When to start taking action against the cold

Daisy&Pip

Daisy&Pip

New Born Pup
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West Yorkshire, UK
Evening! So it was a lot cooler here in West Yorkshire last night and I've started to worry about our 13 week old piggies in their outdoor hutch. I panic- stuffed the sleeping part with a load of hay! Could someone advise me at what temperature I need to be starting to insulate the hutch please (bubble wrap, carpet (outer hutch); fleece, cardboard box,extra hay (sleeping area)?) Thank you!
 
At what point do you start stuffing the hutch full of hay to keep them warm? My pigs have the hutch and the c&c downstairs space in the piggie shed. Its 17 degrees in the shed at the moment, probably will drop a couple of degrees over night but it stays a bit warmer in the shed than outside. I have my plan and equipment ready for when it gets really cold (the plan that they will have to be kept in the hutch over night when it gets very cold with covers over and extra bedding/snuggle pods and a heat pod but while it is still warm they have 24/7 access to upstairs and downstairs (they get out in their run on the lawn during the day at the moment as well), but I felt the chill in the air tonight (as I say, it’s a few degrees warmer in the shed than outside) and it made me wonder when to start piling more hay in and actually at what point is it too cold for them to have night time access to downstairs (downstairs area being harder for me to really insulate). Don’t want to go overboard too early and then it gets mid winter and I’m struggling to keep them warm. I’ve added a picture of their set up (and them posing for the picture with their dinner!)

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Piggies&buns said:
I have literally just posted the same question!
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Daisy&Pip said:
Evening! So it was a lot cooler here in West Yorkshire last night and I've started to worry about our 13 week old piggies in their outdoor hutch. I panic- stuffed the sleeping part with a load of hay! Could someone advise me at what temperature I need to be starting to insulate the hutch please (bubble wrap, carpet (outer hutch); fleece, cardboard box,extra hay (sleeping area)?) Thank you!
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perhaps we should merge your threads - to make sure you both get answers

I'm tagging the members who have had experience of keeping guineas outdoors

@Lady Kelly ,@Mother Hubbard , @Betsy , @furryfriends (TEAS)
 
None of our guinea pigs are kept outdoors....they are all in a heated shed or the house. However, I have kept piggies outdoors, years ago and I protected them from damp and draughts and gave them lots of hay and actually they were the guinea pigs who lived the longest.
 
@Mother Hubbard @furryfriends (TEAS) - thank you. Mine are in a shed, albeit unheated, so they do have protection from rain and draughts, so it’ll be just keeping them warm with extra hay and hutch covers when it gets colder. I think I’ll leave them with overnight access to their hutch and downstairs area for a bit longer (with extra hay in both areas) but keep an eye on overnight temperatures and when the inside shed temperatures get down to 10-12 degrees, they will have to be locked in the hutch overnight.
 
That's why i keep a thermometer on the inside of the hutches so I know what the true temperature is and I don't just rely upon my own instinct if it's too hot or cold, I have the added information.

Captain Jack has lived outside for years, except for when the winters have really bitten down and I have an emergency plan in place and they have come inside. I'd love a shed, you never know!
 
My thermometer hangs in the piggie shed. I’d never rely on whether I feel too hot or cold to decide what’s best for my boys. It’s a running joke in my family that my bodily thermostat is broken! I have been known to be sat wrapped up in a blanket when it’s 25 degrees!
 
Piggies&buns said:
My thermometer hangs in the piggie shed. I’d never rely on whether I feel too hot or cold to decide what’s best for my boys. It’s a running joke in my family that my bodily thermostat is broken! I have been known to be sat wrapped up in a blanket when it’s 25 degrees!
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Me too! A thermometer a good idea. They've got so much hay tonight it's probably ridiculous! They have a make shift plastic cover too. Off to buy snuggle beds tomorrow!
 
Mother Hubbard said:
That's why i keep a thermometer on the inside of the hutches so I know what the true temperature is and I don't just rely upon my own instinct if it's too hot or cold, I have the added information.

Captain Jack has lived outside for years, except for when the winters have really bitten down and I have an emergency plan in place and they have come inside. I'd love a shed, you never know!
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That's reassuring, thanks! Suppose I'm feeling that they are so small and new!
 
Mother Hubbard said:
That's why i keep a thermometer on the inside of the hutches so I know what the true temperature is and I don't just rely upon my own instinct if it's too hot or cold, I have the added information.

Captain Jack has lived outside for years, except for when the winters have really bitten down and I have an emergency plan in place and they have come inside. I'd love a shed, you never know!
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I love the name Captain Jack!
 
Mine have a hutch snuggle and a hutch hugger on their hutch. When it gets below 10 degrees at night I pop an old blanket on the top and drop it down over the door bit of the hutch (as well as both covers being down too) to keep out the worst of the cold and the frosts! They have snuggle safes (4 between the 5 of them), snuggle sacks, snuggle tubes and LOADS and LOADS of hay. I use twice the amount of hay in the winter as I do in the summer. When the cooler nights come is when piggies start to grow their insulating fur to help keep them warm in the winter.
 
Thanks everyone.
I have been keeping a close eye on temperatures. Outside it has been 9 degrees overnight but inside the piggie shed it has been 13 degrees. They have had a little extra hay in the hutch but also extra in the downstairs area under the hutch which seems to be where they rest/sleep. Hopefully they’ve got a little while longer before they need to be locked in the hutch overnight (and I bring out all the hutch covers) because I don’t think they’re going to enjoy being locked in after having had all that space!
 
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