Moving From Indoors To Outdoors

[abby]

Hi, I am in the process of moving my piggies outside during the summer months, simpley because I can offer them more room that way.

I have the hutch in a shaded area, and i live in Northern Ireland, so our summer months will hopefully be nice and warm, but doesn't reach the same humid temperatures that the UK mainland gets.

I have moved their cage into the garden during cooler days, and kept them in the conservatory at night, as it would be a fair bit cooler than the rest of the house, trying to prepare them for their move.

The hutch has a vetbed liner and their sleeping area is a large fleece bed with sides and high roof, so room to sprawl out but also nice and cosy.

Do you think I need to put a blanket over the hutch for a few nights to help give them time to adjust to the temperature, or do you think they'll be fine as they are?

The hutch has a small run attached, hence more space, but they will still get some floor time indoors where I have a large hallway they can run around in.

Any further advice for me please?

 

[Popcornpiggy]

I moved mine out a few weeks so it was much colder about 10 degrees at night, i had a blanket and a tarpaulin on. Took the blanket off once nights started to get warmer, and only use tarpaulin now for extra water proofing. It sounds as though you are doing all the right things. and as long as they have a nice warm bed they should be fine, if it was me, I probably would have a blanket or something thrown over for peace of mind, however, check the overnight temperatrues as you wouldn't want them to get too hot either !

 

[abby]

Thanks. X

 

[Mother Hubbard]

Another tip is having a thermometer attached to the hutch. I had one which I bought mega cheap and have it hooked inside at the top so they can't get it, it's a great barometer to tell me what the temp is like inside the hutch. It's great to get them accustomed to the outside temp, it's been the best thing I have done, they love it outside.