PIggy home - would this work?

[noyouhavehadawee]

I have a vision.........I have a wooden playhouse - like this with a hutch within it which probably sticks out to cover one window the length almost of the width - there is a ramp down that leads into the hutch and we prop the door open so our pigs (now pig) can run round the garden at leisure. I have some time on my hands and was thinking if I put lino on the base of the shed and lowered the legs on the hutch the hutch can be more a hidey and the shed would be the excersise area (thinking winter here and new pigs who don't know the rules about the garden and putting themselves away). With an old fire guard adapted and across the doorway I am thinking I could step in and have a c and c type set up - whatdya think? I want to rehome a few piggys or help the rescue - I just love piggys. Anyone done anything similar?

I don't have hutches in mine. We have my DC old playhouse and (I measured it before we went to get GP3) it's 70" x 72" (I thought it was 5'5" but it's nearer 6' )

It's got a wooden floor (slightly raised) and my DH cleverly made a haybox with a lid from an old bookcase carcass and some wood. It's got a shallow ramp up to the 'roof' of the haybox but they never climb it.

I've got a wooden barrier across the doorway to stop escaping.

We've had our boys in since we got them, but in winter they come in at night.

I'd recommend (to make life easier )
A light. Torch isn't enough. Not even the Million Candles one I paid ££ for.
A fan for summer (it gets hot in a wooden shed)
A heater for winter ( little oil filled radiator. I put it on in the morning then put it onto minimum temp. ) Otherwise they just sit in the hay. I want them to move about a bit
A thermometer
Some way of opening the windows or re-inforcing the door with a flyscreen and fox-proofing.
I have a screen that hooks on, but I'll only use if I'm in the garden.
DH managed to remove one window frame then put wooden planks across the window (screwed on inside) heavy duty mesh (metal covered in plastic and flyscreen. The window slots back in and it has bolts.

I use a big rubber boot liner from Costco in the haybox and some heavy rubber mats (the honeycomb ones so they're ventilated) plus cardboard.

ooooooOOooo 70 yeah im thinking a wood barrier like a stable door to step over would probably do the job but id like a little door in it because ideally id like them to be able to free range in the garden on nice days but I cant for the life of me recall how we managed to train our old girls so beautifully to put selves to bed! Im bound to end up with some scamp! there is no chance of elec in the wendy shed but it does have big windows that open it is very light - never had to do heating though considering it in my plan but not sure how without elec in there hmmmm.

just been outside and measured ours - its only 70 x 45 floor space and not high enough to walk in without hitting your head lol. How many do you think that would accomadate?

I can stand upright inside but I need to duck to get through the door.

I did a measure/compare on one f the websites and apparantly mine would fit 5-6 GPs.

But GP1 and GP2 when they lived there said it was only big enough for TWO (Judgey and greedy piggies)

Ours is near our garage so DH drilled a hole in to feed an thick electric cable through from the garage.

I'd put more pigs in if I had sows but two boars grow to fill a space

When my furbabies went on holiday there were large sheds (sheds not Playhouse size) with IIRC three cages on each side.
I'd asked for my boys to be kept away from girl pigs (in case they got fighty).
GP1 and GP2 were happily clucking at some sows last year "Hello Laydeez, you like what you see, huh". But too risky for little boy , ball of raging hormones.

They didn't have as much room as at home but they treated it as an adventure., and they had run-time

oh i was thinking 3-4 girls max and only more if they were trained to be free range but dh thinks it would be too much of a poonami in the garden.

I wonder if we should move house so we can have a full size piggy summer house

I wanted a bigger shed on the patio (the Pighouse is halfway down the garden). DH was

When I suggested a conservatory, he asked "For the boys"?

Splutter, splutter Am I that transparent"?

The moving would be an option for me. But I've got my garage (right at the bottom of the garden) if I needed it. It's a bit dark though.

I wouldn't mind a poonami garden but with the foxes here, Free Range Piggies aren't possible.
I love those rabbit tunnels though (there's a website ) . But I bet my boars would sit in the middle and refuse to shift

You could always move into the sheds and let the pigs have your houses .

The boarding my lads go to has large pens in a barn. Each pen has a low down hutch in it with a very long shallow ramp so they can come and go as they please. They love it.

At your pig putting herself away!

I've looked at the rabbit tunnels for Current Bun - I thought it would be nice for him to have outdoor time. However, he's been out on his lead a lot this week and all he does is sit in a sunny spot and clean his ears. He can do that in the conservatory for nothing.

That's what im kind of aiming at fernie like a pen set up- cutting legs low on the hutch so its not so severe as it is - im just about to ring our local carpet shoptto see if I can scrounge a lino offcut and some carpet tubes to saw up for fun - I have dreamt about this all night lol! DH keeps looking at me as if im mad but then goes along with it because it will keep me out of his hair !

Just come back with a lovely wood effect lino off cut for free and some cardboard carpet tubes - I love free stuff

Oooh YY if they have cardboard tubes, they've love them. I got the haytunnels from P@H (on a 3 for 2) and once the hay comes off, they're just tubes of cardboard

Ours love scuttling through them - I tried to get some plastic drainpipe but it looked a big snug for our lardy arsed GP1 an adult boar.

I have a short length of plastic drainpipe too, it will be tube overload lol! Couldn't believe a hay rack was £6 in the pet shop for what it was so just fashioning one of thise up too out of a cardboard tube - waiting for the rescue to get back to us now - well if we don't hear anything at least Charlie will have winter luxury!