Winter exercise

[Lazydog11]

Hi.

I keep my two pigs Nacho and Cheese outdoors. They have a bed area stuffed with hay, and fleece over the areas they run around and feed in. They have two 20w outdoor-safe heat pads for the colder weather, one under the hay they sleep on and one under the fleece so the rest of the hutch doesn't get frosty (honestly the best things I've ever bought for them).

The setup is perfect for them and summer was great as they have an attached outdoor run to use all day but as it's their first winter outside I'm thinking they won't be able to use their run due to the cold and damp ground.

I'd like to know if it would be cruel to them if they stay in the hutch over winter as moving them indoors for exercise wouldn't work for a few reasons, but mostly because I've read that sharp temperature changes can be difficult for them to adjust to.

Any advice is much appreciated

 

[Lazydog11]

Just to add; the hutch is 5ft × 2ft × 2ft

 

[Siikibam]

It wouldn’t be cruel. When the cage is big enough then it’s generally okay for them to not have floor time. Mine don’t get out-of-cage time during winter either.

I would also be wary of using fleece in winter. It won’t wick and will likely stay damp so beat to use bedding and hay.

PS cage is a good size

 

[Piggies&buns]

First thing is to remove all the fleece. Fleece cannot be used outdoors in winter as it will not dry from the urine properly and can wick moisture from the air and remain damp constantly thereby exposing piggies to risk of illness. An absorbent bedding such as shavings, megazorb etc under deep piles of hay is needed everywhere in the hutch.

You are right in that once it is cold and damp they cannot be out in the run but no it’s not cruel to keep them in.
You are also correct in that outdoor piggies should not be brought indoors (unless you cool the room down first so there isn’t a temperature change from outside to inside).

My two boys live in a 6ft hutch in my shed and while they get access to roam the shed floor year round, they do choose to spend most of their time during winter snuggled up in the hutch (and of course it is much warmer in the shed than outside temperatures and they still don’t want to come out of the hutch!). They’ll come out for a bit of a run about when I feed them but it’s never long (vs warmer weather when I almost always find them roaming the shed and not in the hutch!).

Be careful with plug in heatpads. Microwaveable (non-cabled) heat pads called Snugglesafes are considered the safest option for rodents.

 

[Lazydog11]

It wouldn’t be cruel. When the cage is big enough then it’s generally okay for them to not have floor time. Mine don’t get out-of-cage time during winter either.

I would also be wary of using fleece in winter. It won’t wick and will likely stay damp so beat to use bedding and hay.

PS cage is a good size

Good advice, thank you

 

[Lazydog11]

First thing is to remove all the fleece. Fleece cannot be used outdoors in winter as it will not dry from the urine properly and can wick moisture from the air and remain damp constantly thereby exposing piggies to risk of illness. An absorbent bedding such as shavings, megazorb etc under deep piles of hay is needed everywhere in the hutch.

You are right in that once it is cold and damp they cannot be out in the run but no it’s not cruel to keep them in.
You are also correct in that outdoor piggies should not be brought indoors (unless you cool the room down first so there isn’t a temperature change from outside to inside).

My two boys live in a 6ft hutch in my shed and while they get access to roam the shed floor year round, they do choose to spend most of their time during winter snuggled up in the hutch (and of course it is much warmer in the shed than outside temperatures and they still don’t want to come out of the hutch!). They’ll come out for a bit of a run about when I feed them but it’s never long (vs warmer weather when I almost always find them roaming the shed and not in the hutch!).

Be careful with plug in heatpads. Microwaveable (non-cabled) heat pads called Snugglesafes are considered the safest option for rodents.

OK thank you. I'll replace the fleece for sure