Leaving guinea pigs out tomorrow, what do I need to do?

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We've a day in London tomorrow so will be putting the pigs out early.

They have got a run on the grass. I'll try and make sure it's partly shaded, but do I need to leave them water, have not had them long and it might be hot again...also if it rains a lot will they be ok?

Just worrying really.

It has a sheltered bit, with its own little floor, but probably gets a bit like an oven on a hot day.

TIA

Always leave water.

We use 'parrot' sized bottles, they take around 3/4 litre, just for safety's sake, but we've got a shedload of piggies...

Other than that, space and freedom from predators should be fine, provided they have their little sheltered area - bung a couple of orange pipe sections in there next time for scampering in/on/through - they're cheaper than made to measure pet toys and piggies love them.

Have a good day away!

(You don't own a terrier, do you? If you do, make sure you make the run dig-proof - from bitter personal experience....)

Oh brill, thankyou will try and get some pipes!!!

No dog

The run slopes so can't put normal bottle on, I will leave a little dish for them though. I think we need a new run! It's a crappy Chinese made one anyway.

I left them in hutch the other day and it got quite hot - one of them was lying on her side, I was worried about that. Would she have been ok? I took her out when I noticed.

There is always water in the hutch in a bottle.

If you're worried about heat, and you can't accomodate sun levels by placement in your garden, drape a towel/blanket over part of the run to provide a shaded area - provided there's plenty of water on hand they should be fine, and a few 'shelter points' like pipes or a shaded area should let them find their own preferred heat.

Ours have a pretty cool run, but we have a tame joiner ..

Are yours long-haired or short-haired?

Could you not position the hutch somewhere where they won't get too hot or put something on the top to cool it down?

I'm a bit concerned that they will be left out all day as it may either be too hot or too cold/wet for them depending on the weather and you will be miles away unable to help them.

If they are in the run you need to make sure no foxes/cats/etc can get to them and also piggies can dig. They will also need to have a dry place to go with plenty of hay to make sure they cannot get cold/too hot.

If they stay in their hutch I assume you won't need to worry about preditors but you will need to make sure that they don't overheat.

Piggies are not hardy contrary to popular belief.

Oh thanks...short haired, two little girls, got them in Feb. Not sisters but they love each other!!

Most of the garden is unshaded, but will try and find a good spot tomorrow. I hate leaving them! We do have the occasional sparrowhwk but am guessing it'd be hard pushed to turn run over...

How many do you have? Pigs I mean, not joiners!

Hi Silver - thanks!

Yes they have only been in hucth outside since the beginning of May - they have got another hutch in the playroom for winter time. I have been covering their outdoor hutch at night with a blanket and waterproof sheet to lessen the contrast iyswim.

We'll be back around 5 or 6 so not terribly late.

We have 9 Abyssinians - yes, you read that right, 9.

We're fortunate though, in that our garden has many trees and we can generally place the runs there if we're not going to be around - I'd be at least mildly concerned about finding a piggy on it's side in the heat, that's not a good thing. I agree with silver, provide a well insulated hay area, for cooling down, and drape or otherwise weather=proof a small area for them, but don't stress too much - they can be volatile patients when poorly, but they're fairly adaptable to their home environment.

Water and shelter, and predator-proofing are the key.

We put a bin bag on our rabbits run secured with bricks to keep showers and sun orf.

So, is it Apocalypse Piggy, or is all well?

My pigs lived outside all year around but they did have an excellent hutch with draught proofing and constant access to a run! It had wire frontage for the summer and perspex for the winter.

Of course in winter we did use carpet etc for insulation against the frost etc. In the hardiest winters they did get to come in overnight.

Hello! They are fine

Ididn't put them out as it was pelting, and luckily it didn't get too hot later so they were OK.

I think I'll move the hutch over to the other side of the patio, as where it is now gets direct sunlight so does become a bit of an oven.

At least they'll have some shade then if it does get too hot.

Thanks for all the advice!