Covering Hutch

[oveione]

Hi those of you with outdoor piggies do you still put the hutch cover over at night or leave it off so the hutch has airflow in this heat .

 

[oveione]

Anyone

 

[eileen]

Hi,I use a newton hugger as has a fly screen,i put covers over a night for saftey,incase weather changes overnight,then put cover up in morning if weather is fine.

 

[Jojessgaz]

Hi ... I'm still only 2mths into piggies but I try and put my cover over every nite as I find alot of things flying around especially moths in our garden n it helps keep flies n pests out. My cover has placid front with mesh at the top for airflow

 

[Swissgreys]

In the current hot weather I would avoid covering a hutch with anything other than mesh fly screen material.
Even overnight.
All if takes is one small accident where you sleep in or rush off to work and forget the cover is on, and your piggies will overheat very quickly.
Even the covers that have a ventilation panel in them (usually just strip near the top) will not offer enough air flow in the warm weather.
It's the equivalent to leaving a dog or a child in a hot car with the window cracked open - very dangerous indeed and usually fatal.

If you are concerned about predators, then consider using a wide webbing strip around the entire hutch (the type usually used to secure loads on trucks).

 

[Jojessgaz]

In the current hot weather I would avoid covering a hutch with anything other than mesh fly screen material.
Even overnight.
All if takes is one small accident where you sleep in or rush off to work and forget the cover is on, and your piggies will overheat very quickly.
Even the covers that have a ventilation panel in them (usually just strip near the top) will not offer enough air flow in the warm weather.
It's the equivalent to leaving a dog or a child in a hot car with the window cracked open - very dangerous indeed and usually fatal.

If you are concerned about predators, then consider using a wide webbing strip around the entire hutch (the type usually used to secure loads on trucks).

@Swissgreys thanks for the update... told you I was still new... it's a constant learning with everything. I keep the front cover up in the day unless it's pelting down then it gets covered in the heavy rain. But into evening I always put the cover down and it gets unzipped when I see them in the morning. A couple of weeks ago I found an insect crawling round inside...it had wings so assumed it flew in... also as I said moths kept flying in. So shud I not put it down over nite unless it's cool enough? Is there a fly guard I can buy to attach at nite?

 

[Jojessgaz]

Jumping in here again. I have ordered a piece of fly material to put over the front while it's so warm. So hopefully they won't be too hot but no pests. Any more tips to keep the flies etc out?

 

[Mother Hubbard]

It's difficult as the flies are attracted to the smell etc, like eileen I use the Scratch & Newton hutch hugger which comes with a detachable fly screen. Because i live in the countryside we have a lot of flies, so the screen stays down constantly. I haven't found anything else that helps.