Covering hutch at night
- Thread starter Chrissy24
- Start date
Yes please do cover the hutch at night particularly throughout autumn, winter and early spring. Piggies need to be kept warm (above 15 degrees) and dry so a thermal and waterproof hutch cover is essential (potentially along with a blanket underneath the hutch cover as well so help keep them even warmer).
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It’s good you’re getting heatpads, outdoor piggies cannot do without them.
A thermometer is also a good idea so you can ensure they are definitely being kept warm enough.
Lots of measures are needed to be able to keep piggies outdoors - warmth (hutch covers, snugglesafe heatpads, lots of hay), and security. Ensuring hutches are well made (ideally not plywood), along with extra security bolts so foxes cannot open them. If you live in an area with foxes in your garden you may need to look at whether you need to take other measures (moving them into a shed or into the house).
If your piggies are new/pet shop piggies/young or otherwise have only lived indoors up until now, then it is not recommended for them to be outside until around April/may as it is too cold at this time of year if they have not been acclimatised from the summer time
A thermometer is also a good idea so you can ensure they are definitely being kept warm enough.
Lots of measures are needed to be able to keep piggies outdoors - warmth (hutch covers, snugglesafe heatpads, lots of hay), and security. Ensuring hutches are well made (ideally not plywood), along with extra security bolts so foxes cannot open them. If you live in an area with foxes in your garden you may need to look at whether you need to take other measures (moving them into a shed or into the house).
If your piggies are new/pet shop piggies/young or otherwise have only lived indoors up until now, then it is not recommended for them to be outside until around April/may as it is too cold at this time of year if they have not been acclimatised from the summer time
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Think of piggies as tender bedding plants - they really need to be indoors to be protected against the cold nights and frost until the nights are much warmer. If they are youngsters or have never lived outside, then definitely they need to be indoors for a while longer.Heat pads and covers for the hutch are a good idea for outdoor hutches to keep them warmer and drier.
Do you have somewhere that a hutch could be moved into when the weather is really cold (October - April usually). A garage or shed make good locations for an outdoor hutch to be moved into for overwintering.
Chrissy24
Junior Guinea Pig
We may well get a shed later in the year. Just need to ckear the garden a bit as it was a mess when we moved here. We aren't allowed pets inside unfortunately. But we have a walled alcove that is sheltered from wind etc...for now.
Heat pads and covers for the hutch are a good idea for outdoor hutches to keep them warmer and drier.
Do you have somewhere that a hutch could be moved into when the weather is really cold (October - April usually). A garage or shed make good locations for an outdoor hutch to be moved into for overwintering.
In the meantime, plenty of hay, heatpads, hutch covers (thermal ones as well) and a good sheltered location. You will need to take those extra precautions particularly if your piggies are young and not used to outdoor conditions. Piggies need to be kept between 18 and 22 degrees (above 15 degrees in any event)
A shed is a godsend in winter. Mine are in a shed (insulated) and it keeps them warm enough all winter and gives them the shed floor to play on during the winter months when they cannot be in their outdoor run. The problem comes in summer when the shed becomes too hot and they cannot stay in there at all (it hit over 40 degrees in the shed last summer).