Brr Its Chilly Out There!

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kerry

kerry

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Does anyone feel guilty that their pigs are outside and we are tucked up inside?

My guinea pigs are tucked up warm in their insulated hutches with plenty of hay but I still feel guilty about them being outside.
I wish I could bring them inside but there is no room :(
 
Mine live indoors so I don't have that worry but plenty live outdoors. It's good that you have insulated hutches and care about their comfort. When mine lived in the garage for a while I gave them heat pads. The OH thought I was mad but the piggies loved them.
 
I'm going to get heat pads next week I think. I worry about them maki
VickiA said:
Mine live indoors so I don't have that worry but plenty live outdoors. It's good that you have insulated hutches and care about their comfort. When mine lived in the garage for a while I gave them heat pads. The OH thought I was mad but the piggies loved them.
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I'm going to get heat pads next week although I worry about them going cold and making the pigs even colder. People have previously said that they stay warm all night though
 
I think they stay warm for about 8 hours if I remember correctly, have not had to use them for a while but my Nigel used to have one daily in his little tent.
 
I have brought mine in, this is the first night. I felt really bad as going outside to the shed I was freezing. Was hoping to at least get to middle of Oct before bringing them in.
 
i bought two snugglesafes for my girls last year, they're great. before i used them in the hutch i left them out & took the temperature of the heat pads every hour & it took about 8hrs for them to cool down, they went in the microwave for 4mins each side in a 800w microwave.

you will need to put the covers or something on them as they are very hot to start off with, don't let piggy get in direct contact with it. i put mine under the newspaper layer that's under the shredded paper & hay, mine also have a thick duvet to go over the hutch, not tightly tucked over to allow for some air circulation.
the hutch is also in a large wooden shed. mine have come in for the last 2 winters as Ellie is getting old 7+ & had a URI & health issues the last 2 winters.

But all my others have been fine out

therehttp://www.amazon.co.uk/SnuggleSafe-Microwave-Wireless-Heatpad-Fleece/dp/B0014LJKUA

try this link, they seem to be on offer at the moment they range between £12 & £23 on Amazon
xx
 
My old herd lived outside, in a huge run, it was wooden on 3 sides, open on the front, with mesh. It faced east, my garden is quite small, so I suppose the house offered some protection. They got had boxes in the run full of hay. In the cold winters they got empty feed bags across the front to stop the worse of the wind and wet, but that lot had no additional heat.
They had always lived outside, so did not know anything different. They were a healthy lot, with no respiratory infections, and all lived to be over 5 years old, some up to 7 years.
 
all my guinea pigs before now never had anything more than the shelter of the garage, and boxes stuffed with hay to burrow in. same as treacle-all lived happily and healthily into their old age. this is the first time i've had any living inside permanently, and i think i'm going soft in my old age-until i saw the weather this morning!
 
hattie.r said:
all my guinea pigs before now never had anything more than the shelter of the garage, and boxes stuffed with hay to burrow in. same as treacle-all lived happily and healthily into their old age. this is the first time i've had any living inside permanently, and i think i'm going soft in my old age-until i saw the weather this morning!
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Lol! I am also going soft, my new lot are inside too!
 
Treacle said:
Lol! I am also going soft, my new lot are inside too!
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i know-i've spent more money on this lot than on all my previous piggies combined. and they seem to be permanently attached to me. i think i'm destined never to have children, just pets! sheesh!
 
hattie.r said:
i know-i've spent more money on this lot than on all my previous piggies combined. and they seem to be permanently attached to me. i think i'm destined never to have children, just pets! sheesh!
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Me too. I have spent loads on this lot, I never had children, just animals.....
 
I feel very guilty about mine being outside too, but hubby is very anti having them inside. He did say if they came in he's going out......:gd:
We have an insulated hutch cover and a waterproof cover and will move the hutch in a really sheltered spot close to the house (I'm sure they won't mind looking at a brick wall). I also have another blanket to add when it gets colder and will get some variety of heat pad for them.

I was dreading coming down this morning after listening to the rain and wind but they were fine. The waterproof cover did a good job, they were dry and seemed their usual vegie demanding selves this morning.
 
I have always kept my piggies indoors as could not bear the thought of them being outside in bad weather. Only ever kept them outside when work on or in the house necessitated it. Then I really missed them. I often think about all those poor piggies, and bunnies, living outside in cold draughty hutches. BRRRRRR!
 
Treacle said:
My old herd lived outside, in a huge run, it was wooden on 3 sides, open on the front, with mesh. It faced east, my garden is quite small, so I suppose the house offered some protection. They got had boxes in the run full of hay. In the cold winters they got empty feed bags across the front to stop the worse of the wind and wet, but that lot had no additional heat.
They had always lived outside, so did not know anything different. They were a healthy lot, with no respiratory infections, and all lived to be over 5 years old, some up to 7 years.
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All of my pigs before these 4 also lived outside in the same sort of hutches and never had any heat pads and lived until they were all over 6 hears.

I think I worry about these 4 more than the others, although I loved them all the same :)
 
7squeakers. said:
I have always kept my piggies indoors as could not bear the thought of them being outside in bad weather. Only ever kept them outside when work on or in the house necessitated it. Then I really missed them. I often think about all those poor piggies, and bunnies, living outside in cold draughty hutches. BRRRRRR!
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I quite liked making sure they had everything they needed, and they were warm and protected.
 
My boys have to live outsied due to my husband's sever asthma and allergies.

They are in a well insulated hutch, and have enough boxes, hay, waterproof covers etc. to keep them warm, dry and cosey. I wish they could come in - but if they lived inside full time hubby would spend his life up in the cottage hospital on a nebuliser so it's not goint to happen.

I'm sure everyone here does their absolute best for their pigs in the circumstances they live in.
 
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