Hello everyone!
I an new to the forum, and new to piggies!
I will be taking three boars off of my friends that had an accidental litter. They were born last night, and mummy and babies are doing very well. She knew that they were expecting, so this in not a last minuet decision or anything. I have been doing my reading... and now it's time to build a cage!
We have a lot of wood and clear plastic left over from building our vivariums and other things, so i'm hoping to use that. Here's the plan, and relevant questions:
-The bottom level would be 1m x 95cm. I know the minimum is one square meter, but it simply won't fit into the space I have for it. It will be open top.
-The Second level would be attached to the bottom via a ramp OUTSIDE of the cage, either enclosed with wire, or some open top plastic paneling too high from them to jump over.
- The Second level will be all enclosed, so they can get away from the dogs bothering them (more on this in a moment). It will be 1m x 40cm.
- I'll be trying out fleece on a coroplast base on both levels.
- There will be a water bottle and food on both levels, but only one hey rack at the bottom.
- There will be plenty of hides and toys.
- The front will be made of plastic panels that I can remove for cleaning and floor time.
- The Second floor will also have plastic panels on the front, but this time they will be like a door I can open to clean and get to the piggies. I plan on putting holes into the wood and the plastic up here to aid ventilation. They will NEVER be trapped in here.
- Floor time will be whenever I'm home, basically. I work from home, so the only time I'm out is when I'm at college two and a half days a week, and for odd bits like shopping and social occasions. But there is always someone here.
Okay, a few questions:
- Is this going to be too small for three? I know it's not ideal, but with floor time ect would it be okay? If not i'll just take two, as there is no point trying to help out, then putting them in a bad situation. NOTE: I do have old cages from when we kept rabbits (our last one died earlier this year :sad: ), so if scuffles happen, something can be done quickly.
- Will the ventilation be too bad on the upper level, even with plenty of holes?
- Would it be a good idea to make a removable top, encase they are freaked out by the dogs? For the first week, I plan on keeping the dogs well away from them (my dogs are used to bunnies, but not piggies). Then, I'll let the calmest dog introduce himself so they know they're not going to get hurt. Our bunnies were roaming around the house most days, and the dogs didn't care, so I doubt they'll be interested for more than a few days. Oh, and they won't ever be left alone with the dogs in the room or anything!
- If you think they'll be too much competition for hey, should I find another place for more racks?
Annnnd, I think that's it. Please let me know if you think it won't work out. I thought that I would ask on here before starting to build
Thanks you for any input you might have, and sorry there's not pic (the scanner hates me)!
I an new to the forum, and new to piggies!
I will be taking three boars off of my friends that had an accidental litter. They were born last night, and mummy and babies are doing very well. She knew that they were expecting, so this in not a last minuet decision or anything. I have been doing my reading... and now it's time to build a cage!
We have a lot of wood and clear plastic left over from building our vivariums and other things, so i'm hoping to use that. Here's the plan, and relevant questions:
-The bottom level would be 1m x 95cm. I know the minimum is one square meter, but it simply won't fit into the space I have for it. It will be open top.
-The Second level would be attached to the bottom via a ramp OUTSIDE of the cage, either enclosed with wire, or some open top plastic paneling too high from them to jump over.
- The Second level will be all enclosed, so they can get away from the dogs bothering them (more on this in a moment). It will be 1m x 40cm.
- I'll be trying out fleece on a coroplast base on both levels.
- There will be a water bottle and food on both levels, but only one hey rack at the bottom.
- There will be plenty of hides and toys.
- The front will be made of plastic panels that I can remove for cleaning and floor time.
- The Second floor will also have plastic panels on the front, but this time they will be like a door I can open to clean and get to the piggies. I plan on putting holes into the wood and the plastic up here to aid ventilation. They will NEVER be trapped in here.
- Floor time will be whenever I'm home, basically. I work from home, so the only time I'm out is when I'm at college two and a half days a week, and for odd bits like shopping and social occasions. But there is always someone here.
Okay, a few questions:
- Is this going to be too small for three? I know it's not ideal, but with floor time ect would it be okay? If not i'll just take two, as there is no point trying to help out, then putting them in a bad situation. NOTE: I do have old cages from when we kept rabbits (our last one died earlier this year :sad: ), so if scuffles happen, something can be done quickly.
- Will the ventilation be too bad on the upper level, even with plenty of holes?
- Would it be a good idea to make a removable top, encase they are freaked out by the dogs? For the first week, I plan on keeping the dogs well away from them (my dogs are used to bunnies, but not piggies). Then, I'll let the calmest dog introduce himself so they know they're not going to get hurt. Our bunnies were roaming around the house most days, and the dogs didn't care, so I doubt they'll be interested for more than a few days. Oh, and they won't ever be left alone with the dogs in the room or anything!
- If you think they'll be too much competition for hey, should I find another place for more racks?
Annnnd, I think that's it. Please let me know if you think it won't work out. I thought that I would ask on here before starting to build
Thanks you for any input you might have, and sorry there's not pic (the scanner hates me)!
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