Winter

[Hayley Heap]

My piggies are outdoor pigs they have a big 2 storey hutch and run... to help keep them warm welcome have put rubber matting around the walls and on the floor...then I fill the bedroom with hay so that they can snuggle in... what else do I need to keep them warm?

 

[Kallasia]

Make sure the hutch is close to the house to draw warmth from it.
Ensure they are sheltered from wind/rain/snow. Guinea pigs should ideally be kept in temperatures from 18 to 22 degrees so you need to be confident that they are well sheltered.
Cover mesh parts with blankets and tarpaulin to keep the heat in.
Be vigilant for bottles freezing. Putting socks on them can help but always check they have not gone to ice.
Do you have a shed you could bring them in to keep them better sheltered? It's not recommended to keep them outdoors when it is below 15 degrees.

 

[Betsy]

I have outdoor piggies and have fur lined snugglies, fur lined tunnels, some snuggle sacks and yet more snugglies on the way for them which I change frequently. Do you have a cover for your hutch? Scratch and Newton do good ones which is where I got mine from. My hutch has a run underneath that used to go onto the ground. Now it has a false floor of a weatherproof ply, 4" floor insulation covered in waterproof membrane, waterproof ply sarnie. I have insulated the open sides with bubble wrap. During the day when it is too cold to go in the run, I lift up the really thick blanket I have over the front but keep the see through cover of the hutch hugger over the doors to keep the draught out. At night the blanket goes back over the front. I have loads and loads and more loads of hay in the hutch so they can burrow in and keep themselves warm. It was lovely and warm in the hutch this morning.

 

[Piggiepawz]

I have a waterproof cover and in some cases I give mine a warm, not hot, hot waterbottle. You can also buy snuggle safes.

 

[Lady Kelly]

I have a 6ft two storey hutch which is outdoors year round. It is in the most sheltered part of the garden and has an insulating cover followed by a weatherproof cover. I go through easily twice the amount of hay in the winter if not more. My other half has built me a hay box for one of the bedroom area's so its a wooden box with two doorways and a lid to put hay in and just gives them another block to the cold while preventing the hay from being spread out too much. I also have two snugglesafes which are ready to start being used overnight any day now

 

[Betsy]

My snuggle safes were in use for the first time this year a while back, when the temperature overnight was below 10 degrees here in the South. At the mo it has warmed up a bit and is 16 degrees overnight so they have gone back in the cupboard again. I too go through twice the amount of hay in the winter.