Aibu to say the guinea pigs will be ok in the greenhouse over winter?

[Poolhater]

They are in hutches that are off the ground. These hutches will be taken into the green house. If the weather isn’t awful, they will have access to runs within the green house (but the runs would be directly on the slabs although they would be able to get back into hutches if they wanted to.

GP forums say never house in a greenhouse. But we don’t have anywhere else for them to go that is a little bit protected from the weather. Surely inside the green house is better than outside in the garden?

The hutches (inside or out) would have old blanket and tarpaulin over them to insulate. And happy to try those heat pads although feel quite ill at the thought of it going in a microwave (I know it will have been cleaned, but still , yuck!).

We’ve moved house and they had been abandoned here (whole other thread), so we are unprepared owners (albeit had them for six months and are now quite taken with them) with not a lot of spare cash and no where inside for them to go.

AIBU to think they’d be ok in the greenhouse? We are in England.

My guinea pigs lived outdoors all year. But they had a super insulated hutch, DH put something like kingspan on all the wooden walls, a false ceiling with wool insulation above them and they were covered at night. Plus lots of extra bedding and heated pads from October through to when it got warm enough to stop! They need checking several times a day and protecting from drafts and extremes of cold.
I think it really depends on how warm/cold your greenhouse gets. Extremes either way could finish them off. It might be ok if you could keep doors open all day and close at night? But you really couldn't forget or be late on a warm day as this could be fatal.

Our live outdoors all year. The hutch is in as sheltered position as we've got (against two walls, under foliage) and in the winter it's covered with a hutch cover and blankets and sleeping bags, plus heat pads on the inside. And they have shelters within the hutch - little houses and snugs. Unfortunately we can't bring them in owing to other people in the house with allergies (which we didn't know about until we got them!), but they have been ok outside, no illness yet. They've overwintered outside twice now.

Definitely do not put them in a greenhouse. The extremes of temperature are no good for them.

The heat pads we use have a removable cover, btw, so the bit that goes in the microwave isn't the same as the bit that touches the guinea pigs. You can microwave them with the cover on, but we don't because, as you say, we put our food in there!

No. The temp will be all over the place. They don't like damp either.
Bring them into a porch inside. Or a proper shed with a decent hutch cover. but house is most fun.

I think they would be fine as long as they had plenty of Insulation in their hutches. I would worry about badgers breaking into a greenhouse but that may not be a problem where you are. It would be here and is the reason our guineas are always inside overnight.

I used to have several who overwintered in a large secure hutch with plenty of bedding and hay in bad weather and a cover over the front in central Scotland but they caught pneumonia one year and although treated one died so after that they lived in large tanks in the dining room which kept them tamer.

No. The temperature extremes will be too great.

Growing up, we kept our guinea pigs in our unheated utility room next to the kitchen. The room was cool-ish year round, but never arctic-cold.

As others have said absolutely no to greenhouse.

You say they were I abandoned so I’m assuming they’re used to living outside. Moving them around can do more damage to them, and they’re much more hardy to cold weather than hot weather. Ensure the hutches are in as shelter as a position as possibly. Look at covers, thermal and insulated as well as waterproof. Absolutely stuff the ever loving fuck out of it with hay and they should be fine.

Our live outside all year round, but we’ve made an insulated bedroom thing for the hutch which is just a simple plastic storage box which we sit on top of bubble wrap with more stuffed between the box and the walls of the hutch
And then it’s absolutely packed with straw for them to snuggle in

On really cold night, we bring them in and put them in a box full of straw in the kitchen inside the back door
It’s just somewhere for them to sleep so doesn’t have anything other than bedding and a water bottle but they go back outside in the morning and seem happy enough

We are in London where it rarely gets below freezing. Tbh, I’m more worried about them during summer heatwaves. They never seem to be too fussed during cold spells

We always kept our GP's outside all year round, by the back door, under the eaves. The hutch was against the wall and had some rain protection from the eaves. When the weather got bad, I put double layers of tarp over the top and partially covered the wired opening, if the wind was bad. Lots of hay.

The key I think, is that when they are outdoor guineas they become accustomed to that environment, and will put on extra fur when needed. I put them out in a run in the sun, when the weather was mild enough, even in winter, but only for a short time, and never when wet or frosty.

My GP's lived until they were 8, and were happy little things. I quite miss them. Cleaning their cage in the snow was not fun though, I don't miss that!

p.s. I never used a heat pad..... just lots of hay.

Not sure about a greenhouse but we moved ours into a shed overwinter and brought them indoors when there was a real cold snap. We didn't have space indoors for them for the whole winter but a small cage for a few days was probably safer than the cold.

No you can’t. You can’t leave them out even with an insulated hutch. You need to bring them in or have them in the garage under the temp 10 degrees

My guinea pigs lived to be 6yrs old. The first two years they lived outdoors in a good quality large two storey hutch. It was on a sheltered patio, had a waterproof cover and in winter it also had a thick blanket and tarpaulin which we could roll down over the front for extra protection. I always gave them loads of fresh hay every night to snuggle into. During winter no3 we had a really cold spell so brought them indoors, realised it was much nicer for them and that’s where they stayed as happy house piggies.

Ours stay outside all year round (with a hutch cover), they're 5 years old now so it doesn't seem to have done them any harm.

Have you got access to a cheap hay bale or two? Actually standing the hutch on top of the hay bale would give excellent insulation from the ground. Then use insulated hutch cover?

Not a greenhouse. But if you have a shed that would be good. If not I think they are better outdoors but insulate and cover the hutches

Ours were outdoor piggies, lived to at least 7 and 8 (also "inherited", so who knows), hutch raised from the ground, placed against the wall of the house, sheltered spot, sleeping quarters stuffed with hay, thermal, waterproof cover for winter. They were fine. They were loved and well cared for.

Outdoor raised piggies like to stay outdoors, just give them a cosy environment.

Our rabbits live in a greenhouse with their hutch inside. But it was deliberately sited with thick trees in and around it, with no direct sunlight. I constantly check for heat in summer (the door stays open to their outdoor run during the day anyway) and it’s always been fine.

I would consider a taupaulin or old horse outdoor rug over the top to give shade, and a mesh inside or outside the door so you can open the door if it’s sunny.

Pics of my set up.

Too much risk of overheating in a greenhouse.

Fine to keep them outside with plenty of bedding or an insultaed cove over the hutch.

No way, too much heat variation on a greenhouse. We move ours into the garage overwinter, we insulated the inside of the hutches, stuff them full of hay, use heat pads, and cover with lots of blankets.

They’d be safer in the garden thoroughly insulated with waterproof covers than in a greenhouse. You could try to pick up an old shed or playhouse and insulate that as an alternative.

My neighbour kept her rabbits in the garden last winter. Couldn’t figure out why they died… once they’d defrosted she should’ve had them autopsied.

Can you get even a playhouse to put the hutch in?

Also get one of the guinea pig microwaveable heat pads. Absolute PITA but we can sleep easy on cold knowing the Guineas are snuggly on top of it. If is is a cold period we warm in the day too.

It is this one. It is indestructible so worth it.

https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/dogs/dogbedssbaskets/thermalheateddblankets/heated/59060?mktsource=1454719&variantid=59060.0&gclid=Cj0KCQjw8eOLBhC1ARIsAOzx5cGcmwf1iX7cN973xZRgOtScgMGkUvXFxkYuBdkJd2YA2owsVom7MyoaArpQEALww_wcB

YABVU. A greenhouse on an unexpectedly warm winter morning is a receipe for dead gig pigs! They’ll need to come inside

I’d look on gumtree or eBay for second hand sheds with maybe a small convector heater in or better hutches.

They are such funny little things get them in the house and enjoy them