your idea sounds good, would it be possible to make the whole thing out of c and c? it would be ideal because they do fight a bit and like their space... thanks again x

It should be possible to make it as a C&C cage, but if you were wanting space to store things, you would need a lot of grids to use as the shelving. If you used wood however, I think it may be a little stronger, even if you used the wood just to make a raised stand for the cage and then use grids to create the shelving underneath. Corrugated plastic is pretty sturdy, but I would still recommend getting the thickest you can find (mine is 4mm). Again, if you were only to use grids and corrugated plastic, you need to make sure that your corrugated plastic won't bend or break - it needs to be very durable and strong. Glad the idea helped a little bit

 

[Gaile]

mine is a wooden frame fixed in place, with old decking boards screwed on! Then the lino on top! it measures about 26" wide and 6ft long!

I found a photo see if this helps!

 

[copper3383]

my piggies have a large outdoor hutch with a run and come inside for the winter, however a long time go i put the hutch in my garden shed then put sawdust all over the floor ( the hutch doors were open so they could run around the shed as they likes ) and there toys ...... tahts jsut what worked for me then but sadly i dont have any pics ( oh and yes the grden shed di have a lock on it )