Outside Piggys

Rainah

Rainah

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jun 29, 2016
Messages
77
Reaction score
20
Points
185
This summer I have let my piggys run around in an outside run and they loved it. i am considering setting them up with a hutch outside as they are very messy inside and I am limited to so much space in the house. Any tips on keeping them warm during colder weather? The hutch I want to get comes with a platic cover, I am considering putting a blanket also over the hutch and during winter have a heating basket for them in the hutch to keep them warm. I am going to custermise the hutch so no foxes or other rodents can get into it. I am also going to set up security cameras so I can keep an eye on their hutch at nights or throughout the day. Any tips and suggestions? I used to have outside rabbits when I was younger and never remeber them having problems in their hutch.
 
I would recommend a hutch that you can get both the insulating cover and the weatherproof cover for. I have a chartwell (though the quality of the hutch isn't quite value for money) and they do both covers. The insulating cover comes with a detachable fly screen as well which is a bonus. I have an ice pod and also use a half filled plastic bottle in the freezer to keep them cool on the hottest days. I have two snugglesafes that pop in the microwave for the colder months too. In the colder months I easily go through twice as much hay so they have plenty of keep them warm
 
I think it does depend slightly on where you live too - obviously some parts of the world are colder over Winter than others.
Plus location of the hutch is everything.
At the very least it needs to be a suitable sheltered location to protect it from the worst of the weather.
We have many members who have piggies outside - you might want to take a look in the housing section 'hutches'.
You will pick up lots of great ideas there.
 
If i was going to keep mine outside i would have them in an insulated shed with a small oil filled radiator like i have for my rabbits.
 
I have outside piggies and their hutch is a double decker with a run underneath the hutch which is the same dimensions as the hutch but has wire sides and not wooden. In the winter I put a double layer of bubble wrap on both sides and half way up both doors to keep the air flowing. The back of the hutch is wooden all the way down to the ground. I have a strawberry house which is kept downstairs with a snugglesafe in underneath the pee pad.. In the top of the hutch I use LOADS of hay in the 'sleeping' part so that all 5 can bury themselves under the hay. There are 2 snugglesafes in their too. Also a blanket is a permanent feature in the winter over the top and down over the back of the hutch. At night time I put it over the front to keep the frost out. In the morning when I go out to see them it is lovely and warm in there. Then I bundle yet more hay in and then again at night. I get through an awful lot of hay during the winter months!
 
Swissgreys said:
I think it does depend slightly on where you live too - obviously some parts of the world are colder over Winter than others.
Plus location of the hutch is everything.
At the very least it needs to be a suitable sheltered location to protect it from the worst of the weather.
We have many members who have piggies outside - you might want to take a look in the housing section 'hutches'.
You will pick up lots of great ideas there.
Click to expand...
I live in south London so winer here isnt too harsh
 
My boys live outside and I live near London. You can put bubble wrap on the inside of the hutch to insulate it more and use multiple snuggle safe microwaveable pads under their bedding. Make sure they have a lot of hay to burrow in and keep warm. They will keep each other warm too. I wouldn't recommend a hot water bottle because the water will go cold quickly and make them even colder. Hope this helps x
 
Betsy said:
I have outside piggies and their hutch is a double decker with a run underneath the hutch which is the same dimensions as the hutch but has wire sides and not wooden. In the winter I put a double layer of bubble wrap on both sides and half way up both doors to keep the air flowing. The back of the hutch is wooden all the way down to the ground. I have a strawberry house which is kept downstairs with a snugglesafe in underneath the pee pad.. In the top of the hutch I use LOADS of hay in the 'sleeping' part so that all 5 can bury themselves under the hay. There are 2 snugglesafes in their too. Also a blanket is a permanent feature in the winter over the top and down over the back of the hutch. At night time I put it over the front to keep the frost out. In the morning when I go out to see them it is lovely and warm in there. Then I bundle yet more hay in and then again at night. I get through an awful lot of hay during the winter months!
Click to expand...

Ah, sorry didn't see this post before I posted. You pretty much said everything I did haha.
 
This is my outside cage at the moment, I've ordered tubes and an outside run which I will custermise and attach to the cage as it will give them lots of room and they will get to run on the grass during the day so I will take more pics of that when it's set up :)

IMG_20170620_1534533.webp

IMG_20170620_2148265.webp
 
You might want to think about adjusting the ramp. We added a side and carpet to ours as it was too difficult for them to use otherwise. I prefer the hutches like this that are two proper levels rather than one and a run as it gives them the extra floor in the winter when its far too cold for them to go on the ground
 
My ramp has sides and wooden slats so that the piggies can get a grip. My ramp is always covered in wee which gets a good old clean once a week when I do the hutch clean (Just love that job!). Wouldn't carpet go all horrible?
 
Betsy said:
My ramp has sides and wooden slats so that the piggies can get a grip. My ramp is always covered in wee which gets a good old clean once a week when I do the hutch clean (Just love that job!). Wouldn't carpet go all horrible?
Click to expand...

Mine don't wee on the ramp luckily, just zoom up and down it a lot lol. It does get cleaned as well though
 
The ramp has carpeting that I put on myself as I had a 2 story piggy cage indoor before getting this one, they get up and down it fine, I will later adjust to put sides up on the ramp but they have never had a problem with falling off or pushing each other off or fighting on it so I've not needed to put sides up
 
Rainah said:
The ramp has carpeting that I put on myself as I had a 2 story piggy cage indoor before getting this one, they get up and down it fine, I will later adjust to put sides up on the ramp but they have never had a problem with falling off or pushing each other off or fighting on it so I've not needed to put sides up
Click to expand...

Mine was more that they didn't want to use it open (maybe I had odd piggies) though my most recent piggy came from pets at home adoption centre and had had to have vet care before rehoming as she had fallen off the ramp at her previous home and fractured her leg. I very rarely have babies so hadn't considered it before
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top