Winter And Guinea Pigs

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Piggiepalace16

Piggiepalace16

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First of all I don't want anyone saying that I'm a bad owner or anything like that before I begin...

So it's obviously getting very cold now in the UK and I'm getting pretty worried about my 4 girls (as shown in profile picture), they are outdoor piggies and have been since I got them about 2-3 months ago now.

They have a double tier 5 x 2 hutch with megazorb bedding on the bottom and fleece on the top. In their cosy area they have 2 hidies, 1 a pigtop from piggiepigpigs and 2 little corners they can snuggle into too. They also have a hot water bottle which is refilled in the morning and at night. It is wrapped up in a fleece blanket and buried underneath their hidies for safety reasons obviously.

They have 4 different areas downstairs where they eat their hay, in a tunnel, in their wooden hay manger, in their hay rack and stuffed inside their wooden heart house from pets at home. As well as two drinking bottles, one at the top and one at the bottom, refilled morning and night due to cold. As well as 2 pellet bowls, again top and bottom, filled twice a day (only due to it being winter and they're only about 5 months old).

They also have a hay rack upstairs too.

Now, all year round they would normally have been kept in the shed connected to my house. However my nan unfortunately passed away earlier this year :'( so all of her stuff is currently filling the shed, until my uncle can find a new place to live (which we were hoping he would have by this time because of the piggies). Bringing them inside is not a possibility as we currently have 3 rabbits indoors, and the cage we have for the guinea pigs especially is only really for emergency cases, for example bonfire night (and even that caused a mini fight to break out between two of them due to lack of space).

They are fed veggies twice a day. In total they get 1 whole pepper, 2 sticks of celery, 4 leaves of lettuce and either kale or cabbage.

Will they be alright? Please tell me what to do?
 
Firstly, I'm very sorry for your loss:hug:
Secondly, I think you're a fantastic owner and your pigs are most likely okay.
I think @sport_billy has outdoor piggies, or at least knows a lot about keeping them outdoors.
Hay is excellent- warm, tasty, snug. Do you have heating where they're kept? I've heard about oil radiators. Best of luck, and you're an excellent owner:nod:
 
Thank you so much! I also forgot to mention that they do have a thermal cover on the hutch too, which we bought especially for this just in case
 
Unfortunately we don't and I've never heard about oil radiators, I'll look it up :)
 
Looks liked something that would be great to put in their shed when they can go in it, but currently not really
 
It sounds like you are doing everything possible to keep your girls warm and dry.
The only other possible addition might be some snuggle safe heat pads, as I think they hold their heat longer than a regular hot water bottle.
But other than that it all sounds good.
 
I was planning on buying 2 of them soon when I have enough money to do so haha
 
Sounds indeed like your pigs have a toasty home. I think you can sleep easy now! Not to mention all their fur, if they could speak English they'd tell you they're perfectly snug.
Also that they need food. Right now:))
 
I have had my guinea pigs living outside all year round for nearly seven years (due to my dad not wanting guinea pigs inside at all) and I've just got to say that the best thing is to fill the sleeping areas of the hutch with a lot of hay (all the way to the ceiling) to try and prevent them from getting cold. I have acquired a snuggle safe this year as we have just got a new microwave after not having one for a couple of years and I am using that under the hay however hopefully this weekend they will be moved into a shed but plenty of hay should keep your piggies warm :)
 
Mine are outdoor piggies, I concur that the snuggle safes are brilliant. Always use with the covers because it actually helps to keep the heat longer and they can be quite hot depending on how long you put them in the microwave. I put fleece over the wooden stick tunnel and filled with hay and the same with a cardboard box, and they love that as they snuggle together.

I also have the thermal cover then the outer hutch hugger, also during the night I put a thick cover over the front to keep out the damp and frost, even with the front cover down, it does make a difference in keeping in the heat. Mine also love the squbes which are the square fleece houses, although I find they tend to keep themselves right inside and do 'everything' inside it, which can make it quite messy too.
 
Thank you all! They have piles of hay downstairs for them to snuggle into, but the upstairs is strictly fleece so I don't like to get hay all over it (though that's what normally happens - it's as if they've had a party overnight :yahoo:)

They do have a hay rack upstairs stuffed to overflowing as well as a water bottle and pellets upstairs. But downstairs is the main food area for them.

I also wanted to ask about their run? They have an 8ft detachable run but I'm not sure if they can use it in winter now? Currently it's blocking off a quarter of the garden for one of the rabbits.
 
Hello,

Sounds like your a brilliant owner! I have outdoor piggies the same as you and have done for many years. I can't bring mine in due to my husband, although they do have an indoor run in our conservatory and indoor pen for fireworks night etc, and for storms. I did once try putting them in our disused garage which has windows, and I don't know if other outdoor piggy owners have found this, but they became very withdrawn and quiet and not interested in anything. After a while I was quite concerned and so put them outside again in their hutch and instantly they became their excitable happy selves again. So I haven't done it again since, I think they love watching everything going on in the garden and hearing all the sounds etc and are obviously very used to it and so didn't like the change.

I have found the best thing, apart from 2 snuggle safes I have, is to get a smallish cardboard box, turn it upside down so it has a roof, cut out a dome shape hole on one side as an entrance and pack with hay. My girls love this and get very toasty, as when I lift it up in the morning it's very warm inside. The good thing about turning them upside down is they don't get soiled and last quite a while before they need replacing. I also have a very strong canvas hutch cover that keeps out draughts and rain.

For run time, apart from if they use the playpen inside, I put them out on my patio with a pile of handpicked grass and various toys. I do this when the patio is dry. This prevents them getting cold and wet from the grass this time of year, and it's good for their claws.
 
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