Newbie, help please

[loveisagirlnameddaisy]

We bought home our two GPs yesterday from animal rehoming centre and they're comfortably ensconced in new home outside. The hutch and run are combined (run downstairs and hutch upstairs with solid sloping ladder in between. Homing centre approved it before we bought it.)

Food wise, we've put one food bowl and one water bottle in the corner of the run (as well as fruit/veg etc scattered round the run so they can forage) but it's occurred to me that if we have loads of rain this weekend as forecast everything will get soaking wet. Should we get a cover for the run or just put everything in the hutch? Or doesn't it matter?

Also, we have two boars so should we give them a bowl and bottle each or are most happy to share?

Sorry for epic post, I'm just keen to do it right and give the boys a nice home as they had a less than ideal start in life

Sorry loveisagirlnameddaisy I forgot to come back to the thread.

My girls have two plastic beds/houses that they can shelter in when it's damp and the run bit comes out at the front so there is shelter underneath the house bit at the top. Sometimes I put them in the top and find one at the bottom by the time I get home! I agree with above that they destroy the grass, everytime I move my hutch the ground is bare! It doesn't take long for it to grow back but they soon munch it back again. I picked a huge handful of dandelion leaves when we were at the park earlier, that kept them satisfied...for 10 mins anyway!

Funnily enough having said on this thread above that only one can go down on her own suddenly i've been finding both on the ground floor now.

hi blue thanks for the reply. We're keeping the pet carrier inside our run as it's big enough and provides shelter during the day if the grass is wet. I'm putting them upstairs at night and bringing them down in the morning if they're still up there, so hopefully they'll be happy with this.

What do you do in winter? Do yours live outside all year round?

Thanks 70, your advice and experience is really valuable. Need to buy a comb - can you recommend a site?

Or literally just a soft baby's brush will do?

YY a baby brush or comb (they have much shorter, fine tines)

I did brush/comb the Peruvian and keep her coat floor level (as I said, I wouldn't have knowingly bought one, she didn't have the long coat as a piglet).

The smoothies look nice buffed up with a silk scarf

Sorry, another beginners question...

I understand that they need plenty of hay for their diet. I'm also using hay for their bedding. Do you just use the same hay or should it be different? I've read that Timothy hay is good?

I use the same hay for bedding as eating (I did try a hayrack but they - GP1 and GP3- just pulled the hay out and sat in it )

I usually buy from The Range or Jolleys.(Meadow Hay)
I got a couple of bags of Timothy Hay (£5/ bag) from a small petshop that they liked .

If your pigs are adult, don't buy Alfala (it's too high in calcium, it's only for nursing or pregnant sows, or piglets)

Readi- Grass is nice in winter when they can't graze (it's not long stranded, so not bedding , but it's very green and smells lovely) Unfortunately it made my GP2 sneeze.

I've bought hay from an eBay seller (he buys whole bales for rabbits and bags it) , I might buy a whole bale myself now that I have 3 piggies.

The hay has been rough the past few years, I think they must have to dry it artificially with the wet weather BUT hopefully, last summer and this years will improve the quality .

There's a website that sells bagged hay ( IIRC it;s in Yorkshire, they sell 'sample' bags then you can order bigger bags).

Make sure your hay is kept safe from mousey types, little blighters pee everywhere.
My DBro gave me some industrial bags and I use a giant Quick Clip (Lakeland Limited)

70 - you're absolutely right, she is Peruvian, not Abyssinian! She is in desparate need of a wash, brush and haircut as we've been away on holiday and she has been staying with MIL who has done a fabulous job of feeding and cleaning the girls out, but was too nervous to groom them.