Second Floor

[snickers]

Hi everybody,

I have 2 adult pigs, and I adopted a baby which was born 4 days ago and I will be picking her up in Dec when she is ready.
My question is, is it safe to build a second floor in the cage that my 2 adults are in right now even though the baby will be going in it soon? I am afraid she might fall off, or fall off the ramp. Although, she might be too afraid to use it.

Thanks for the help!

 

[bpatters]

I wouldn't worry about her being too afraid to use it -- if she sees the others using it, she will too. And being young, she may even use it before they do. It took my 8-week-olds about one hour to figure out the tunnel between the two floors in their cage.

But, you can build a ramp with a side rail to protect her -- there are lots of pictures in the gallery. My tunnel is made out of a piece of black plastic drain pipe that cost less than $5.

 

[akstrohm]

All ramps should have sides (as optionally a top). Most pigs won't use them if they don't. Make the ramp gradual and make sure it has a good grip.

You can go ahead and build the second story. Make sure you have food on the main level until your pigs get used to it.

 

[MyZoo2]

I think a second story is a great idea! We used 2 grids bent to a "L" shape, then we used some leftover coroplast for a solid surface. Then I used duct tape to attach the grippy kitchen drawer liner. As soon as I put the hay & food on the second floor our guys went running up the ramp, and now they think it's some kind of race track!