Outdoors winter

[Simpiggy]

My piggies are in a outdoor two storey hutch, I currently use wood shavings newspaper and hay for their bedding and underneath a plastic liner. I have one of the hutch snuggled warm winter cool summer covers with the flyscreen and similar covers for the two water bottles.
I am planning to start using fleece as a underlay to give additional insulation in winter and was considering some kind of heat bulb for the very cold months I have no room indoors to keep them.
Are there any suggestions re bedding/ ways to keep them warm. Did anyone have experience of keeping outdoors last very cold winter they could share.{:|

 

[Crackle & Pop]

i kept my two boys out when it was snowing and they were ok, just make sure the water hasnt frozen up when it starts to get cold. what i do is in the sleeping quarters use an igllo and surround the inside and out with compacted hay, thats what worked for me! xx

 

[iluvguineapigs]

I keep my guinea pigs out in the winter, but when it snowed I kept them in the garage. But if you dont have a garage you could put them in a shed, or keep them indoors when the weather get really bad.
Just make sure you have a snuggle cover if you have shop bought your hutch or put a tarplin sheet over and fasten it so its windproof, also keep lots of snuggies, blankets and cosy things in the hutch.
Hope this Helped

 

[Claire W]

My 4 girls live outdoors all year round. As well as having a well insulated hutch with silver loft insulation and a waterproof wind and rain cover, they also had igloos stuffed with hay, lot's of hay in the sleeping area, a thick fleece blanket covering the front of the hutch overnight to keep out the chill, plenty of fleecy beds and fleeces to wrap up in and I find snugglesafe heat pads great [ame]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Snugglesafe-Microwaveable-Heat-Pad-Cover/dp/B001A36EUG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=pet-supplies&qid=1307907798&sr=8-1[/ame] they keep warm for up to 8 hours.

It did get down to -15 degrees here last winter so I did make the decision to bring them indoors for the worst of the winter but we had to keep them in a large plastic storage box as we have no room for a cage. They had plenty of floor time though and were perfectly fine.

 

[JoBo]

I would not use any kind of electrical heating element in a hutch that size as it will inevitably lead to a fire. My herd of nine live out all year round and they have managed fine in the winter but i do worry about them and would bring them in if i could. I also had 2 boys living outdoors and i usually bring them into the conservatory over winter as its much warmer in there but still cold enough for them not to become accustomed to living in the heat of the house. If you have a shed or even an hallway or lobby in your house that you can move them into during the winter would be the best option.
You can buy heat pads for pets that last 8 hours (bit like a water bottle but you heat it in the microwave) but please do not buy a heat lamp xx

 

[lily 74]

It's the damp and draught that effect the piggies so if you can keep the bedding dry with frequent changes, make the bed area cozy with plenty of hay and cozies and make sure you have a hutch cover and something to cover the hutch over as a double insulation in the cold.


It is when they are not looked after properly outside that problems occur in an ideal world a shed or garage is ideal but not always possible

 

[rachelsharp]

I would not use any kind of electrical heating element in a hutch that size as it will inevitably lead to a fire.

i've actually have a small tube heater in my double hutch since i got my two girls a few years and it's been fine.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/galaxy-120w-tubular-heater/45933

we have it fitted to the underside of the upper floor and it's been great, especially during the winter, although this winter we did bring them inside. i suppose it can be pretty dangerous if it's not properly done but fortunately we already had an outdoor electricity supply and a very handy dad! xx

 

[Simpiggy]

Thanks

Thanks for all the advice the heat pads are a great idea and I will get a waterproof cover to go over the hutch snuggle. I don't have any room indoors nor a garage. So am going to have to keep them outside.
Hopefully the winter will not be as severe this year.?/