Outdoor piggy owners: Your routine

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Piggylet

Piggylet

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I just wondered, now we're heading into winter, what the outdoor owners routines are - especially those who work full time! In summer it's much easier to pop your piggys into a run before or after work without having to think too much about how damp or cold it is.

If you go to work early - do you wake them on the cold morning to do a spot clean when you feed them, or leave them snuggly in their bed? How much exercise do they get before/after you get back from work? How much playtime do you give them out of their hutch/shed and when?
 
Hello :)p and welcome to this very friendly forum, you have asked a very good question. I am at home all day as I am a lady of leisure so it isn't too difficult for me, I just go by the weather,apart from their hutch I have an Eglu which they can go in just for a change, sometimes I attach their big collapsible wooden run to the hutch(which you can see in my videos). If the weather is bad they just have to stay in the hutch all day,they seem happy enough because they just want to be somewhere warm and dry anyway, they don't like windy weather. As long as they have plenty of hay to eat and they see you are looking after them at regular intervals that becomes their routine.
 
I forgot to say I completely understand what you mean, when it's dark by 4 O'clock it must be difficult if you've been out all day unless people bring them in for a cuddle but then they can't run around if there's no indoor cage or pen.
I suppose the only answer is that they must have a really big hutch so that they move around lots. :^-
 
I Put them on the grass for 2 hours today

Piggylet said:
I just wondered, now we're heading into winter, what the outdoor owners routines are - especially those who work full time! In summer it's much easier to pop your piggys into a run before or after work without having to think too much about how damp or cold it is.

If you go to work early - do you wake them on the cold morning to do a spot clean when you feed them, or leave them snuggly in their bed? How much exercise do they get before/after you get back from work? How much playtime do you give them out of their hutch/shed and when?
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I can watch them through my kitchen window
 
My pigs are usually up quite early. The boys get up about 6 am, the little girls around 7am, and then the big girls are lazy devils and get up about 8am. Quite often they're chillin' in their open area because I've made their beds too warm and cosy, so I have no worries about disturbing them :))

It's been quite mild, hasn't it? So my pigs have still been able to have lots of run time. They can't go out quite as early as I have to wait for the grass to dry, and they have to go in earlier, but they still get six hours + out in the run. I'm not looking forward to when it gets really cold and wet because the run is the most ideal excersise for them :(
 
i put my piggie boys out at about 8am...they have pig loos to shelter in which stay quite dry, I put in a box of hay for them to climb into if they want to snuggle and they spend most of the day out in the run with a cover over the top...if its sunny I lift the cover off when I get home from work at 12.45 and then put them in their hutch at 5pm....luckily we have had very mild dry weather so far this month.....I'm not sure what our routine will be when its colder mornings yet....
 
piggieowner40 said:
i put my piggie boys out at about 8am...they have pig loos to shelter in which stay quite dry, I put in a box of hay for them to climb into if they want to snuggle and they spend most of the day out in the run with a cover over the top...if its sunny I lift the cover off when I get home from work at 12.45 and then put them in their hutch at 5pm....luckily we have had very mild dry weather so far this month.....I'm not sure what our routine will be when its colder mornings yet....
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I would advise you to stop leaving them unattended if you like them alive, Mr Fox doesn't seem to care a hoot that he is meant to be nocturnal these days and shop bought runs are as easy as a paper bag for him to get into. Sorry but I can't believe people still think it's ok to leave piggies out unsupervised

Also the grass here has still been damp at 8am so you are looking at UTI's/URIs if you're not careful.
 
Doeylicious said:
I would advise you to stop leaving them unattended if you like them alive, Mr Fox doesn't seem to care a hoot that he is meant to be nocturnal these days and shop bought runs are as easy as a paper bag for him to get into. Sorry but I can't believe people still think it's ok to leave piggies out unsupervised

Also the grass here has still been damp at 8am so you are looking at UTI's/URIs if you're not careful.
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What a shame you feel the need to be so quick to criticise others on here who all share a common love of their pigs.

Getting back to the point I go and check on my boys about 8am once the kids are up and fed as they like to help - spill food on the floor, eat the veggies meant for the piggies and have a punch up over who is doing what :))

they are usually curled up in their bedding area so wheek like mad when they can hear you coming. They hate the wind so sometimes I take the piece of carpet off but leave the hutch cover down otherwise they wont come out of their bed for breakfast. If its a nice day and the grass is dry they popcorn round the lawn like nutters! I think they'll miss lazing around in the sunshine :)

If its blowing a gale or throwing it down then they get fed and other jobs like a quick clean get left until later. They usually come in for a run about and cuddle when my daughter gets home from school which they love.

I am looking forward to them coming in for winter, I don't like cleaning out the hutch in the cold!
 
piggieowner40 said:
my run is increadibly well built....and they are not left unattended....my husband works from home.
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The chicken coop at our yard was well built, sadly we had only dug the fence into the ground by a foot, which the foxes easily burrowed under :( no more eggs for a while! And sorry but unless your husband works in the garden with them, which he may do, I don't know, they are unattended - my OH often works from home and given he is working and concentrating, the pigs can wheek their heads off for an hour before he twigs it's dinner time, and they are just 5ft away from him.

I am not criticising, I am stating a fact, foxes like to kill stuff and by leaving your pigs out without someone watching them, you are leaving them at the mercy of the sneaky little things. Foxes are brutal, they don't attack to eat they attack for the hell of it as anyone who has seen a chicken coop the morning after will confirm, I won't go into details as it is quite upsetting, and has convinced me to never leave them out for a second without being at the back door if not in the garden with them - it's just not worth it.

Label me as the big bad wolf if you like (in fact do, then I can kill the foxes!) but I'm not a fan of all the sugar coating that goes on on this site, it doesn't help anyone.
 
Doeylicious

I am very sorry that you lost your chickens to foxes, that must have been very upsetting for you :laluot_29

I put my guinea pigs out on the grass for most of the day in warm weather making sure I keep an eye on them and check on them regularly, however its not realistic for many people to be in the garden constantly with their guinea pigs. I for one have two small children and a never ending amount of housework to do :)
 
claire8234 said:
Doeylicious

I am very sorry that you lost your chickens to foxes, that must have been very upsetting for you :laluot_29

I put my guinea pigs out on the grass for most of the day in warm weather making sure I keep an eye on them and check on them regularly, however its not realistic for many people to be in the garden constantly with their guinea pigs. I for one have two small children and a never ending amount of housework to do :)
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They weren't mine, they belonged to the yard owner, their kids were so upset though...seriously hate foxes now!

I appreciate it's not realistic to be there all the time, and if someone is at home it's probably going to be ok, but I do know people who leave them out all day with literally noone there...and I can't get my head around that. My original understanding was that the original poster did the same. I worry mine don't get out enough but I work all day, and I would rather they have a bit less exercise and be safe from the foxes and cats etc. than be running potentially for their lives :{
 
My Eglu is 100% fox proof, there is a big metal skirt all the way round, their natural instinct is to dig under the perimeter but with the skirt no animal would know where to start burrowing, and it has permanent housing attached to it which is fully insulated and has a built-in hay rack and water bottle holder and you can close the door at night. (just for anyone who's interested).:)p
 
Thanks for all your replies guys :) Presumably if I keep the routine going that I am now then they'll adjust (I usually interrupt them at about 6.45am, earlier in summer as I'm up earlier. As the mornings get so dark now I tend to sleep in!). And instead of outdoor runs when I get home, it'll be indoor runs!
 
bit late but I have had outdoor pigs for 5 years now. I also have free ranging chickens so I don't worry about the piggies being in their run, next door and next door but one have chickens too, so far easier menu than my guineas.

My big paranoia is the damp. I have a large ground sheet so I put that on the ground and stand my run (which is the same as Shaloms) on it. I cover the floor in hay and readigrass, stuff their little corner house with hay and put their tunnels and food on the floor. But I can see that happening less and less as it gets colder apart from at weekends, when I am home all day, as I panic it will get cold or rain whilst I am out.

So I go to see them at about 9am. I take their veggies, I watch to make sure they are eating well. I pop out again before I go to work at lunch time to make sure all is well. When I get home I pop out again and give them a hug, which they hate. Then about an hour later it is food, Gertie Guinea Pig and Excel pellets, herbage in the hay rack, readigrass on the floor and stuff the bedroom full of hay. Put the perspex fronts on and that is it until morning. I hate the winter for them, but in truth after 5 winters (not the same piggies sadly) but they always seem to cope well, stay happy and healthy and enjoy the odd chance to get out.

Hope that helps

PS forgot to say, I don't bring them in, because coming in and then out again in the cold is not good for them.
 
Shalom said:
My Eglu is 100% fox proof, there is a big metal skirt all the way round, their natural instinct is to dig under the perimeter but with the skirt no animal would know where to start burrowing, and it has permanent housing attached to it which is fully insulated and has a built-in hay rack and water bottle holder and you can close the door at night. (just for anyone who's interested).:)p
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I have an eglu, and i happily leave my herd all day out in it in the summer. Its very very sturdy and fox proof and it has a shelter for the herd if it gets a bit chilly or they want a nap indoors. I think if these hutches/runs we'rent so expensive more people could afford them and piggies would be safer left in a run/hutch set up all day. I think its the way forward with housing to be honest.

x.
 
Abi I have looked at cages with runs attached, like the eglue for guineas. My only concern is, especially with the guinilu that only has the attachment for outside, how do they know not to go out when it is cold and damp?
 
I never use the iglu in the winter, bit of a waste of money in that sense, but if/when i get a shed or unused garage i would definatly consider putting it in there, or even on some sheltered concrete where i could put load of bedding like hay etc out for them to snuggle in the run too.

x.
 
Anyone got a photo of these egloo things? I have never heard of them, they sound quite cool!
 
Crikey, just a bit expensive! All my hutches and winterproofing cost less than ONE of them, lol

I'm still not overly convinced at their fox proof ness to be honest, but then I am suspicious of most things that claim to be foxproof and don't have anything to prove this. I am just generally suspicious lol

How big are the sleeping bits?
 
My parents kept chickens in an eglu and have never had any problems with foxes. I think it is fantastic however I am not convinced about using them for guinea pigs.

The inside area is ok but not particularly big and they are ridiculously expensive!
 
The Eglu internal dimensions 70cm wide, long and high (just over 2 feet). Internal height is 60cm (around 2 feet).
 
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