8 



RAISING GUINEA PIGS. 



governed by the numbers of animals to be kept in them. A run 6 by 

 10 feet would accommodate 30 to 50 guinea pigs. In a warm climate 

 this method has certain advantages. It entails less labor in feeding 

 and cleaning than is required under hutch management. However, 

 for most parts of the United States indoor hutch management is the 

 only plan that can be recommended. In cold weather artificial heat 

 should be su})plied. In fact guinea pigs do best when the tempera- 

 ture is not allowed to fall much below 65° F. It is true that they are 

 often kept in outdoor hutches in winter, and that huddled together 

 in warm nests and well fed, they survive the low temperatures ; but 

 such management can not be recommended. The animals do not 



Fig. 2 — Breeding hutch used by Bureau of Animal Industry. 



thrive well under it, and there is great danger of serious losses of the 

 young through pneumonia. They should not be subjected to sudden 

 changes of temperature nor to dampness. 



Guinea pigs require about the same kind of accommodations as 

 rabbits. The same hutches would answer, but they may be smaller 

 for guinea pigs. Those used by the Bureau of Animal Industry are 

 about 20 inches wide at the front, 3 J feet deep, and 18 inches high. 

 (Fig. 2.) These accommodate a male, three or four breeding females, 

 and their progeny until weaned. The door covers nearly the whole 

 front, is hinged at the side, and is made of rather heavy, square- 

 meshed wire netting. Ventilation is afforded by a similarly screened 

 opening at the rear of the hutch. (Fig. 3 . ) Galvanized poultry netting 



525 



