Are hutches so bad?

Pinapple · #1 10-23-05, 06:53 am

My girls have ALWAYS been kept in a large wooden hutch outside and are fine, although I have heard (well, READ!) that the wood absorbs urine and harbours bacteria. Is this true? I use a cleaner especially for hutches which we let soak in for a couple of hours to kill nasties. The bottom is coated with waterproof paint so there is NO WAY that urine could be absorbed.

Can you guys help me clean this up?

**VoodooJoint** · #2 10-23-05, 07:53 am

Read these links
http://cavycages.com/location.htm
http://cavycages.com/USDA.htm

Pinapple · #3 10-23-05, 08:09 am

If it were up to me, then they most definitely would be kept indoors, but sadly it is not my decision. I apologise and all that but there is nothing I can do.

**AliceTittle** · #4 10-23-05, 02:09 pm

Out of interest, where are you from? In England, having pigs kept outside is the done thing, and I did for many years before taking a rest. When I get my new ones, they will be kept in the garage, and aslong as they arn't left or forgotten about it's not so bad. In the perfect world then yes, my pigs would be inside. But hey, what's ever been perfect?

**x0PiggyPerson0x** · #5 10-23-05, 02:19 pm

Do you park cars in the garage Alice? That may sound like a very stupid question, but there's a reason behind it.

**AliceTittle** · #6 10-23-05, 02:25 pm

YEs I know of the danger's of car fumes, but our car's sot on the road, and would never go in the garage because there is no way of the getting into it!

**x0PiggyPerson0x** · #7 10-23-05, 03:10 pm

Not just that, but what about the temperatures?

Quote:

Unless your garage is finished off, insulated and part of your home, it is inappropriate for a guinea pig cage. Drafts, temperature fluctuations, temperature extremes, humidity fluctuations, the possibility of toxic fumes from cars, furnaces, or chemicals and not being connected to the family activity are all reasons why garages are a bad idea for guinea pigs.

**AliceTittle** · #8 10-23-05, 04:48 pm

The temperatures are pretty average, the same as outside really, but without the rain etc..

**x0PiggyPerson0x** · #9 10-23-05, 05:58 pm

Still, outside temperatures fluctuate a lot. I'm sure you wouldn't really be fond of living your life outside in a dim, lonely place, especially not in the winter of summers.

Pinapple · #10 10-24-05, 01:35 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by AliceTittle

Out of interest, where are you from? In England, having pigs kept outside is the done thing, and I did for many years before taking a rest. When I get my new ones, they will be kept in the garage, and aslong as they arn't left or forgotten about it's not so bad. In the perfect world then yes, my pigs would be inside. But hey, what's ever been perfect?

Yes I am, I guess you are too then? *High five* I hadnt even heard of pigs being kept indoors, until I joined Wheekers forum. And no one I know over here has theirs indoors, I guess because our weather isnt as extreme.

**AliceTittle** · #11 10-24-05, 02:45 am

No it's not at all! I don't know anyone either, and it's just not a done thing is it? As long as they're loved, I have had no prob;em with having them outside, although some of the more experienced members will most prbably disagree. Were will you be getting them from? And were abouts are you in the UK? I'm in the North West, in Merseyside. You know Liverpool, or Manchester? I'm in the middle of those two!

**Percy's Mom** · #12 10-24-05, 08:46 am

What is the temperature outside where you live? The recommended for guinea pigs is between about 65-80 degrees Farenheit or 19-27 Celcius. If it's in that range year round, it never rains, there are no animals at all that might come into your yard, no bugs that could get into the cage and bite the piggies, and you can spend several hours a day outside with them, then it's probably ok for them to live outside. Personally, that's too many variables for me to try and factor.

**VoodooJoint** · #13 10-24-05, 09:35 am

I'm going to try to explain why GPs and Rabbits are viewed in so many places as "outside pets" and why this thinking is outdated.

Not so very long ago most families kept several animals as livestock. They may have a pig, a few chickens, goats or a cow for food purposes. They would have horses for travel a dog to protect and herd the animals and keep predetors and vermin out of the barn or sheds and cats would roan the property to kill the mice. The children in the family might keep rabbits, both as pets and a food source, or more financially secure families might keep something essencially worthless for their children as a pet like Guinea Pigs. All of these animals were kept outside. They were livestock. Even the animals viewed as pets were kept outside because that is where animals belonged.

As technology and better availability to food at affordable priced came along the small clutch of livestock disapeared. Gone was the pig and cow. Pork and milk could be bought easily at a store. Soon the chickens and cows followed suit and then the horses once cars and public transportation became available.

The small pets stayed for many families. Dogs and even cats started coming into the houses. It was hard for people to get rid of their dogs and cats because they were personable. They had been such an important part of our lives that we willingly found a new role for them. Dogs and cats became our social friends but still the rabbits and the Guinea Pigs stayed outside in hutches.

Perhaps it is because rabbits and guinea pigs are quiet. They don't whine and scratch at the back door or come climbing in through an open window. They have been forgotten as the rest of the family farm disapeared.

Why is it that on a rainy night we sit inside with a cat in our lap or patting a dog's head while outside there are small, frail creatures huddled in drafty hutches? Many people over the years came to realize that perhaps outside wasn't the ideal place to keep small animals after all. They opened their homes and brought them in and have enjoyed a wonderful relationship with their pets ever since.

The idea of keeping rabbits and guinea pigs outside is as outdated as keeping a cow or a pig in the yard. These poor animals got overlooked as time progressed. They are in even more peril outside then they were in the days of the family farm. Now they dont have a watchdog to keep an eye on them or even the entire family constantly passing by them as they tend to chores.

Dogs, cats, crows, snakes, mice, rats, mosquitos, flies and other insects, rain, sleet, sun and wind and more are all potentially fatal to animals left outside.

Time to catch up with society and stop treating pets as livestock. People can cry all they want about how they love their pets that they keep outside, but the fact is you don't love them enough to bring them in to have them with you all the time. I'm not trying to make anyone feel bad but I simply cannot imagine not having my beloved pets in the house with me all the time.

**pennick** · #14 10-24-05, 10:33 am

Voodoo, I agree 100 percent. I don't understand in having a pet whether it's a rabbit, guinea pig or other, in whereas you allow it to live outdoors.

There is no way they can be 100 percent safe.

How can an owner tell if a pet is in trouble during the night?

How can an owner tell if their pet is sick?

If the pet was inside chances are the problem would be found out quickly. Outside they have to wait till their owner makes an appearance.

Of course we are always told they are safe from predators. Hog wash. All it takes is one determined animal to find a way into the hutch and they will find a way. I have seen this for myself. We all think not us, but there is no way in hell I would take that 1 chance out of a million that it could be mine. I couldn't sleep at night.

To sum it up, there are those pet owners who enjoy their pets on their time, when they want to, and there are those who enjoy their pets all the time when they want to and when their pets want to. How could you have a pet on a part time basis?

**x0PiggyPerson0x** · #15 10-24-05, 11:25 am

I'll share my own story of why I'll never keep Baby outside, unless she's nibbling on grass in her run when the weather's nice and I'm sitting with her.

We used to keep Baby and her sister Piglet outside in their petstore cage, simply because my parents didn't really like them being in the house. There wasn't much room to put them so it seemed like the obvious choice was to have them outside on the sheltered patio. The patio and pool area was screened in, so predators couldn't get in, and the overhang of the patio sheltered them from wind and rain. At night we put a blanket over them just in case.

But all that wasn't enough.

One night after dinner and cleaning out my hamster's cage, my parents broke some tragic news to me. Piglet had passed away. I personally think it must have been the fluctuating temperatures. Foolishly I left them outside even when temperatures soared to over 80 degrees F during the school day, and then let them remain there as the temperature dropped at night. Of course it could have been illness, and if Piglet and Baby were inside I would have noticed something, and been able to stop it by taking her to the vet and getting her treated for whatever ailed her.

But what hurts the most is that I wasn't with her when she passed away. I heard stories of when a family's cavy was on his/her last leg they were able to hold them in their arms until life had left them, but I hadn't even known. She could have been dead sitting next to her sister all day. My only comfort is that she isn't anywhere where someone's stupid mistakes will ever harm her again, and I'm doing my best to make it up to Baby.

**daftscotslass** · #16 10-24-05, 02:22 pm

I'm in the UK and I beg to differ from the views above. Maybe it's just because I'm from Scotland, but keeping guinea pigs outside IS a very dated view on things. Cages in pet shops are, of course, sold as indoor cages. I very rarely see a "guinea pig outdoor hutch" for sale in pet shops now. Everyone I know either keeps their guinea pigs indoors or has some sort of insulated, temperature controlled outbuilding for them. The books I've had since childhood stated that the optimum temperatures in which to keep cavies was the same as that of "human" room temperature. Most rescues up here will not rehome to outdoor homes.

I don't believe the temperature here in Scotland is much more extreme than that of England. It's just a case of you hadn't heard of keeping guinea pigs indoors - it's not that it's "not the done thing" over here.

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