My Hutch

[Becky cavy mad]

Ok I know most of you are against keeping pigs outside but I'm not aloud to keep them inside. Anyways my hutch is 2 large hutchs connected to make one huuge hutch with is large enough to house my 3 piggies. Each hutch has a duvet in thick plastic on the roof which goes over the front at night to keep the cold out. So what do you think

[sweetjay6891]

Whats the bottom made out of?

[Becky cavy mad]

Originally Posted by sweetjay6891

Whats the bottom made out of?

Wood and it has strong wooden legs to keep it high off the ground.

[fourbwabbys]

You want something between the pigs and the wood to keep the wood from absorbing urine.

[Becky cavy mad]

We put a load of newspaper and then straw. and everytime we clean it out we spray disanfectant.

[Percy's Mom]

Disinfectant really only gets the top layer unless you pour something toxic on the wood that will soak all the way down like the urine and water drips would. If you absolutely positively can't have your pigs living inside, there needs to be either a coroplast tray in the bottom of the hutch or a piece of linoleum that is waterproof to line the bottom.

Each hutch has a duvet in thick plastic on the roof which goes over the front at night to keep the cold out.

This worries me a great deal actually. The thick plastic might keep wind out, but it wouldn't keep cold out. What do you do with your pigs in the winter time when it can get bitterly cold? I'm certainly not a weather expert, but I know it gets far colder than I would ever consider letting any living thing live outside in Virginia in the winter, even in a completely enclosed shed. England is definitely quite a bit farther north, so I would guess that your winters are also quite a bit worse.

[cavy-cool-crazy]

Winters can dip to -6 C or even less at night. Usual daytime winter temps. average at around 2-8 degrees C. Way too cold to keep pigs out in my opinion.

As said by the others, you need some lino or correx to line the hutch. When I had a wooden hutch 3 years ago my mum stapled a pond liner on the bottom and a little around the bottom edges. It protected the wood.

Pictures would really help us in seeing exactly how the hutch is!

[AliceTittle]

Heya, I was in the same position as you several months ago when I first got my guinea-pigs. Luckily, they are now inside, but while they were in the garage (no cars) I had a large set up that was around the same size as my 2 x 4 C&C.



Keep trying. My parents still ar't happy with the piggies being inside, but they respect that I want to give them the best care I can. If you can, explain to your parents the cons of keeping them outdoors, but if they will not reconsider, this was my set up...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...e/P1010021.jpg

Their C&C

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...e/P1010062.jpg