Winter weather questions

[Sw75]

Apologies if these have been asked/answered previously but I was wondering what people do about their piggies going out in a run in the winter? Our 2 love being out chewing on the grass but is it too cold now? Also, if you let them out indoors, what do they do? Obviously they wouldn’t have grass to eat.
Lastly, I’ve bought some fleecy beds and a snuggle safe, but how do you wash them? I’m feeling funny about putting them in my machine then washing my children’s clothes in there afterwards.

Thanks in advance

 

[Seven7]

I hand wash my fleece linings and fleece pee pads. Mine use their hay pans as their bathrooms so there is really minimum pee and poo on the fleece when I hand wash them.
By hand, I wash the fleece pee pads every three days, and fleece lining every week after they are changed. I soak everything in vinegar water to kill the bacteria.

Both my Finn and Lara are indoor piggies so they are looked after constantly. For outdoor experiences in nice weather, I roll their cages outside in the mornings then bring them back in as the sun starts to get hot. In the winter, I roll their cages near the sliding glass doors and crack the door slightly to let very little air in so they can experience the fresh air. They have cages with wheels so I move them around to allow different view of the house.

 

[Piggies&buns]

If you’re in the UK and they are indoor piggies, then it is too cold for them to be going outside for playtime now. My pigs live in my shed but they have a playpen in there but they only come out into that when it is warm enough in the shed. Being outside pigs, I now don’t bring mine in the house as the temperature change from outside to inside is too much.

Fleece items - i Wash mine in my washing machine on a hot temperature with a glug of white vinegar. Once the cycle is done, I wipe the machine out (to catch any stray hay strands and fur!). I put a cleaner solution in my washing machine once a month. I also have children so I understand your concern.

 

[Lady Kelly]

Mine are outdoor pigs but it's too cold for them to go out in the run so they have to stay in the hutch now until spring. If we have some mild days I will open the kitchen door/window and make sure the heatings off so it's cool in there and let them free roam in the kitchen for a couple of hours just for some extra exercise

 

[G&C]

It is too cold now for going in the run, usually I wait until it’s about 16 degrees, any cooler or if there’s strong winds I have found they don’t come out of the hiding boxes even though I can tell they are desperate to eat grass. They are quite prone to temperature changes so bringing them inside for a cuddle into a hot room then taking them outside to a shed for example can make them more prone to URI I believe.

 

[Incredipigs]

My piggies have a small door on the side of their playhouse so they have access to their run all day every day (unless it's raining)
For my bunnies I put them out in their runs but I make sure they can get into something to keep them off the cold ground and protect them from wind.