At the moment my pigs live in a two tier hutch but i am very worried about keeping them warm during winter. we have a water proof cover, a thermal blanket, an emergency blanket, a horse rug, and we have snugglesafe heat pads and we are planning to use lots of extra bedding. however it is quite windy where i live, and although the hutch is placed away from most of the wind i am still worried about them getting a draft. My dad said we could build a kind of roof thing over the terrace their on the keep away the wind and rain but i still dont think it would be warm enough for them. so would they be ok in a shed? i dont have one but i am planning to buy one thats 4x8 at the most (i cant fit anything bigger) and put the hutch inside. we will probably put bubblewrap on the walls or something to insulate it better but do you have any more tips on insulating the shed? also, i would like to be able to open the hutch during the day so they can run around or be in the hutch as they please (and put them back in the hutch at night) but i am worried about the cleaning issue. by the end of the day there would be poo and wee everywhere :{ . if you let your guinea pigs run free range in the shed but also with a hutch, how often to you clean the poo up and stuff? and what do you use on the floor? i dont really want to use bedding because i would have to use so much over the floor and it would really waste money, i will just use it for the hutch. can someone please explain their whole shed setup (with pictures please) with how they keep it warm, clean it, let the pigs run around,everything!
I keep my two boars in a shed, its 6ftx4ft basic shed from wilkos (£120) and last winter I just insulated the hutch not the shed. I covered the back and sides of the hutch in loft insulation (£10 from focus) and draped on the evening two layers of fleece blankets.
What most people do to insulate the shed is either use bubble wrap, loft insulation and staple this to the shed walls, then put MDF wooden pannels over the insulation so the piggies dont chew through.
For both the shed and the hutch floor I use B+Q Value Range Self adhesive Tiles (pack of six for £2.99, i used three packs for the shed floor). This means its just a quick wipe down with a brush once a day and some pet safe disinfectant once a week. The self adhesive floor tiles also a quite soft and have thin layer of insulation inside.
I placed my hutch on bricks as the boys like to crawl underneath, HOWEVER this does mean it is hard to reach so i'd suggest to staple on wire mesh around the bottom of the hutch if its on legs so they cant get underneath and poop!
I cleaned my shed once a week, and did a quick sweep around once a day (took ten mins very easy to clean)
I left my hutch open all day and night so the boys had a choice whether they wanted to run and around in the open or snuggle up in the hutch. I placed lots of my cosies on the shed floor incase they wanted somewhere warm to snuggle up.
Photos from last christmas (please excuse the little speech bubble haha!)
How the boys got in and out of the hutch:
To stop your water bottles from freezing over in the winter:
A layer of tin foil, a layer of bubble wrap, a layer of 8oz wadding (if you want some i can send you some for free in the post), a thermal sock x2:
Hope this helps, any questions dont hesitate to ask
Sorry no pictures but my lot live in the shed in thier hutches during the winter months. I have used foil thermal lining on the walls, Roof and floor of the shed. I have cheap lino covering the whole of the floor makes life easier when cleaning. Shed is 6ft by 12 I use a folding run on the floor which is used in the summer on the lawn. I also have a convector heater that is used during the winter months.
It's not really what you're planning with your set-up but I just throught I'd share mine. I have two boys live in a small lean-to shed behind the garage all year round. It looks pretty small but it's just under 6'x4' and they have the run of most of the floor save for the bit where I store they're bale of hay (which they help themselves to through the mesh).
In the winter I have an electric fan that's on a thermostat, the cold concrete floor has insulating rubber matting (like they use in horse stables) and I have a thick woollen blanket that I pull across under the shelves to keep the warm air under.
It's nice and cool in the summer because it's in the shade all of the time and it has a large slatted glass window. But they spend as much time as possible in the run during nice weather days. If they don't get out it's not the end of the world because they have plenty of room.
I don't have any pigtures (will try to get some) but my husband built me a large 'platform' which is about waist height and then on top of that I built a C&C set up. I have about 20 sq feet of room. Its built in an L shape (attached to two main walls and then legs to support it) but this ensures I have maximum access to all corners for cleaning but the most amount of room for them to play in. This also means they are off the floor and I can store all manner of hay, bedding and other stuff underneath without compromising their space.
I have also lined the door, roof and walls with thermal sheeting (the aluminium kind mentioned earlier) and I put bubble wrap on the windows in the winter. They also have a wire mesh door so that I can leave the door open when its warm enough and an oil heater for the winter.
Its a very successful set up and the guineas love it and they can make as much mess as they want (and boy do they!).
It also acts as a warm 'den' for me in the winter (who says only men have sheds!) so I have piccies of the guineas and other animals laminated and put on the walls. Its fab xx>>>
thanks everyone for your replies, my 3 boys are now living in an 8x4 shed in their hutch. in the next couple of days i am planning to organize the shed so that they will have most of it to run around in. thanks again, your ports really helped
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