This is why my girlies never go outside.

Flip me! I have a lot of seagulls and a hawk about…. You just wouldn’t feel happy leaving them, sure you wouldn’t?
 
I don’t put mine out as we have too many seagulls around.
We also have a jay and there has been evidence of a fox
Lovely picture @Betsy .
 
Don’t blame you @Betsy. We have foxes too and cats. When we first got our puppy we watched him when he was in the garden as we had a large red kite flying around. Chester was the size of a bunny so could have easily been taken. Maybe you could put them out in their run in the cooler evening and watch them while you’re enjoying a glass (or two) 🍷.
 
We get the occasional fox and even a badger on our neighbours trail camera. The worst experience I’ve had was when our next door but two’s small dog got out of their back garden and could obviously smell our piggies. Luckily the neighbours noticed the dog had slipped through the side gate (grandchild had left it open) and was already looking for it. We could hear barking so we rush out Into the back garden and there it was barking at our gp’s who were more curious than scared, it shocked us though.
New side gate locks on both properties have solve that issue

But foxes will kill a flock of hens, take a few and leave the rest, they are beautiful but merciless killers, I don’t blame you x
 
I do find the title of this thread misleading …..NEVER go outside ?

I thought grass time was enrichment for guinea pigs .

I have no control over the number of urban foxes and I’m not going to be able to stop seagulls flying overhead .

I will continue to put my guinea pigs outside …in a sturdy covered run ….and with a reliable human being in the vicinity .
 
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Veggies Galore said:
I do find the title of this thread misleading …..NEVER go outside ?

I thought grass time was enrichment for guinea pigs .

I have no control over the number of urban foxes and I’m not going to be able to stop seagulls flying overhead .

I will continue to put my guinea pigs outside …in a sturdy covered run ….and with a reliable human being in the vicinity .
Click to expand...
I’ve only had mine a few months, but I was actually planning on NEVER putting them outside! They live near my patio doors which are open when I’m in. I give them grass and dandelion that I forage around the garden and it give them things to enjoy in their pen, they are also starting to enjoy their free ranging time in the hall. I hope that’s enough for them!
 
I don't think this thread should be construed as an attack on those of us who choose to give their pigs lawn time, just an observation of individual circumstances. Both approaches are fine as long as we all feel we can keep our piggies safe with what we're doing. Their safety is the most important thing ☺️
 
Mine are never going outside either for similar reasoning ... There's a pair of hawks that love one of our trees for a perch (and probably live in our woods) and a pair of falcons that live up the hill (both have been seen hunting ... a squirrel for the hawk and a bird for the falcon). I haven't seen the eagle recently, but I wouldn't say it's gone either. There's a fox that lives behind our yard by the neighbor's pond, and there's a number of groups of coyotes around that periodically cut through our yard ... and one of the neighbors' has a dog that has come into our yard a number of times. Oh, and there's a slinky black creature that I think is a fishercat but might be a mink. You name it, we've probably got it.
The bunnies also are pretty much everywhere ... there's several groups of them. There is not a section of grass that would be safe to eat here even if I did think I could protect against the numerous dangers.

Time outside might be perfectly safe in some locations/yards, but not all yards are appropriate for it. Our small dogs (12-15 lb/5-7 kg) aren't allowed out except on a lead either for their safety.
 
Princess Dustmop said:
Mine are never going outside either for similar reasoning ... There's a pair of hawks that love one of our trees for a perch (and probably live in our woods) and a pair of falcons that live up the hill (both have been seen hunting ... a squirrel for the hawk and a bird for the falcon). I haven't seen the eagle recently, but I wouldn't say it's gone either. There's a fox that lives behind our yard by the neighbor's pond, and there's a number of groups of coyotes around that periodically cut through our yard ... and one of the neighbors' has a dog that has come into our yard a number of times. Oh, and there's a slinky black creature that I think is a fishercat but might be a mink. You name it, we've probably got it.
The bunnies also are pretty much everywhere ... there's several groups of them. There is not a section of grass that would be safe to eat here even if I did think I could protect against the numerous dangers.

Time outside might be perfectly safe in some locations/yards, but not all yards are appropriate for it. Our small dogs (12-15 lb/5-7 kg) aren't allowed out except on a lead either for their safety.
Click to expand...
Apart from the dangers to your animals - your surroundings really sound lovely!
 
Ours go out in runs as much as possible, if the weather is fine then they all go out for part of the day. It really is a personal consideration depending where you live and your balance on what the risks are. Foxes in daylight hours though is quite off putting, we’ve seen them at night but that’s fine when the piggies are tucked up in bed. They are very clever predictors though and I would have second thoughts if I saw one in my garden during daytime hours.
We have seagulls nesting on our roofs and apart from the noise they aren’t a problem as all runs are sturdy and obviously have a lid, we also have a sparrowhawk that regularly catches small birds, again that’s not a problem either
Big dogs off a lead that get into your garden would be my biggest worry but after the small dog getting in we have made sure our rear garden is as secure as possible
 
No stream ... also not all weeds ... that's a flower bed (that needs weeding). The picture with the skunk was between bloom sets, this year's picture caught a lot of the daylilies; there's also iris, Queen Anne's lace, black-eyed Susans, goldenrod, etc.
 
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