How can i keep my piggy warm in Winter?

Zorro1

Zorro1

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Where I live, the Winter temperatures can dive below 0 degrees Celsius. And I haven't the room to keep my piggy indoors. How can I keep him nice and warm outside? He's an American shorthair, he isn't a long haired breed. I've got some warm fabrics like fleece, and I've got a stuffed bed that would certainly be warm, but I don't think this would be enough to keep him toasty in the Winter.
 
Unfortunately you can’t use fleece in winter. It wouldn’t be able to stay dry and would therefore make things cold for him. You’ll need to stuff the hutch full of hay and use heat pads. Depending on the layout of your hutch - and assuming it has two sections - I would put a heatpad in each area. He can also have a wooden hide. You could put the heat pad inside it and put some hay on top to keep it warm. You would have to put in new ones in the morning and again late afternoon.

You also need hutch covers - a thermal and a waterproof. I use two pieces of fleece, a duvet cover and a fleece blanket. These are then covered by thermal insulation, a windscreen cover and tarpaulin. This works well and I can always reduce the ‘layers’ as it gets warmer. I also use heatpads. I heat up their pads in the morning (before 7) and again around 7pm for the night.

Is there absolutely nowhere you could fit a 120x60cm cage inside? If you struggle to keep him at 15c or above then you really need to bring him inside until it’s warm at night. You don’t want the cold making him ill. Is there a possibility to move him into a shed? And getting him a friend?
 
I do have a shed outside, but it's mainly used for storage. However, there is enough space to set up my 180cm x 90cm enclosure there. And It'll be warmer. I've never heard of " heat pads", but having just googled it I think using a heat pad is a great idea. Thank you.
I've tried pairing him with numerous other piggies when he was young, but he always fought. :( Now, he's mature (one year old) and he's desexed, but I'm not sure weather he'd still want to fight if I try to introduce another piggy, as he is quite dominant by nature.
 
The heatpads are called Snugglesafes

Being neutered does not change their character - he will always want to be dominant but it’s essential to find the right character compatible friend for him. This can take many attempts. Piggies can be bonded at any age but not being with another piggy before four months of age can mean they lose on learning vital social skills - so it depends how long he has been alone as to how easy he will find things.
Being neutered obviously opens your options and enables him to look for a sow friend also
 
If you can use the shed I definitely would. It will also make it nicer for you when you go out to see him.
 
Do you have a thermometer in the shed so you can be sure it really is warm enough?
The type of cage you use will also make a difference. For example, open cages such as c&c or commercial cages in sheds will still be incredibly difficult to keep warm. A wooden hutch, with thermal hutch covers and blankets, lots of hay filling the hutch and heatpads are recommended to keep outdoor piggies warm enough
 
Piggies&buns said:
The heatpads are called Snugglesafes

Being neutered does not change their character - he will always want to be dominant but it’s essential to find the right character compatible friend for him. This can take many attempts. Piggies can be bonded at any age but not being with another piggy before four months of age can mean they lose on learning vital social skills - so it depends how long he has been alone as to how easy he will find things.
Being neutered obviously opens your options and enables him to look for a sow friend also
Click to expand...
Thanks, this is very informative. 👍
I don't have a thermometer in the shed, but I can put one there. I have 2 enclosures. The first one being a 180cm x 90cm run with a lid. I use this run as a day time enclosure to put on the grass or wherever is a suitable location. This run is what I'd put in the shed.

P1110143.webp

The other enclosure is a 2 story wooden hutch. I use this as his night time or alternate enclosure if I can't put him in his big pen.
Would it be more likely that he'll bond with a sow over a bore? It can be a very stressful time when bonding piggies, and I don't want to have to try numerous times before finding him the right buddy.
 
Natalie Clancy said:
Thanks, this is very informative. 👍
I don't have a thermometer in the shed, but I can put one there. I have 2 enclosures. The first one being a 180cm x 90cm run with a lid. I use this run as a day time enclosure to put on the grass or wherever is a suitable location. This run is what I'd put in the shed.

View attachment 200567

The other enclosure is a 2 story wooden hutch. I use this as his night time or alternate enclosure if I can't put him in his big pen.
Would it be more likely that he'll bond with a sow over a bore? It can be a very stressful time when bonding piggies, and I don't want to have to try numerous times before finding him the right buddy.
Click to expand...

The run may not keep him warm enough. I know here in this country (my boys living in a shed) that such a run would not be suitable to keep them warm in the shed.
They need to be kept above 15 degrees

Bonding with either a boar or a sow is a possibility - but it still has to be the right piggy regardless of whether it’s a boar or a sow, and It can take multiple attempts to find the right character compatible friend for them. Yes bonding can be a difficult time but trying multiple times is preferable to him being alone.

Do you have a rescue nearby who can help you?

A Closer Look At Pairs (Boars - Sows - Mixed)
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
 
Unfortunately, I don't have a rescue nearby I'm in the country. The nearest pet store (that sells guinea pigs) is a half a hour drive away.
Are you sure he won't be warm enough in the shed? Not even with the heatpads? The shed is like an outdoor bedroom, with carpet on the floor and everything.
 
I know from your previous posts that he was originally part of a boar trio. How many other piggies have you tried him with since he was with those original two. The problem, of course, with pet shop piggies is that you cannot date them and would be taking a risk of failure and therefore more single piggies. However, living with a neighbour in a separate cage if the bonding did fail is the next best thing as they can interact though the bars and would therefore no longer be considered to be alone. Obviously only a possibility if you have the ability to habe two cages side by side


Natalie Clancy said:
Are you sure he won't be warm enough in the shed? Not even with the heatpads? The shed is like an outdoor bedroom, with carpet on the floor and everything.
Click to expand...

Only you know your shed, what it is like, how well it is insulated etc. You would need to put thermometers in there beforehand so you can see what temperature it actually gets down to. If it is below 15 degrees, then even with heatpads, the run may not provide enough protection. You would need to try various covers and blankets over the run to see if you could prevent cold air from entering the enclosure. Heatpads only provide a warm space to sit, they don’t warm the air.
If it is well insulated and remains between 18 and 22 degrees, then that would be warm enough and the run would be ok from a temperature point of view

As I say mine are in a hutch in the shed. The shed is insulated, the hutch is filled with hay and they have four heatpads. The hutch then has thermal hutch covers, two blankets, another hutch cover and then a duvet over all of it to keep it warm enough. In an exposed run, it would be a lot harder to manage
 
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Yes, he was in a boar trio. But it was an emergency to separate them because they started to draw blood. :( I tried to bond him with 4 piggies in total (including Peanut and Rocky, which where the two other boars in the trio).
P1110120.JPG
I'll defiantly have to place a thermometer in the shed and see how cold it gets down to, as you recommended.
 
So he’s been tried with two others since the trio failed. It can take on average 3-5 attempts to find a character compatible friend but you are in a difficult position if you don’t have a rescue you can use.

Is living next to a neighbour a possibility as the next best thing?
 
I guess living next to a neighbor is a possibility if it makes him happy. Is it risky to try and bond him with a young piggy? In other words, could be possibly hurt a younger piggy that he doesn't accept?
 
Natalie Clancy said:
I guess living next to a neighbor is a possibility if it makes him happy. Is it risky to try and bond him with a young piggy? In other words, could be possibly hurt a younger piggy that he doesn't accept?
Click to expand...

No he wouldn’t deliberately hurt a younger piggy, but if they weren’t compatible and neither backed down then it could cause a fight.
A younger piggy may be more easily accepted as they can’t challenge for dominance. But, it still comes down to character.
As he is neutered, you may do best to try a sow
 
Thanks a lot for answering my questions. Knowing all this certainly helps make things easier. :)
 
I think if it falls as low as 0c then you’d be better to put him in the hutch rather than the run.

Please do try and bond him with another piggy. Be aware as he hasn’t been with piggies for a while he may be…over excited. But don’t let that stop you. I am sure once he finds a compatible friend you will see he’ll be so much better. Even a neighbour is better than nothing 🙂
 
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