Do You Ever Worry About Your Outdoor/shed Piggies?

[Cuddles With Cavies]

I keep toying with the idea of moving the pigs into the outside shed. They'd have more space but I can't help but worry about them not being in the house.

Last night I heard a fox killing something in our garden and I just think I'm glad the pigs are inside.

So I was just wondering if any of you that have pigs outside or even in a shed whether or not you worry about them?

 

[luckyandsammy]

Mine live in my bedroom but before I got Sammy, Lucky lived in a hutch outside.
I always worried about him because I was scared of the weather being too cold/too hot. I was also scared of something getting in. Especially rats. We moved my rabbits' hutches last year and we found loads of rat poo and tunnels under it! After that I have seen a couple of rats running around the garden when I was feeding my rabbits. Sometimes my dog chases them out of the garden. The rats have chewed up loads of things in our old shed and my mums dog brought a rat in a few months ago so I would never leave my piggies out there alone again.
I also got worried when it was windy because I didn't feel like the hutch was enough to keep him warm. I don't like keeping animals outside.
I feel much better now with them being inside. I can also check on them more often so I know they are not running out of water/hay. I actually had loads of accidents where a water bottle fell out of its holder!

My rabbits live in a shed now and I still get worried about the rats getting in! It's a new shed so I know they are not in there yet.
We live in an area near loads of trees and water so getting rid of them in not an option, they always come back.
The shed is a bit warmer than a hutch outside and I think it will be cooler in summer but I don't like them being out there. If I had the space I would bring them in.

If there were any foxes near me I definitely wouldn't keep any pets outside.

 

[Guineapigfeet]

I've always kept mine out side. When I was a child they were in a hutch in our garage then the shed. We did have big hunt-y dogs which kept most of the cats/foxes out of our garden and being 9, I didn't worry too much!
Now I keep mine in a sturdy, purpose build shed, free range. I do worry about them, it's only natural, but not particularly about predators and I am confident in my sheds sturdiness. I've never seen rats in my current garden as there is no cover for them or food (it's a bare patch of weed suppressor at the moment!) but it's something I'm aware of for when our garden is a garden.

Mine have lots of hides down one end of the shed which give lots of insulated areas and they get a SnuggleSafe heat pad, which keeps them warm and the snuggle heat of three bodies.

I am concerned about summer heat though and I am looking at buying shade netting to put over the windows as the shed is in quite a sunny place (though not for a long period even in high summer)

I don't have the option of keeping mine indoors due to my partner's allergies and like the space I can give them outside, which wouldn't be possible indoors. They come inside at weekends into a smaller pen and have floor time in the dinning room. But that's as long as my partner can cope with all the hay! Downstairs is thoroughly vacuumed once they've gone back out side

 

[Guineapigfeet]

The things I worry about are silly things/ things that I would still worry about even if they were inside!
Are they eating enough hay? Are they bored? Is Chewie sitting on someone's head?

Of course I worry about hay pokes that have to wait until I'm back from work to notice etc, but even if they were inside, I would still be at work!