Daft piggies!

[987flowers]

We have a decent run we've been moving the piggies to when the weather is nice. They seem to have got the hang of eating the grass now but spend quite a lot of time hiding in their hay tube.

Well today we put them in the hide house we bought to go in the run, put some corriander on the ramp to try and persuade them they could go in and out as they please but would they?! No of course not, one popped its head out for a few mins to snuffle the nearest spring but then went back in. Tried later with carrots but still nothing so they spent two hours hidden away unnecessarily. Decided to take the hide house out, put them back in the run and they then ate grass like maniacs who had been shut up for days, even staying on the grass when I cleaned out the hutch (unheard of as normally it's stealth nibbling).

Any tips on getting them used to it? Also any tips on getting them used to us as they still really struggle every time we move them to the run, they aren't very cuddly at all (they are 14/15 weeks old now.)

I think I've got the picture. You've got them a house for the run but it has a ramp. Sorry to tell you this but guineas are not very bright. Some get the hang of ramps, some don't.

Our girls have a wooden 'L' shaped house tunnel thing, which had a ramp until it fell off to the roof. The roof is more square. The idea is there is another level to go on top which we didn't buy. The girls never got the hang of going up the ramp to sit on the roof. Instant we get a guinea face poking out each end of the 'L' and one sat under the ramp. Because it is open bottomed they think they are hiding and can eat grass at the same time. They also have a summer house built into their run which has a wooden floor, we fill with newspaper and hay.

Your guineas are still babies, not a cuddly age. Wait until they have grown up to be lardy pigs then they will be cuddly. To get to that stage buy your way into their hearts by hand feeding them veggie treats such as parsley, grass bits of cucumber. Do that when you hold them ,they will soon associate being held with a nice experience.