Is Outside, Safe?

[TwoOfaKind]

Okay, so I live in Texas. I have a porch, no yard or grass. While the weather is usually pretty undesirable, there are occasions where it's rather nice outside. There are times where I love being outside, I would think that the pigs would too. I mean, who wouldn't?

My question is, is outside really safe? How can outside be safest? What about illness? Could being outside trigger respiratory problems or illness?

What are your thoughts?

[FoolOnTheHill]

Well, I think you should definitely have their usual home indoors, but I know exactly what you're saying. This summer I had to keep my (then) two (only got one now) piggies in our shed. Before that I had other piggies that lived in there too, and to be honest I think the days when it was nice and warm and sunny they loved being out in the fresh air! They had a nice cosy home but they could slump down in the sun for a nap and I think it's good for them to have some time outside. If it had been up to me though, I would bring them inside at night and for most of the year really. Looking outside now it's grey and bitterly cold - I feel so sorry for the pigs in hutches now - almost everyone over here keeps their guinea pigs outside.
GP's are more prone to respiratory problems if you keep them outside permanently, due to cold, wet and fluctuating temperatures. They could also suffer from fly strike, lice etc. Not to mention risks of predators and maybe even human predators, unfortunately. That wasn't an issue for me as I locked them up safely in the brick shed at night, and had a mesh door during the day.
That was a bit long winded. Basically, I think you should let them be outside on warm days but make sure they're safe inside at night and as soon as it's too cold or hot for you outside. Maybe you can build a small pen on the porch just for some exercise during the day, as you said you had no yard and grass. I think they'd like that

[Jenni_Feathers]

The outside can be really safe, if you make it to be. To make it safe you would need an escape proof pen, prefrably with a lid on top of it (grids work great) if it's a hard ground like concrete I' put a towel down of at least half or it for my lil piggys paws, and obviously you'd have to be stting next to them on the look out for stray dogs, cats etc or even people who'd want to hurt, or even people who dont mean to hurt them but lil kids who's parents arent watching and see the piggy and try to pick it up and plop. If you take these safty precautions you piggys can have a blast outside, for one of my pigs Charlie grass time, in his over 200 square foot pen, in the yard is his favorite thing ever. Illness i've never heard about piggys getting sick from outside time, ecspially if all safty precautions are in order and there are no obvious threats such as chemicals in the pen or anything...oh ya watchout for spiders, I had found a huge (silver dollar sized) wolfe spider (its poisenous) in my piggys pen As for respitory trigger, doubt it, my Charlie has respitory problems and he has never had problemls outside, I'd just stay away from incredibly dusty dirt like stuff flying around areas so they cant breathe in the dust which could cause a preblem in some pigs.