Protecting hutch from the weather

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We're thinking of moving our pigs outdoors. Their hutch would go in the shed for the winter months, where they would be very cozy with Snugglepads and fleecey cozies :) , but I was wondering what people do with the hutch the rest of the year to protect the pigs from the wind & rain?

I know you can buy covers for most hutches, but people don't seem to keep them on all the time (or do they?)...what happens if there's a sudden shower? Do you use a windbreak of some sort? I know it's very important to keep them out of draughts, but I don't see how you can entirely protect them from draughts even in the most sheltered garden? How much of a draught is a problem? Surely any piggy who lives in a hutch or goes in an outdoor run will be exposed to some sort of a breeze without coming to any harm?

Tell me what you do with your hutch!
 
Hi,

I keep my hutches in a sheltered shady spot on the patio sheltered by a 6ft hedge and the house wall.

I use hutch covers and during the day roll up the front flaps if they are in the hutch and the weather is nice and zip them down in the evening. If it is a windy, wet day I leave them zipped down if it isn't warm

I keep the cover on as it is a thin waterproof one
 
When my hutches were outside (not in the shed) I used to use the hutch covers you can buy specifically for that hutch.
With the exception of the castle hutch as I couldn't find a cover anywhere to fit it so I had to make one.
 
I have all my hutches in a alvove so they are facing in on the 3 sides of a square. We make our own covers - We have a tarpaulain that is velcrod in places so it's snug and boxed around the hutch and my dad buys clear platic dust type sheets wich we cut to put over the front of the hutch - these work perfectly well for summer and keep the rain and wind off. IN the winter the Tarp comes up, we put plumming insulator about the hutches and tarp goes back on. This is essentially what Hutch covers are - but at an extrotinate price ... you can get enough materials to cover a 2 tier 2x4 ft and a single 3x4 ft for about £20 from somewhere like toolstation or screwfix ... maybe a bit less
 
Do your piggies stay outdoors all year round then, zombieprincess? You don't put them in the shed or something?
 
No mine do live outdoor all year unless the weather really is bad - like this winter we pretty much emptied the shed and shoved it all in the loft for them - but in all honesty thats only happened a few times in 15 years, as winter is usally quite mild where i am, i still keep the covers over them in the shed though as that can sometimes prove to be a damper environment if the frist gets into the wood. During the winter also i tuck fleece blankets round the fronts of the hutches under the plastic to help keep heat in along with all their fleece tunnels, blankets & cosies. The hessian also stays on as it is used to keep off frost by builders and works very much the same on the hutches. If my two older boys are still about this winter they will be comming indoors until the spring as they both have arthritic legs.
I know how i keep mine is, not somthing every one would agree with, but the moment i feel their health is compromised by the weather they go in the shed or we sort indoor runs for them. I'd love for them to be inside but its my parents house and we've nowhere to keep them permanently with mums childminding buisness.

Bare in mind also that hot summers are just as deadly as cold winter. Always make sure your hutch when outside is somewhere that gets shade the warmest time of day or put up a big garden umbrella. The only weather related illness which became a fatalitywe've had is a piggy die of heat stroke many years ago.
 
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