Indoors Or Outdoors?

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Cavy Crazy

Cavy Crazy

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi sorry for asking so many questions on the forum. My question is which would be a better set up for two guinea pigs a 120cm cage indoors(I will probably add another one and make it 240cm) the room they are kept in,has extremely noisy cockatiels in it and sometimes my sister's are VERY loud and annoying which might also stress them out? Or I could put them in a huge outdoor run with a shed/hutch space outdoors is no issue I have an acre field,and a big garden to work with.
 
I would personally opt for keeping them indoors but I know a lot of people do manage to keep pigs warm outside but I'm not very knowledgeable on the subject as none of mine have ever lived outside
 
Mine live outside in a shed. They have free range of 21sq feet, which they love! I put in a heat pad when it's really cold, other wise it's plenty of hay and hidey places to keep them warm and they're fine. They don't have any access to outside as it's too cold and damp and I don't trust any outside enclosure enough not to supervise against cats and foxes.
 
I love having them indoors! They have great little personalities they wheek every time they hear a bag of pellets even if it's my rabbits litter haha. I don't want to be selfish either though,and want what's best for them.
 
@Cavy Crazy I'm sure only you know your situation and what's best for the pigs. Is the only reason you're considering moving them outside to do with the noise? I'm obviously no expert but I would have thought the shock of going back into the cold after becoming accustomed to inside temperatures may be worse but that's only my opinion. As I say I've never kept pigs outdoors so I really don't know the situation and how well they cope.

I don't mean to cause offence to people who have their pigs outside but sometimes in the winter I think to myself 'aw how do little guinea pigs live in this cold' but I'm also aware that they can live outside if made warm enough with hay etc but in my opinion I'd rather them indoors so I can control the temperature of my heating to suit them
 
Yes the main concern is noise and my parents aren't happy about them indoors and want them out. I already have alot of animals in my bedroom(Rabbit,two guinea pigs,two cockatiels) The cockatiels are noisy all day! Especially if they're in the cage while I'm in the room. I'm worried that it's stressful for them but I think I'll stick to indoors.
 
@Cavy Crazy don't let me influence your decision because I know a lot of guinea pigs are happy and warm enough outdoors, that was just my personal opinion.

Could you move the cockatiels or guinea pigs to a different room by any chance? How long have your pigs been in the same room as the cockatiels? If it's a long time, they may be used to the noise now
 
@Sian25 you have been very helpful. No the cages are both massive,the cockatiels were originally in another room but no one else could handle the noise so they were moved into my room. The guinea pigs were originally in a shed but it got damaged in the bad weather but they have been in my room for a few weeks when the cockatiels scream they don't seem to react.
 
Hmm I don't know then @Cavy Crazy I just don't know whether it's a good idea to have them back outside now they're used to the temperature of indoors but maybe someone more knowledgable will come along soon
 
As they don't seem to mind the noise of the birds, my inclination would be to keep them indoors. I've only ever had indoor piggies and would miss them if I couldn't see them, and interact with them, although as others have said, I know a lot of piggies are kept very successfully out of doors.
 
I have had my piggies outdoors up until a few weeks ago. Outdoors is fine, its possible to keep them warm and mine always seemed happy. However, I felt bad that they were outside in the bad weather and we made indoor enclosures and I do prefer having them indoors. I also think that guinea pigs adapt pretty quickly to noises etc and would maybe worry for a while but they would soon get used to it. As to moving them back outdoors, its not really that good for them as far as I am aware. But if thats what you chose to do, you could put them out for a few hours midday and increase it until they are ready to move permanently. Hope this helps!
 
Thank you for the replies,they have been very helpful I'm going to stick to indoors I hate going out in the cold so I'm sure they're not mad about it either.
 
I decided that my piggies would do both, in the cold and rain they can stay inside and then when it's nice summer evenings and warmer they have a hutch and a large run which they can stay in!

Then they get the best of both worlds and it's kind of a compromise for your parents too! :-) x
 
I'm going to add my view sorry...i'm strictly an outside person, i think they should have access to fresh air, grass and feel the soft natural earth on their little feet as much as possible and i just can't see how that can be done inside (personal opinion). SO my set up is i have sheds, insulated top to bottom with the silver insulated stuff, lino on the floor that comes up about a foot at the sides just in case of drafts, then wooden boards in front of that to stop any knawing at the lino (although they can't reach in shed 2 so no need for the boards, shavings and Hay/straw, there is a hutch then that they can get in and out of with loads of straw in the sleep area, and many hides, some plastic some cardboard all stuffed with soft straw, on the very cold nights i wrap these with fleece blankets too....temperature is tested every night at veg time and although i might be cold those little hides are toasty warm....there's other snuggly hay areas too so if they get too warm in there they can go somewhere else and still be warm but not too warm........
Each shed has a winter door (solid) and a good weather door (mesh) that can be inserted into the door frame, this means they can have fresh air even when it's not suitable to go on the grass, each shed has a "tunnel" into the field with a run at the end of it and then i have drainage pipe that connects to a different run further into the field, which i can move around to ensure always fresh grass....from how you describe your set up you could do something similar?
If they were indoors in the winter it would be much harder to adapt them in the summer, and they might miss some of the good days and grass......
Each to their own obviously but part of the piggy fun for me is building stuff to make sure they safe, warm and protected (i have power tools and a tool box that makes my mother very proud ha ha) and you'd be amazed how much you can do with pallets!
Katy
 
I don't have an outdoor option, as I live in Canada and it's far too cold for much of the year for them to be anywhere but indoors with the furnace on. I would need a fully insulated building with separate heating in the winter for them to be outside, and realistically adding a fully heated and insulated outbuilding in my yard is not going to be cost-effective for me! So I have indoor pigs who live in our family room. I honestly have found they get used to familiar noises and I don't see any signs of stress once they settled in... I have three loud kids and my pigs are extremely nonplussed by loud child noise and children running by every two seconds and barely even notice anymore! So I would think that they would adjust to noises in their environment, whatever they may be, because they are used to it. What's funny is that my pigs perk up their ears and pay attention to things like birds singing or cars in the distance when they get outside in the summer because it's a new sound- screaming children they sleep through!
 
Freela said:
I don't have an outdoor option, as I live in Canada and it's far too cold for much of the year for them to be anywhere but indoors with the furnace on. I would need a fully insulated building with separate heating in the winter for them to be outside, and realistically adding a fully heated and insulated outbuilding in my yard is not going to be cost-effective for me! So I have indoor pigs who live in our family room. I honestly have found they get used to familiar noises and I don't see any signs of stress once they settled in... I have three loud kids and my pigs are extremely nonplussed by loud child noise and children running by every two seconds and barely even notice anymore! So I would think that they would adjust to noises in their environment, whatever they may be, because they are used to it. What's funny is that my pigs perk up their ears and pay attention to things like birds singing or cars in the distance when they get outside in the summer because it's a new sound- screaming children they sleep through!
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I'd love to live in Canada......and keep Labradors lol!
 
Morchy said:
I'd love to live in Canada......and keep Labradors lol!
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I love Canada, but get weary of the weather pretty quickly in the winter months! I'm not even in the colder part of Canada and it's going to be -30 C this weekend!
 
My piggies have been indoors in the same room as my budgies the entire time I've had them and they've honestly never been bothered - think it bothers me more than them!
 
Thank you for the replies, @Morchy yes I could have a set up like that,they were outdoors all Winter,I only took them in because the shed got damaged in the bad weather here,so it will need replaced,it's damaged beyond repair.
 
Cavy Crazy said:
Thank you for the replies, @Morchy yes I could have a set up like that,they were outdoors all Winter,I only took them in because the shed got damaged in the bad weather here,so it will need replaced,it's damaged beyond repair.
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Oh no! My shed roof got blown off the day after Boxing Day, the piggies were quite happily running round in the bottom of the shed when I got up! Luckily I got a new drill for Xmas (sad but I loved it!) and the rain held off long enough for me to get up and fix it back down........neither roof are going anywhere anytime soon now I can tell you!
 
Unfortunately my diy skills are very poor haha so I have to keep it simple. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep them outdoors yet,I like having them indoors.
 
whichever suits you best :) i tried my 2 inside and it was lovely but they seem to do better outside plus my parents were sick of the smell even on bedding they soon messed it up but if your around alot they probably do better in and be more tame but outside in the uk at least summer is lovely for them be a shame to miss out on grass :) forgot to mention there in a shed outside well insulated :)
 
I'm going to make a few modifications to a chicken run,and coop(8 x 9 run,with 4 x 4 house) for nice days,but it's not just for the piggies,it'll be used for the cockatiels,rabbit and piggies. I will grow herbs out there,to encourage foraging and a add a Digging box for the rabbit,I'm hoping I can put the rabbit and the cockatiels in at the same time or the guinea pigs and cockatiels in at the same time under supervision.
 
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