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Full Time Free Range?

lissie

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I am so tempted to convert this space into a full time free range for the pigs. Do I need to line the whole floor with towels and fleece? How hard is it to clean? The space is about 110" x 110".

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HannibalLecter

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Aww I'm getting exited just reading about it! ^^
Well, even though it's good easy cleaned flooring I would still cover it up with something waterproof to avoid permanent staining. The sides of the wall would also need covering to protect it. A large showercurtain, cubes a a few inches away from the wall or a huge sheet/s of coro would work. Plus the usual fleece & towels/matresspads of course.

I imagine it would be harder to clean, especially for your back & knees as you're hunched over on the floor. You wouldn't know if it's doable for you until you've tried it I guess.
 

pinky

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The appliances will be removed, won't they? I think I'd add some sort of barricade to keep them away from the door so they wouldn't run out when you open it. If you have a barricade or a grid barrier that extends from wall to wall, away from the door, you could keep the door open to see and hear what they're doing and it would also allow better ventilation in the room. You could store their food and supplies on your side of the barrier. I agree that a one piece plastic tarp might be a good idea under the fleece to protect your floor. There are spaces between linoleum tiles that could get contaminated and urine could seep through to the subfloor.
 

Llamasomething

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Ohh I wish I had a space like that for piggies to play in!
That looks wonderful, and even if you don't free range you could fit a very nice sized cage there, and I've seen people that instead of using cubes, they just Velcrod the fleece to the wall so the wall was the edge of the cage..

I can't wait until I move out (in like ten million years..) and get to customize my piggy space!
 

lissie

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Thanks everyone! Their current cage is a stacked wooden cage, same size with 2x7. If I do freerange, I guess I will turn the cage into storage shelves.
 

lissie

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One problem I have is that the pigs are not living together. Cookie lives with Puffy, Oreo and Rocky lives alone. They were fighting when we moved to this new place. (blood was drawn) I've put a divider in their cage ever since that happened.
If I try freerange, I'll have to introduce all of them. Do you think that will work?
I'm planning to build 4 coroplast boxes for their hay/litter box so they'll each have their own feeding station.
 

Llamasomething

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With the freerange if there is a lot more room they might work out better. I would try giving them all a bath together, that seems to work for most piggies. I'm no expert on 4-pig introductions, though.
 

sdpiggylvr

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With the large space, it might be easier for them to get along. However, some personalities simply do not work. In the event that they don't want to live with each other, you can separate them into pairs and divide the room that way, using grids or maybe puppy exercise pens.

Personally, free-range was just too much of a challenge to do. You have to cover the baseboards and the floor and it was just too much work. I stuck with C&C cages instead.

It sounds like you've got it under control, though! Good luck and do take pics when it's all done!
 

kaite13

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If you do freerange there cover your base boards! I had a pig get into the baseboard and was underneath the cabnites! It was so scary, good thing she's okay.
 

Onetwo

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Hey lissie- My piggies are now mostly free range and we are having great success. I put their cage on the floor and doubled it in size (it was too small in the first place) and in the morning when I get up I open their door and they can come out. The kids have been more careful to not run around or get silly in the living room. We no longer have poop or pee accidents as they run back to their cage to do their business. I herd them back into their cage at night (as I am home all day in the living room so they are not left unsupervised) or when we go out. They definately have been sleeping more and wheeking less. I miss their little wheeks now... haha but its working out great. I just wish I could make a cool plexiglass cage like the fellow GL friend. *whistles* that is sweet haw?
 
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