Pig hutch problems

Just cant seem to get it right and its costing a fortune!

First I had a joiner make this to my design and I kept it in a shed. Cost £80






Then I brought them indoors for the winter and bought them this £50



Then I bought this one £70



I just can't seem to get it right. I think it is because the pigs are so scruffy and wee everywhere.

The indoor cage is ideal for cleaning and less messy but not big enough really for 4 pigs and it is just for indoor use and I would like the pigs outside.

The 2 hutches take more cleaning and if not in a shed this is a real pain during the winter. As the buns use trays it's quick and convenient but the pigs need a full scale hutch clean out everyday because they wee so much.

I am using trays in the new hutch but still awkward during bad weather.

I can't get my pig accomodation right. Any suggestions?

I want...
easy clean
not messy with stuff falling out everywhere when I open the doors

Rabswood

Just thought I would add a couple of pics of Oscar sleeping/playing dead pig in his tray. Very cute.

your bying them alot of hutches ... cna under stand one for living indors one for out why the 3 one?!!??!

Well... the third hutch was supposedly for Big and Beige (the babies) it's 5 foot and I can open it straight up on to the garden so they could get in and out when they wanted (when I'm home) however on arrival I discovered it's not deep enough and only suitable for pigs really (size wise). The first hutch needs to be in a shed or conservatory as the top opens up (the nest area which they love) so in wet weather it would get soaked opening up outdoors or cleaning also there are 3 levels to clean so takes extra long.

I'm trying to find a quick cleaning solution and I don't like the thought of using vet bed with pigs, they just pee all the time and walk squashed wet poo every where. Why oh why can't they be clean like bunnies!

Rabs

ive just started using vet bed in mine with newspaper underneath and a litter tray full of hay.less messy and easy to clean but then you have vet bed to wash.gonna give it a few weeks to see which i prefer

they actuly dont smell as bad as any other animal


:wave:

sorry just seen that you dont like using vet bed.

Yes with 4 pigs it would need replacing everyday. The Warmsley Pet Bedding which I use in the indoor cage is best as you don't need to clean everyday but not really suitable to put in the hutch as it would be falling out everywhere.

Rabs

love your 3rd GP home, how did you litter train yours? my 3 boys just wee everywhere, i'm cleaning out their hutch 2-3 times a week at the moment. Ive tried mine with fleece pet beds but they spend more time being washed than being in the hutch.

How about putting lino in the hutch, then newspaper down. Changing newspaper everyday is quite easy. The lino can be washed easily too as I know pigs wee and poo all over the place!!

what about lino.....then put a layer of carefresh or megazorb down that would absorb the wee and get rid of the smell a bit?didnt realishe how messy they were!!!

I have the same hutch with 4 in ive just started using towels and fleece
I just scoop up poo everyday and ive changed the bottom fleece today it had been in since sat!

Many years ago my first bun would push all her bedding up against the door so you would open the door and it all fell out :lol: she was so helpful! So my dad put in a piece of wood about 10cm high that could be lifted in or out across the front of the hutch, inside the door. This stopped everything falling out every time i opened the door, I could open the door, then push all the bedding back. It was removable to allow for easy cleaning. Just wondering if that would help with the stuff falling out? :? My pigs have free range in a shed, they have a wooden box and a plastic dog bed that has paper and hay in, then newspaper on the rest of the floor. It gets completely changed every other day, takes me about 15mins to do the whole lot, which is fast x jess

Thanks for your suggestions everyone.

I think I will try putting wood across the front on the top and on the bottom then using newspaper and Warmsley Pet Bedding (which acts in a similar way to megazorbe but is much cheaper - I use it in my buns litter trays topped with hay). When the weather starts getting too wet I will move the pigs hutch into the garage (I don't use it for the car) there is a window so they will have light during the day. At least it will be dry and I can take my time cleaning them out even if it's throwing it down outside.

The first hutch in the post is already being strored in the garage and it has the nice nest area which is good for winter, so maybe I will just transfer the pigs into their winter accomodation lol.

They've all been running around on the grass today for a couple of hours before having their nails trimmed and being put yet again back into a clean dry hutch!

Rabswood

Rabswood

That first hutch thats looks like what me and the hubby have in mind for our pig hutch. What where the measurements if you don't mind me asking?

I clean my loads also. They suffer flies in warm weather which is a pain in the ****. However so nothing comes out, my partner measured a piece of see-through plastic and clipped it on to the outside. It's only 3inches high and does the job, plus it does not restrict their view.

I also had fly netting for my door which I cut up and attached with velcro to the outside of the hutch. (NO MORE FLIES). Rabbits have the same plastic and nothing falls out of the hutch, it also helps with slugs.

i use inco pads in my hutches for the pigs, topped with a thin layer of medibed and hay.

the inco pads are biodegradable ones that i buy from the vets as they are what the surgery use to line the cages.

it's so easy to keep the pigs clean as they are large and absorbent, i just roll them up with the hay etc and the hutch itself stays spotless.

it costs me around thirty quid for 200 and they are 57x 75cm.

I have all my hutches lined with lino then put a thick layer of shavings down and cover with hay, which they eat but i top up all the time. I clean mine out totally once a week as my method makes sure that the top layer is always clean and dry as wee and poo fall through the hay to the shavings, easy peesy! I have 16 pigs and 8 hutches, takes me about 45 mins once a week to clean out.