What is the smallest size cage that 3 sows can be kept in?

[sophistacavy]

I already have the 3 sows, so no, I can't get 2 instead. Also, I know what cavy cages said about 2 by 4 grid being minimum, but do you agree?

I could add a second level, but how the heck would I clean out the bottom level? I would have fleece as bedding, but would still like to occasionally at the very least scrub out the coroplast directly with some vinegar solution, you know, to disinfect and kill germs.

So, for a 2 by 4 base cage, a second floor would be 2 by 2? That sounds small, but I need room to put a ramp of some sort, right? And to make a ramp, does this plan sound good?: Take a grid, stand on the middle of it, bend up into a long U shape, connect with plastic ties, cover with scrap carpet to track hay, attach carpet by putting holes in end of carpet, attach with plastic ties to the ramp. I'm actually combining a bunch of diffrent ideas I've read from people on here.

2by4 is bigger than 19" by 38", isn't it? Thats what the poor things are stuck in now.....they'll be able to popcorn in a 2 by 4 cage? How can I make a really big hay rack? They really really love their Oxbow hay, and I'm reduced to putting it on the cage floor in order to give them enough so that they don't run out while I'm gone. They have the Super pet brand purple wire hay rack with the useless knob on the end for a salt/mineral wheel, which is a waste, of course. And, they have the Super pet brand Rollin' the Hay thing too, plus a hay cube holder filled with 2-3 timothy hay cubes depending on the size of the cubes. I just need a jumbo hay rack to fit over a litter pan so hay doesn't get on the fleece........

I've been so frustrated today by this big annoying 2 by 5 grid cage that won't fit on this table we bought, so I simply have to reduce them to a 2 by 4 grid cage. It (the dumb table) barely fits 2 grids wide. Grrrr! The grids slip off, despite plastic ties and plastic cap connectors, and then everything busts and goes boom, and only the plastic ties remain. Thats partly(mostly) because of the 5 grids long. I just really need 4 grids long at the most.

I hope Sue can refund my Mom for the 2 by 5 grid kit, and let us exchange it for the 2 by 4 grid kit. I also had to cut and therefore destroy the plastic ties to take the structure apart so we can return it to Sue. I wasted a bunch of ties.......*sigh*

~~~Katelyn

[newpiggiemommy]

For 3 sows the minimum cage size is a 2x5, not 2x4 according to the home page!

IMO I would not go smaller than a 2x5. I think the cage gets dirty to fast and the piggies walk all over their poop. The smaller the cage the smellier it gets sooner!

If you are putting on a second level you could make it removable for cleaning, by putting curtain rods in and just setting the loft on top of them. That way when you clean you can clean the top, take it off, then clean the bottom! That is what my next cage is going to have!

If you want the cage to fit the table simply get some ply wood and cut it to fit the cage and set it on top of the table!

I have four girls and they are in a 3x4 cage with a 2x2 loft. It is not big enough! We are working on making it bigger so they don't make such a mess of the cage and themselves!

[sophistacavy]

Thank you so much! I'll just go to Home Depot/Lowe's and get that plywood.

I apologize if I sound naive, but I like the curtain rod idea, except how do I do that? I meant to say, how do I install these curtain rods and get them to fit exactly?

Thanks again!

I'm def. keeping the 2 by 5 grid cage, and someone should change/update that info on the home page! I guess whoever has power to would do it, how can someone contact them? A lot of piggies might be in too small cages because of their mis-information!

[newpiggiemommy]

I was looking through the photo gallery and saw someone had done this with the curtain rods. You have to get the flat ones that bend over at the ends. You put it through the sides of the cage about 1-3 spaces down. I would get 2-3 rods to make it very sturdy! Then you make the loft out of grids. You will have to slightly overlap them to make it fit in to the other ones! Use zipties to make it really strong. Those stupid connectors will fall apart when you move it to clean under it!

Good luck! I hope this helped a bit. If I didn't answer your question let me know! I will check back later or tomorrow!

[pigsforlife]

No. Granted biggest is always best, the smallest cage for 3 girls is a 2x4. For girls you start with a 2x2 and add 1x2 for each extra pig basically. Boys you start with a 2x3, with an extra 1x2 added for each extra pig. Boys tend to need more room as they are territorial

Upper levels do not count towards square footage.

I have 4 girls living happily in a 2.5x4.5 (which is 15.5sq ft). I could easily have another girl in there with them, with room left over.

[newpiggiemommy]

Originally Posted by pigsforlife

No. Granted biggest is always best, the smallest cage for 3 girls is a 2x4. For girls you start with a 2x2 and add 1x2 for each extra pig basically. Boys you start with a 2x3, with an extra 1x2 added for each extra pig. Boys tend to need more room as they are territorial

Sorry, I misread that! It was very late! LOL

I still would give them a 2x5 if you can because I know out of my 4 girls I have one grumpy one that doesn't like the other ones to get very close. She needs as much space as possible. I have even caught her in the loft, standing in the doorway, blocking the other piggies from getting to the food! I am thinking of putting in two doorways and two ramps so she can't do this any more!!!

[sophistacavy]

newpiggiemommy-Thank you for that how-to with the curtain rods, that will def. help me out a bunch. It sounds a lot more fun using zip ties rather than connectors.

pigsforlife- Thank you too for your advice! Now that I'm keeping the idea of 3 girls in a 2x5, your info lets me know that they'll have plenty of space especially with another eventual level.

I just added this page to my favorites list, I'm going to have to refer back to here in the not so distant future! = P

[TX_2_Pigs]

Currently that is how I have my loft. Here is a slideshow. Please note that with this design the loft is a little bouncy, but the pigs don't seem to mind.


I have also found that with the loft that low, they don't use the ramp, they just jump up. Mr. Wiggles especially likes the loft and will take off at a full run and fly up to the loft without missing a beat. This works out well when Harry is bothering him since Harry doesn't seem to like the loft much.


It is very easy to clean with this design. I just un-clip the binder clip and swing the 2 front grids out of the way. I clean the loft then I grab the front and fold it up, pick the whole thing up and just set it to the side. Usually while I am cleaning the poos under where the loft is all the piggies will investigate the now displaced loft that is sitting on top of the ramp. When I get all the poos out from under the loft area, I put the loft back, fold the front back down and re-clip the front panels. Then I proceed to clean the rest of the cage. I guess I should get picks (or video) of my nightly cleaning process.