Raising Guinea Pigs Outdoors in Winter Using Our NEW Mowing Crates

[@KLOConnell67]

Your dog deserves an award for best supporting actor!! Always so attentive :)

[@NKY151]

So much plastic... sawing is leaving little bits all over the ground, and the zip ties could easy be swapped for wire twists... The shelters, tubes, bins and tarps all need to GO

[@MrTwostring]

You must have missed the episode where the dog killed one of the guinea pigs. Poor dog WANTS to chomp the piggies but knows that the humans value them and don't want them chomped.

[@katherinekelly5380]

I realize this a farm work video trying out a new technique but I really enjoyed the close ups of the Guinea pigs and hearing their sounds ! I think this channel maybe turning me into a Guinea pig fan 😄

[@christopherd.winnan8701]

@katherinekelly5380 - You might also enjoy chicken TV at Sean's permaculture nursery. kzbin.info/www/bejne/poLHo2Wsrs6Dr68

[@christopherd.winnan8701]

Please add more footage of the mowed patches, along with analysis of how they have been transformed and improved.

[@browniewin4121]

I would think more straw would be better than a box with a hot water bottle and a towel. The hot water doesn't stay hot long, and when a towel gets damp it can get very cold.

[@qdexdaz]

seconding more hay, the ideal situation for these guys would be the interior entirely filled with hay for them to bury themselves in. mine love it when they can make a bed in hay and prefer that to any soft fabric hide i've ever given them, and they'd much prefer that to lying on the cold wet mud

[@Di-eq7wn]

Straw is better as bedding. Hay doesn’t keep them as warm and isn’t as good.

[@helgavoorneveld1530]

I've kept my guinea pigs in straw in the hutch in their pen all year outside never on wet grass!!

[@TheTartanRoseCompany]

What are they bred for pet shops ? Just. Wondering.

[@helgavoorneveld1530]

@TheTartanRoseCompany I think most people keep them as pets but I used them as mini lawnmowers as I didn't have money to buy a lawnmower and the owner of the property wasn't good at doing it and I only have a relatively small lawn. Enough for 4 guinea pigs to eat all year round 🥰

[@NickCombs]

When it's cold like this, they're more likely to herd to the shelter on their own, but I think they might try to roam more in the warmer months. For that, you'll likely do better with two adjacent pens with simple gates on two opposing walls between so that they remain fenced the whole time during the move and you still minimize how much jostling the pens is required.

[@one_field]

❤ Yes to this! We do this for rotational grazing of our goats and sheep; we set up the new electric net enclosure directly off the side of the prior paddock, open up one segment, wait for them all to run through, then close it and take away the prior nets. For these cages, if you used carabineer clips or any kind of spring clips/snaps to attach them at the corners, rather than zip ties, you could do the same. Set up one cage. When ready to move, set up 3 new panels in a staple shape, abutting the corners of your current cage. Open the current cage into the new cage, or just lift out the dividing panel so it's a super long cage. Move all the accessories, then put the dividing panel back and clip it to the new panels, forming the next cage. Collect the 3 panels from the old cage and move them to the next location. Leapfrogging like this completely avoids the part where you lift and open a cage that has uncooperative critters in it. And if you attach your water bottles and any food bowls, mineral blocks, nesting boxes, etc to the shelter, or one single framework that is free-standing and can be lifted like a shower caddy, then moving those accessories is simple and faster than if they're attached to the wire fence panels. That way, it doesn't matter which panel you're connecting to the new cage, because they're all equivalent (no accessories riding on them). Do y'all not have snakes? My big worry with these cages would be snakes, weasels and other such predators.

[@callalily7130]

Ha! I just recommended the same thing!! 😂

[@maisieedwards240]

@@one_fieldwe do have snakes but they’re fairly small, I think only the babies would be at risk, but unfortunately our native wildlife is rarer than it should be. There probably is a risk though from stoats and other things, I’m kind of surprised they didn’t put a top on the cages to protect them. Just like a mesh sheet held with bungee cords so you can easily take it off would help I think

[@MarrisaPlays]

since they only move one cage at a time they really only need 1 additial pin with some kind of gate on all the pins to let the piggies through it i think would save time as well since they would only need to open the doors and then herd the pigs through it not so much time standing holding the cage up and leaving it to chance that doggo wont have another accident and that they wont take off running on their own.

[@gorsime13]

@@one_fieldst george took care of all the snakes in ireland i think

[@helengrierson2978]

I came for the squeaks and guinea pig noises. They're such vocal creatures! ❤

[@katherinekelly5380]

I am really enjoying the spirit of innovation - not every idea is going to be a winner, the important thing is to keep tweaking and adjusting Often I forget all the iterations I go through to get to a solution - in a year’s time these guys will look back at these videos and be amazed at the progress they’ve made

[@AmyFelton]

I love the tiny little black fellow! He's always the last one to go indoors! ❤

[@annakuch9108]

Yessss. He simply does not care

[@stephmorgan7444]

Love what you're doing here. I grew up in Montana and we kept our garden tidy the same way. While some of the challenges would be more difficult here in Wales (Where I live now) some of the considerations would be quite similar. Feel free to ignore anything irrelevant but this is what we learned (if you don't already know from all your experience and research)! * Hay/Gras is very low in vitamin C and guinea pigs, unlike rabbits, cannot make their own vit C internally meaning they are prone to bumble foot and scurvy. I'd be chucking in red bell peppers and other high vit c veggies on a daily basis. The average adult guinea pig needs 10-15mg vic C a day, and a pregnant or nursing sow needs double that. * Grass/hay CAN be high in protein, but it depends on the variety and season. It might be worth having a grass test once a year to find out if it's sufficient for the piggies needs. It might be fine in spring and lacking in winter for instance so test it at different times each year. In the meantime, pregnant and nursing sows need more protein, so planting some mixed grass to include red clover might round out their forage nicely if you have a deficiency * For the first season, just having a cage with sides like yours worked fine for us, but soon enough the bloody birds of prey, eagles, hawks etc, learned that they can land inside the pen and flip the shelter over with their beaks. After that, all of our grazing cages were topped with bird netting. Never hurt any birds but they stopped using our grazers as a buffet lol * I know some comments have suggested giving the pigs more straw or hay for bedding, and they're not wrong about cloth getting very cold, even freezing solid, much more quickly than hay. The issue is that everywhere you've left their hay pile behind, you'll have to rake up the hay afterwards or spread it out, as no more grass will grow where it's lying. I won't lie, the water bottle part made me cringe only because I know how much pigs love to chew, and in fact need to in order to maintain their teeth, yet they have grass and hay and nothing more solid.... except the plastic water bottle lol Long story short, I don't have a solution to keeping them warm during uk rain storms, but any method you choose comes with added labour or more risk, or both. Maybe a portable chicken coop to stand in the orchard, during the worst of forecast weather they could be herded inside to wait it out? Just pondering! But do consider hard veggies or some kind of wooden object that is safe and useful for them to chew :) Anyhow, total respect for what you guys are doing and the journey of learning involved in it all, love your videos please keep them coming!

[@qdexdaz]

i really hope they will listen about the vitamin c soon before it becomes an awful problem, people have been bringing it up every video but they just showed us their mouths and said 'no they're fine'.

[@Bartje1503]

Regarding the bird netting. Were you able to move the cage, like in this video, while the netting stays on? Or did you have to take the netting off each time? Thanks for sharing your experiences :)

[@stephmorgan7444]

@@Bartje1503 Yes, we could still move the cages with the netting, it wasn't completely taunt across the top so had just enough give :)

[@CmdrClueless]

Have you ever considered making two pens with a shared gate on two sides? You put them back to back, open the "shared gate", move the crate. Once all the critters move to the new side you close up the gates, then pick up the now empty pen. If you have 3 working pens you just need one more to cycle between the three as you move them. You don't have to worry about the critters ever being loose to run about. Also, you might consider some long spikes built into the 4 corners of the shelters. You simply pull them up to move, then push them into the ground to hold it down. Much like tent stakes. You get to aerate the soil a bit at a time as you move the crates.

[@cap8e]

it would take longer to move. the whole goal was to move them as fast as possible to reduce working hours vs mowing

[@stavi095]

i love that your big dog is so invested and interested in the guinea pigs

[@parccarreg]

He is obsessed!

[@polish_pete_uk]

Suggestion: screw 2x4 on the all 4 edges of the ibc tote roof. This way the walls will be pushed down, making them harder to pick up by the wind. Also, you could screw some sort of handles on top of 2x4 for easier pickup when moving the pen. In summer you could attach second roof to those 2x4, to keep the heat between the roofs, as I'm worried that in summer these may turn into greenhouse, cooking the piggies inside.

[@parccarreg]

Yea nice ideas! For sure, summer housing will need to be shaded

[@one_field]

Came here to suggest the exact same thing! We have to weight down even the big plastic dogloos (igloo dog houses); everything goes flying otherwise when the winds kick up over 100 km per hour (60+mph), which seems to be about every other month here in the mid-atlantic of the USA. Plus the sun gets pretty intense here in summer, baking anything exposed (shade temp might be 98*F but it'll be over 130*F in containers placed in the sun--we make use of this for solar dehydration and solar ovens). I assume Welsh summers are milder and cloudier, but shade will also protect the plastic from UV degradation, so no harm in trying. Do you guys not see much freezing weather, either? We have to swap out the water bottles for bowls for all of our rabbits at this time of year, and return to bottles in March or April. Occasionally we get a surprise freeze early, in November, that cracks a bottle or two before we've switched to bowls. There's one on the table with epoxy setting up right now, to repair a crack from an early freeze this year. Ah the joys of farm life. Love watching your iterations and optimization process!

[@13nillo]

I would consider weighing down the houses with terra cotta plant pots on the inside so they act as a thermal mass to release heat at night. The trick with terra cotta pots is to use the drainage hole in the center to suspend it upside down from the ceiling. You just need a hole, a nut & bolt, a couple fender washers, and a rubber washer to keep the rain out. I'd probably use the shallow pots that people put succulents in bc then the GPs can walk under them and use them as shelter. If the weight is attached, you won't have to shift piles every time you want to move the pen. You could paint the terra cotta black for better heat absorption during the day.

[@clownclown3]

Very minor thing but especially with groups new to moving, face the entrance hole towards them that way they will know where to go quick

[@ProjecthappylifeNYC]

I love that you refer to the guinea pigs as “everyone” and “people.”

[@TisonArdent]

Your lawnmowers are very cute, sir !

[@bella-bee]

Today those new babies, born overnight, are newborns, they look so mature, and dry and, well, big! Well done mum!

[@andrea_frm_dubt8977]

@@bella-bee guinea pigs are usually born late morning (between 9am and noon). Fully furred, eyes open, teeth developed and ready to survive after just 1-2 hours with mum.

[@celestecromarty1200]

You could paint a small portion of the top of one of the white plastic houses black, it might absorb more heat and also provide gradient inside the the hide

[@californiandreamin]

Plus it will give them some relief from the intense sunshine that seems way brighter these days

[@MakinMoneyISeasy]

Get the thickest dead cat microphone cover you can find, it makes a world of difference in the wind.

[@parccarreg]

Thanks for the suggestion, yea we found it hard to get the audio right in this weather!

[@NickCombs]

I doubt even the best dead cat is going to stand up to gale force winds!

[@MakinMoneyISeasy]

@@NickCombs You can still clearly hear what I'm saying on mine even going 90mph on my motorcycle

[@tracybowling1156]

I don't have any ideas at the moment. But I do have some chearleading to do: great job! You guys are smart and compassionate. I have a feeling that your guinea pigs are going to be just fine and extremely happy! I love the guinea pig content!

[@Beakerbite]

So, the aerodynamic profile of the huts is actually a detriment. The wind doesn't get inside and pop them up, what happens is the wind overtop moves faster as they're shaped a bit like an air foil. This causes a low pressure zone above the hut and the normal air pressure inside is what pops them up. Then when they pop up, the wind obviously takes them away. The good news, is that a couple of wood batons will work just fine to weigh them down as there's a limited amount of lift the air foil effect will generate. Plus the wood will give the pigs sometimes hard to chew on for tooth health.

[@earthlingbrittany]

I just absolutely love your guinea pig videos. Thanks for making them =)

[@parccarreg]

Glad to hear! Thank you

[@helgavoorneveld1530]

I've kept guinea pigs outside in county cork on Ireland for years during mild winters with green grass and only putting them in an outside hutch with hay and dry food if ice and snow made grass unavailable. They were surprisingly hardy and I had them for 4 years before old age and a loss to a fox killed them 😞 I love how you keep improving conditions and keep changing structures trying new things coming up with new solutions to make the guinea pigs work better while maintaining their health and wellbeing and keep chipping away at the time and effort to do the work smarter not harder. The designs are getting better and better. Always look forward to your videos I love your out of the box thinking and sustainability checking. Guinea pigs love clover and all sorts of herbs and so there's no need for artificial fertiliser!!

[@ekul4437]

Ohh that little one with the white face I used to graze my lawn with the two I had they lived till they were 8 years old ❤

[@MakinMoneyISeasy]

If they aren't staying warm enough you could put some black tarp over the IBCs to soak up more heat in the day. I would say paint them, but it might get too hot in the summer. Great channel btw, totally useless information to me obviously, but it feels like I'm being productive somehow just watching lol

[@carnation969]

I think that would just add more shade than heat with the tarp. Would be good to test though!

[@sampark2056]

Something to note is that Guinea pigs were originally domesticated in the Andeas mountains so they are nature built ro with stand cold. The babies however if born in winter will die of frost bite

[@meikala2114]

Damp is one thing, but you can throw any amount of cold at them

[@murmurrrr]

This is very much not true. Guinea pigs kept as pets have been bred for hundreds of years by now. They have lost many of their original attributes. Aside from that the actual non-domesticated guinea pigs do NOT live in very high altitude places. They are not able to withstand very cold temperatures.

[@ThomasWatsonHollingworthIV]

They were raised outdoors in the mountains of South America. So I'm willing to bet it works. Nice video. It's definitely worth trying it using modern equipment and weather patterns.

[@tomwithey5581]

Put your circular saw blade in backwards when cutting plastic, you will get a smoother and cleaner cut and it will be easier than a handsaw Love what you are doing! Gets my mind thinking 🤔

[@LoDega]

Masking tape on the cut line, too.

[@Nosecrusher]

I think simply weighting the huts down as you are is working well. I ight suggest adding handles or straps to make them easier to pick up and move.

[@parccarreg]

Thanks, good idea

[@philrodriguez1948]

Thanks! To keep the homes in place perhaps a stick running through the fence, from one side to the other, just over the top of the casita.

[@captainswjr]

I think adding a gate to two sides of the pens an an additional pen would work well. You would put the additional pen in the next spot, open the gates, then move the shelter to the next pen. Once the piggies migrate, just shut the gates and take the now empty pen to the next pen to move. You'd only need the one additional pen that way, and you'd never be moving the pen while the piggies are in it.

[@superdupergrover9857]

The height you chose for the guinea pig house is good. The shorter the better, it will stay warmer because there is less airspace their bodies have to warm up.

[@OldOneTooth]

straps and pegs when you know the wind is on the way. We used to make our houses out of bee boxes with bee box lids. Then we ended up with them just running on the lawns with a house up a ramp. but less predators here.

[@AnneDunning-s3c]

Pegs/stakes are absolutely the way to go. I was going to suggest stakes with high 6-8" horizontal bars to clamp down the shelter. I like the alternative of straps, too. I recommend experimenting with form based on the concept of stakes/pegs.

[@OldOneTooth]

@AnneDunning-s3c I wonder if the straps were short straps permanently attached to side, if that would work or if long ones over top is better?

[@AnneDunning-s3c]

@@OldOneTooth, oh, I thought you meant long straps, but short ones present other possibilities. I wish we could draw in these comments. If short straps, I recommend using right-angle steel straps with holes on both faces. One hole bolts the strap to the shelter. The peg goes through the perpendicular hole and into the ground. Strong, secure. Great idea, Tooth! A fabric strap will weaken over a season or two. A steel strap will outlast the poly shelter.

[@kellyousaytoday5149]

Bungie cord over the breeder hut attach to the bottom rung of your wire cage. I've enjoyed following along with this experiment.

[@ImpossibleSolution-k6w]

I like the bungee cord idea, but am afraid if the winds were high enough if it might take the cage flying with it? You could also use things like camping pins or the pins you use to hold kids football goals to the ground and attach the bungee cords to these. But maybe weights are easier, less faffing about…..?

[@FHRider-o1m]

Bungee cord over the breeder house, pegged down with long storm proof tent pegs might help, and be lighter to move, we use a hook to pull them out, you can make one with a broom handle and bent screw in the end. A couple of bungees criss crossed over the top of the pen might stop birds of prey landing inside it, but it’d have to be the right length, so it doesn’t warp the shape. They definitely need vitamin C added, it can come as drops supplement to their water. Love seeing how happy and outdoors they are

[@Gogking1414]

Maybe attaching all the accessory pipes and individual hides to a single board or handle so you only have to pick up and move two items per move, the breeder hut and then everything else.

[@Janette-rz4km]

Where I live, the snakes, cats, dogs, foxes and other predators would eat them in those loose cages. The dogs would be some protection, but not enough. Also, the rain torrents here would probably drown them not to mention the heat in the summer. I live in Northern Alabama and I have a hard time keeping rabbits and chickens alive. They are very cute, though

[@jancko995]

I love your videos you should do then daily! I would like to see the progress how they cut down the lawn and how the grass regenerates

[@goldensocks]

What if you built a second cage in front of the first. Then when the patch is spent lift the adjacent wall and let them migrate to the next adjacent pen. Then when the old one is cleared out you lower the wall and move the adjacent cage casually while they graze :) I love watching you all learn and grow!

[@parccarreg]

Thanks for the suggestion! We want to avoid having to build too many crates. This would require us to build double the number we need

[@FaenumVena]

@@parccarreg you would only need one more as you can use the old one from one row to move the next group.

[@bvos4568]

This looks like the idee i suggested. Make one extra house outside the fences. With doors or a pipe in the fence and house so they can go in. When it is time to move you lock them up, move the fences to the other side of the house and open the door on the other side where the fences now are.

[@NickCombs]

@@parccarreg What FaenumVena said. You only need another fence. Everything else can be shifted as you've been doing currently.

[@parccarreg]

@@FaenumVena This would take a lot longer to do. The crates are convenient to walk along but not to carry around - especially between rows. I'm not sure of the benefit given that we don't have an issue with GPs running away using the current system shown in this video. Even the older method we used (inching along) would be faster than taking down a crate and erecting it in front. Appreciate the suggestion though

[@Sea-cucumber1151]

Love how you use the rat bait holders as their house!

[@alextaylor398]

They just sound soooo cute

[@TexasNana2]

Love Guinea Pigs ❤ I really enjoy your channel 😊

[@parccarreg]

Thank you so much!

[@rurutuM]

2ft rebar stake on 4 corners. you can use conduit strap. you only need to insert rebar during storms, not for everyday use

[@jaylyne8638]

Great idea. Probably cheaper than typical tent stakes

[@schwarzcronnok102]

This is amazing. You got a new sub! Love to see how this develops. Thank you and keep it up

[@martinakreienbuehl7740]

Love your ideas! I think you could improve the guineapig houses by building a wall inside the house to crate sort of a entrance room. This way the wind couldnt go through the house as easily and you wouldnt have to lift up so many individual pieces to move them. This can be found in hedgehog housing for the winter.

[@ooberroadie14]

Love the noise those little critters make. If you attach a wire on the top of one side like a handle (attach points should be 12" apart) and do so in the same position on the opposing side of the mowing crate, you can use a 2" dowel that spans the mowing crate and lift and move the crate with ease. Notch the ends of the dowel to keep the wire from slipping off. Now one person can easily move the crate, and you can use the same dowel for every crate.

[@mertel21]

Hm you gave a great idea with these IBC containers, thanks :D. I'll try it for rabbits next spring ^^. Now we have our two GP-s outside too, in Hungary is is usually a bit colder then over there, until now the coldest we had was about -3 °C but they didn't seem to get bothered at all. They eat a lot though :D. They should tolerate cold quite well as in their natural range they live quite high up in the Andes too.

[@parccarreg]

Yes they are more robust than people give them credit for. As long as they have a nice shelter they seem to do very well. Cold is not as much of an issue as wet and wind

[@mertel21]

@@parccarreg Well, actually, field mice and other small rodents and crew survive winter, so it's clearly possible, but when I first read about them, I read everywhere that they should be kept over 15°C XD. By the way, it's also said that they tolerate heat worse and that without proper shading, they are susceptible to heatstroke. Now, that's probably something I will have to look out for, as it can get really hot here during summer for several weeks. I probably have to keep them under trees or something or at least put some shading net over them.

[@jameseden9380]

We kept ours on grasss all year round, with a similar wire pen to yours. They just need some decent shelter. We trained them to jump in a crate to be taken home at the end of the day.

[@TheAruruu]

just a minor thing, but when you pick up the corner to let them move to the IBC tote, use a stick with a crotch to support the lifted corner, freeing you to herd them towards the new spot. the fence still has 2 other solid points in contact with the ground, so there's no risk of it falling out or dropping it on the little guys so long as the stick is on the inside of the pen.

[@flamingomtn]

I'll bet that raising "livestock" is more challenging when they're tiny and adorable. ♥

[@schwarzcronnok102]

What are the products of guinea pigs? Do they butcher them for meat?

[@CairnOfDunnCroftPermaculture]

Still loving this innovation. I suspect I'll eventually have a guinea pig worm farm.

[@JimPeachley]

Fasten a 2 inch by 4 inch frame to the pen approximately 2-3 inches off the ground around the outside of the full perimeter. Extend two parallel siderails of the frame maybe 3-4 feet past the pen. Mount two wheels to the ends of the extensions so they sit 1-2 inches off the ground. Construction is done. Relocate the habitat pieces, lift (and perhaps prop up) the end without wheels, wait for the "stampede" to end, and tip the pen high enough for the wheels to carry it as, in one simple motion, you pull it over the new location. This also adds a bit of ballast for windy days.

[@barbarahering484]

I think this is genius , they get fed , land gets fertilized, fantastic !

[@reivenne]

I feel like the easiest way to stormproof the IBCs is to drill a few holes around the edges and tent-peg them into the grass. They won't be any heavier to move, you'll just have to pull a few tent pegs each time you move them. A few extra seconds, but no extra weight.

[@lindajohnson7838]

I would use the corn edges of the plastic to create plastic skis under the edges to make moving the pens a lot easier.

[@808touge]

Think crab trap. Fully boxed cages with an access hatch. If your current cages had the same material on top you wouldn’t have to worry about predators. If it had the same material on the bottom no one could escape, the shelters could be zip tied to prevent having to move every item in the enclosure and the grass would still be eaten the same. Adding 2 handles on either side would allow 2 people to lift straight up and lower the enclosure to any desired location no matter the distance. Hopefully this helps

[@heatherwanderer777]

idk how long you're leaving them on each patch before you move them, but if it's multiple days, I would move the hut to a different spot each day to prevent them overgrazing that one patch. You'll notice some partially bare patches where the huts were after each move. Also they tend to poo where they spend the most time, so the hut will have a buildup of poo which in wet conditions can cause bumblefoot in your piggies.

[@parccarreg]

Everyone is moved daily. Over grazing comes down to the grazing time and rest period. Given it's winter it will be about 2 months maybe more before we come back to a spot

[@robertoperezjr.1119]

Maybe when you are cutting out the shelters, you could cut a few spikes into your design. If the material is strong you would have spikes built into them so you could sink the spikes into the ground.

[@coedlan]

You mentioned aerial predators but do you have any issues with foxes? Also, very early on in the video there was the trouble with counting the guinea pigs - you could try snapping a photo as you lift up the shelter and count from that (without them all moving!).

[@parccarreg]

We have perimeter electric fences to keep away grind predators like foxes. Yes snapping a photo would help!

[@KentBunn]

It's amazing how much they knock down and brown out the grass in just a day.

[@bvos4568]

You mentioned the wind inside the white plastic house. And the pigs could snuggle in a corner where there is no or less wind. With extra internal wall or walls inside the house this effect will be much bigger. This wall consisting of a wooden plank for example would also make the house heavier and more wind proof. Lifting ald lowering the house is somewhat more complicated with the internal wall because the chance of a pig getting hit is some higher, but they run to the side that is still on the ground so liffing it al the side with the walls ans openings will solve this problem i think. In summer ik might get to hot with te walls and no less ventilation.

[@parccarreg]

Nice idea, serves two purposes 👍

[@MalawisLilleKanal]

@@parccarreg Might work using thin silicone sheet that you cut into strips and hang by the openings, kinda like the stip curtains often used in warehouses etc. Guess you could make houses from the left over parts of the large containers and pieces of plank. Will rot over time, but easy to replace, and the houses would be heavier and more resistant to winds.

[@IntaFuf]

Now that you let the pigs run to the hut on their own, you don't need to piece by piece walk the pens forward, anymore. So, picking up and moving the whole pen at once might be easier/faster.

[@brunobastos5533]

a two store shelter could be a nice addition with a place they can be dry out of the ground

[@scotti8674]

you should use an extra '3 sided cage' to enclose the new area you want to move to, place the 'house' into the new area and then lift the edge of the cage. Once all pigs have moved into the new area, lift the original cage so it meets the '3 sided cage'. similar movement to a folding telescope or how a tower crane builds itself. Alternatively, change your cage to be two '3 sided cages'. Encasing the open end of the other one, and just move one half of the cage at a time :D

[@scotti8674]

using two '3 sided cages' will probably need some supports somewhere and/or a method to ensure no gaps on the 'overlapping sides'

[@TicaAndEnemies]

I am so invested in this series

[@parccarreg]

Thank you!

[@bella-bee]

Counting them? Lift the barrel, quickly take a photo and lower the barrel again. Count at your leisure!

[@derorje2035]

I reeally enjoy your calm voice and the close ups of the guinea pigs

[@arthurswart4436]

When you move the IBC huts to the edge of the enclosure, you can anchor them with some branches or rods sticking through the holes in the chicken wire. To be completely sure they stay down, you could use a couple of pegs on the enclosure.

[@JeffBilkins]

The moving process does involve some waiting and hoping they don't make a break for it and not get skewered under the fence.

[@parccarreg]

True, but GPs are very trainable and they are getting better at it every day

[@allareasindex7984]

Today I learned that those plastic water containers with metal skeletons have a name, and a three letter acronym. Intermediate Bulk Container and IBC. Squeak squeak I’m so happy to learn.

[@keyboardoracle1044]

I have an idea, a home base and underground drainage pipe with tee pieces with caps. Move the pen over the tee remove the cap and put it on the previous tee. The Guinea pigs will think they are walking through a tunnel to fresh food. And have the comfort of a forever home.

[@mertel21]

Do they use the drinker? As I see during this wet wether they get enough water from the fresh greens. They barely drink at all :D. It's nice to see how well you are doing with this project :).

[@parccarreg]

Sometimes they do use the drinkers, but we'd agree - they seem to mostly get what they need from the fresh pasture

[@austinwagler7888]

You might try putting pipes or 2x2 in the center of 2 walls, that way you can just pick up the board or pipe and move the whole thing within a few steps

[@demokratielebtvommitmachen1868]

Dry leaves may serve as well to make the houses snuggly.

[@meancupcakes]

I would probably add a wooden square to the top of the IBC to add handles to pick it up easier. Also you could build on the extra pipes to the outside of the IBC to give you less “stuff” to move each time to make it more efficient but also provide a small amount of extra weight to the structure overall

[@sunnydayssandytoes4337]

❤Love watching the transformations, the doggies and especially the sweet piggies, their babies and their adorable squeeks❤

[@kristenmclean2792]

Love this project so much. Thanks for sharing. ❤

[@anniegaddis5240]

QUESTION: Do they eat BARK? is there any reason that each PLANT can't be inside the crates, so they can eat the grass competing with the nutrients right around the blueberry roots?

[@chrisf3379]

It needs to be pegged down I think. Little stakes in each corner of the house. Plus could you turn the pen walls into a wind break with some thin board tied to it? or cloth/tarp? You could put the house door in the corner of the tub and then point the corner quite close into a shielded corner of the pen. The wind would be less likely to rush into their little home from either angle then as the pen will shield the corner wind break from any deflection and the wind breaked corner will deflect the wind from rushing in their home. Like a square with a tiny bit of its top left corner removed ( house with door), placed in the top left corner of a larger square (pen). With wind break around enough of the corner, just high enough to be heigher than the height of the house and wide enough to be wider than the doors, to shield the door, but not wide enough to let wind get scooped as it passes the house from the bottom right to top left. Of course wind would still get in but this would minimise the shock of a quick burst, especially if you could round the inside top left corner a little.

[@bethlong3011]

I love this! As a child I remember doing this with my many quinea pigs. We didn’t need to mow the lawn all summer in southern uk!

[@TodaysBibleTruth]

This is the first time i've seen this channel. What do you raise the guinea pigs for? I love them. The babies are adorable. "Wheet wheet".

[@parccarreg]

Literally just for mowing!

[@barbarajw1]

Great idea to train them, how do you keep the pigs out of the rat trap?

[@parccarreg]

Ah good question - it's not a trap. It's a rat box that you would usually put poison in - but we just use it as a shelter box for them (no poison!)

[@MalawisLilleKanal]

@@parccarreg I was thinking you used it to feed the small ones some kind of special feed, assuming the grown ups cannot enter it.

[@ElizabethATRandomActs]

I think you are doing great! I tried this with 60 guinea pigs a few years ago- I wanted to graze them in the orchard on our farm in Minnesota, USA. The biggest problem was predators, and I did lose some piggies to those before I got everything predator-proofed. But the bigger issue for me was climate, and believe me, there is nothing "harsh" about a Welsh winter, not compared to ours where we get overnight temps of 40 deg BELOW zero F here, sometimes for weeks at a time, and the only way that the piggies would survive would be in an indoor heated space, which we do not have. I needed a LOT of piggies to eat the grass in almost 3 acres of space and it just wasn't going to work in our climate.

[@parccarreg]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. We're pretty well set up for predators with a perimeter electric fence. Also we just don't have the same level of predators that one might have in other parts of the world. We're are also very lucky climate wise. Although we're in the northern hemisphere it's very temperate where we are. Great to hear that you've given it a go. For us GPs are great for grazing tight spaces. For larger areas we'd always use sheep or cows

[@falcolf]

I love this experiment so much, thank you for continuing to share it!❤

[@tenshikaren]

I would push a long and thin pole through the fencing just over the top of the hut and through the other side fencing, pinning it by the weight of the fencing. If it still feels like it could shift, put a 2nd and third just below roof level in front and back and it would pin it down from anything just short of a hurricane for the cost of 3 sticks/dowels. This way you don't need to drag extra weight, just make the pens work harder for you. You could get the same effect with rope and hooks, just with a higher chance of needing replacement parts due to chewing and weathering, but I think solid poles would work best and be easier to assemble solo if needed.

[@pintailpaddocks]

Instead of hot water bottles, I use puppy microwave disks. I used to use them for my rehabilitated hedgehogs. Just a thought. Doing great though. 😀

[@monicam.8006]

Have you considered putting a small door in each of the pens and making one additional pen with a door? You could put the new pen adjacent to the old pen, door to door, open both doors, let the animals change that way, and use the now vacant pen for the next move. I'd also like to see before and after footage of the patches along with grass size measurement both before and after. I'd also be interested in seeing some with and without guinea pig manure for growing crops.

[@quiantkbw1233]

Might be able to use something like corkscrew tent stakes to anchor the pen to the ground. Drilling a hole in the center, feeding the stake through and using rubber gaskets to prevent water leaking in where the hole was drilled.

[@ahaveland]

I would put a palette on top of the IBC huts to weigh them down evenly, and shade half of the hut so they have a feeling of more security. Summer heat will likely be a problem. With some creativity, a solar panel and battery on top could provide weight, shade and power with a microcontroller to maintain temperature using fans and even send monitoring info and video to your network or phone.

[@MalawisLilleKanal]

Think you could fasten pieces of plastic pipe to the corners of the houses with zip-ties, and then use rebar rods to fasten it to the ground. If you do not want to make holes into the ground, you could make a simmilar solution but with weights instead. Have a piece of the large black corrugated pipe in the crate, so that when waiting for the GPs to move, the crate can be propped up by the pipe.

[@gingerandjake39]

good job! proud of u guys. love ur videos and update!!!

[@MrTwostring]

I had guinea pigs when I was a kid and from time to time I think about getting some and raising them. I've been enjoying watching your progress and your thought process. You talk a lot about the piggies as mini lawnmowers and fertilizer dispensers - but I wonder: do you plan on eating them? EDIT: I've watched many of your videos, but starting with the "mowing with guinea pigs" series. I just found your "new kind of livestock" video and deep in the video you explained why you are NOT eating them. P.S. I meant to say in my original comment that I've been enjoying your process AND how you are so concerned about being humane.

[@bvos4568]

Make two houses with one opening. One is inside the fences one is in front of the tractor. (Where the fresh grass is). On this side there is an opeing in the fence and house ( with a small pipe so it fits weel and they won’t escape here). Then when it is time to move lift the house inside the fences. The pigs wil all use the other one. Lock them up. Move the fences over the house like you already do. The house that was out is now inside the fences. Place the house that was inside over the pipe in the fence on the side the tractor is moving like the other one was.

[@kokeskokeskokes]

Yeah, you should stake them like tents. Here in Czech it's been freezing since October, winters seem to be getting colder. Thus grazing in winter probably won't work for me, but I can try.

[@rutgerdeetman7138]

When cutting the door, only cut the verticals and bend the horizontal. This will minimilise the wind getting under by alot. Screw a woodenboard under the end of the "flap" would be even better

[@shaliah6827]

Maybe weight the perimeter of the breeder houses with some sort of long weights affixed to the sides or roof?

[@Fototrotter]

The wind on the bigger huts might be easily countered... Like you said battons on the bottom edge... A few eyebolts through the wood+plastic and tent harings (or an L shaped piece of rebar for that matter) to pound into the ground, when the weather gets bad.

[@Stadtpark90]

1:10 this is golden 😮 21:22 😂 If your videos go viral, consider giving us webcams ;-) Edit: I think you should keep the huts light and not attach anything permanently. Maybe add a way to securely attach the weights, if you use weights that aren’t too dense / in danger of getting picked up by the wind. Or maybe just use really dense weights (iron or stone) - assuming it doesn’t damage the huts just by lying on top. Can’t wait for the next video 😊.

[@EdwinSemidey]

Don't overthink things, you are correct about aerial predators

[@SideWalkAstronomyNetherlands]

You also could have a stall for them with an opening, and allow them to roam free all day, and call them in for the night, like they do at Bosgoed. Guinea pigs living wild in the garden. Bosgoed Animal Paradise.

[@barbarahering484]

Put a heavy object on top for wind