poppy ben grace Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Hi, can anyone help please! I have 5 lovely piggies currently living in a rabbit eglu with 2 meter run(managed to get a second hand one!) I know its a long way off but I want to be prepared for winter. I have looked and looked on the internet at hutches etc and just don't know what to go for. I know they cant live on the grass in winter so want to put them in a hutch or cage. My dilemma is that some people say they can winter outside while others say bring them indoors! Also can anyone recommend a good hutch that would be big enough for 5 ladies? There are so many on ebay etc !! Another idea I had was to convert part of the chicken run my hubbie built and make it into a shed and put the eglu in there. Any thoughts or ideas would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Hello there, I've had guineas that lived outdoors, and they seemed fine, provided they were given plenty of straw and hay to snuggle in, and they had a good hutch, off the ground, with a 'bedroom' compartment with a solid door to keep away drafts... If the weather gets really, really cold, there are hutches covers available on the internet, to help insulate the hutch. Five piggies obviously, as you say, need something big enough. Maybe a two-storey hutch with a ramp between the two levels? A shed with the eglu in it would be perfectly adequate I would think, of course also with plenty of straw to keep the piggies warm. My piggies (I have 7 of them currently) all live indoors, but as I said I've kept piggies outdoors in the past and they were fine! Well done for the advance planning!! At least you won't be caught by surprise at first frost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken deficient Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 My piggies are in an Eglu in the summer, but in winter are kept in the house, in an unheated room. I had 4 females at one point and got them one of these with a fleece tunnel to make the ramp safer: It gave them plenty of space, but now I have 2 piggies so it is somewhat bigger than I really need now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken shack Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 We had piggies when the children were young, we put the hutch in the conservatory in the winter and when they got old bought an indoor hutch and only put them in an outdoor run when in was warm and dry. They lived for 7 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy ben grace Posted June 8, 2013 Author Share Posted June 8, 2013 Thanks for all the ideas everyone! I still cant decide what to do. I have seen a second hand hutch with two levels but have read that piggies find it hard to use the ramps. Is this the case? Also the hutch is 4 foot by 2 foot with 2 levels would this be big enough for 5 piggies? I thought I could keep the hutch in our shed when it turns cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 "Ooops, word censored!"ody told my piggies that they would have problems with ramps! They seem quite happy scooting up and down them. They happily used one in a 2 level hutch, and now they use one to get from their high hutch to the grass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy ben grace Posted June 8, 2013 Author Share Posted June 8, 2013 Thanks Snowy, just wanted to be sure before I splash the cash on more housing! Honestly these piggies are nearly as pampered as the hens! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
