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advise needed on outdoor hutch

  • Thread starter Thread starter angieb
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angieb

I have a outdoor hutch for my two piggies and just reading through the forum and i am panicing!!
Is it going to harm them being out all winter as i rescued them in summer and i've never had guineas before? They live together and i stuff their bed part with hay and sawdust, plus they have a little ready made straw house and a igloo stuffed with straw......I have just today concocted a makeshift wind shelter made from a shower curtain which is drapped over the front!
I cannot have them inside as i have 3 young children and they are frightened of the children plus the kids wouldn't leave them alone.......


The hutch is also a two story and they only moved into it on friday afternnon and they are very nervous. They are only useing the 1 floor and i dont want to push them too much. Has anyone had any experience with nervous guineas and double hutch's?
 
If they are outside I think you would be better getting an old rug to cover the the cage to help keep the cold and wind out - a shower curtain would be too thin. I would also get a large tarpaulin from B & Q for about £7 and cover the whole cage to keep it nice and dry. It would be better if you could let them be inside though in an indoor cage - maybe the kids would leave them alone once the novelty of them wear off.

Also I would use shavings rather than sawdust because they can breathe the sawdust in and it doesn't do them much good.
 
Hiya!

Firstly, don't worry about them being nervous and only using the first floor. We got two gps in July and we had a good couple of weeks of them staying inside and only using one level everytime myself or my daughter went out! They're really not nervous at all now.

I'm having the same dilemma as you at the moment re. outside hutch. They've got a two storey hutch outside. It's quite close to our house, up against a shaded fence. I've just bought a hutch hugger which keeps the wind and rain out (I hope) and we were thinking of moving them into our little shed thing, which I think used to be the old outside loo. However, it's not got a window so we'd have to leave the door open for them which may defeat the object. We haven't really got anywhere for them in the house at the mo and I thought that if you brought them into a heated house, it's not good for them? I don't really want them in the house as my daughter is allergic to the hay. I was thinking of buying one of those little igloo things and putting it inside the closed in 'sleeping' area and surrounding that with hay and newspaper to keep them snug.

Anyone got any other suggestions?

Thanks!

Kelly
 
so you guys have a shed? you could create some room in there or a disused garage to keep them warmer as being outide in the cold can be bad for them. Get plenty of dustsheets and wrap the cage in these and make sure to cover with a taupaulin which will keep the hutch dry.

You can get water bottle covers too from online or P@H as when the temperature drops below 0 the water will freeze and leave the piggies without any water. At night cover the fronto f the hutch with the ticket dustsheets and taupaulin as this will make sure no draughts can get in and will hold the heat.

You can get snugglesafe heat pads which i have done this weekdn -i have indoor piggies and i spoil them rotten but these pads after a 6 min microwave stay warm for up to 12 hours, they are brilliant! these would help the piggies in the hutch

Also do not take your piggies in if they are outside in the winter. The different heat change are not good for them can could make them ill. If you are having outside piggies, you will have to cuddle them outside too.
 
Hiya, I have 2 guinea pigs who live in a hutch outside but they live in our outhouse which I also think was an outdoor loo. During the summer we left the door wide open all day and just left a small gap during the night and they were fine. During the winter, I covered the hutch up with a thick carpet (apart from the front) and filled it with lots of hay and paper especially the sleeping area. We left the door open during the day to give them some fresh air but not wide open then at night we would shut it. I'm assuming that it didn't get too cold in there as not once during the winter did the water bottle freeze up. This year I have brought them a snuggle safe heat pad to give them some extra warmth. I too would love them to live indoors but my OH is allergic to the hay as well and gets the sniffles when handling them for too long and we just simply do not have the room x
 
Can't really advise on outdoors all winter but definitely the heatpads are good. Also houses within the bedroom with fleecy beds in are good for right now as it begins to go colder at night. xx
 
I have mine outside all year round. Just make sure they have plenty of hay and if possible get some cuddle cups for them to snuggle in.

For mine i'm going to hopefully make a cover with those thermal blanket things on the inside and a waterproof cover on the outside which will cover the whole hutch and on put those clear plastic sheet things inside so the cage still has light going into it. :)
 
guys see the extraction from www.gorgeousguineas.com monthly newsletter I received yesterday

[*]Shorter Days and Longer Nights[/*]

This week we've passed the Autumn Equinox; days are drawing in and temperatures are dropping. The weather is changeable, more rain is on its way and the air is damp. Once the external temperature falls below 10C / 50F, guinea pigs need to be taken indoors - either in a shed / outbuilding or in your house. Why? Because they are very susceptible to the cold, to changes in tempertaure and humidity, and often end up with respiratory problems / pneumonia, hypotherma or fungal skin problems, all of which are potential killers. .

In Peru where guineas originated, the climate is warm and dry. Here in the UK the climate is not ideal for piggies with the high levels of humidity, and especially for old, young, pregnant or ill piggies who are more susceptible to the cold, damp and subsequent infections.


Most shop-bought cages are not fully waterproof and if the wood is not treated it will get saturated during rainy weather. Protection also needs to be provided from draughts when it is windy, so under ideal circumstances, guinea pigs need to be kept in your house or in a heated shed until the spring. A small oil-filled electric heater is ideal (see pigture below). A thermometer which shows maximum / minimum temperature is also useful, so that you can see how low the temperature drops overnight.


<IMG title="" height=250 alt="" width=188>


If guinea pigs are kept ouside or in an unheated shed, damp bedding may freeze and is cold and uncomfortable. All damp bedding should be removed daily and replaced with fresh hay etc. A thick layer of newspaper makes a good bottom layer, followed by either Dengie MediBed or Russell Bedding (short-chopped straw), and topped with lots of soft, green hay. Where bedding is not replaced regularly, mould / fungi can grow very quickly and cause skin and respiratory problems.

Inside the hutch you can provide little houses - preferably big enough for more than one guinea so they can 'share' body heat. Brown cardboard boxes or old bread bins (wooden) serve this purpose very well. Plenty of hay can be added and old towels / blankets can be draped over them for extra insulation if required. Snugglesafe Heatpads can also provide additional warmth. After heating in a microwave for a few minutes they stay warm for several hours. They are also very comforting if you ever have a sick piggy that needs a bit of extra warmth. Always follow the instructions carefully before use.

Also bear in mind that guinea pigs need fresh water to be available at all times. If the temperature falls to 0°C / 32°F then the water will freeze.
When housing guineas, always think about [*]insulation [/*]and [*]ventilation[/*]. Insulate to keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer, ventilate to allow circulation of air and prevent dampness, and fungal build up.

Time out on the grass is also coming to an end. Even when the days are dry, often the grass has not dried out becuase of the heavy overnight dew and the ground is often too cold for guineas to go out to play. Guineas should never be put out on cold or damp grass because their bodies are so close to the ground and they can easily get cold and wet. If they have a large indoor area to play in during the winter (such as Cavy Cages which are very easy / cheap to build), they can choose how much exercise they take without getting cold or damp.
 
I have now moved them into the garage until the end of summer. The garage was full of rubbish and to my OH's disgust i got him to tidy it up.:(|)
They dont really like it yet but they will get used to it.....I have also put in a cardbaord box for them to sleep in and stuffed it with hay.
 
Yes they'll stay in the garage all winter until spring. I dont like them in there as they need to get used to people and where they were before is across from the side door in which we use all the time..........Anyway if they need the warmth thats what will have to be........They seem fine and when the warmer weather kicks in i'll bring them back out!:)
 
Whilst i am not going to disagree with people in the know i have to say my first guinea pig lived in an unheated shed all year round for 6 years with various houses and hutches to go into and hay as bedding and was also allowed out occasionally onto wet grass (she popcorned her head off when it got long :))) without any health problems for 6 years (apart from a kidney infection and she went to Cambridge cavy trust/hospital to be treated)... and this is when we had PROPER winters... Not the wet lettuce ones we get now...
The only time she came in was her last 6 months when she got old...

I am not putting my pigs outside now as they have been inside all summer and it has finally gone cold here so it isnt good for them but next year they will be outside full time... and snugglesafe heatpads seem like a great idea so they will come in extremely handy!
 
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