hi
my girls litter is now 15 days old. can i remove the pig rails yet? mum doesnt squash them so much now but they tend to crawl under them and then try to climb over and get stuck. they also bang their heads on them quite a lot. is it safe yet?

I would remove them now as the bigger danger is the pups getting stuck in them.

Marianne

Yes, definitely. I usually have the rails out by a week as they've usually grown so much they get stuck underneath them.

We actually raise ours at 14 days and remove them all together at approx 3 weeks. Some breeds are smaller than others.

We use plumbing piping so it is so think.  Must be about 2 inches right against the edge. We then just move it up.

The height of the rails is related to the size of the bitch - a smaller bitch would have the rails lower.
:)

Did my post confuse you JG?  sorry if it did :-) .. Gosh I hope everyone would use common sense with the height.. but maybe not.. Sorry if I have confused anyone.

What I meant about the 2inch pipe is not the height or how much space   but I was saying ,in a sort of thinking out loud way ;-)  the plastic tubing/piping I use must be about 2inches meaning it sticks out that much from the side , as in how much of a ledge it gives. I keep it tight to the edge so no little feet or anything can get between it. 

Hope that makes sense.  I didn't want to give any height guidelines , I just assess it as the days go buy and move as required.

No probs, Blue - I'm very easily confused! :o :D The pigrails I use are pieces of dowelling/broom handle at a fixed height around the whelping box - they can't be adjusted - they're either in or out! So once the pups are of a size to get stuck beneath or behind them (as I say, usually in a week!) the rails come out.
:)

Hey JG maybe you should try the cheap plumbing white piping. ( like your sink)  We butt it together round the box and screw threw the side into the pipe and just a little into the other side. I keep the cordless drill handy ;-)

You just unscrew it and move it up..  I think it is also a great idea for draft prevention.. :-)