With winter fast approaching, I've realised I need to think about how I can make sure Benji keeps safe and warm - especially as he won't have a friend to snuggle up with, as I'd planned when we arranged to get him.
At the moment he has a playhouse with a felt roof; three walls are lined with hardboard for extra insulation and he has a box filled with hay to snuggle into (I've just read that straw is better so I'll get some before the weather gets much worse). The playhouse is inside a run with a corrugated roof to keep most of the rain off, and both playhouse and run are about a foot away from the garage wall, which will hopefully provide some shelter. A second side is two or three feet away from a thick hedge, which might provide a little more shelter, and we're thinking of covering those sides with tarpaulin too for extra protection from the weather. We could probably cover a third side as well if that would be helpful.
What can I do, or what do I need to do, to improve this for the winter? I've read about warmers that you put in the microwave but unfortunately I don't have a microwave! Is there anything similar that doesn't require a microwave? Is it worth trying to give the playhouse extra insulation, maybe putting something onto the roof? I'm guessing blankets inside the house would just be chewed? I'm also wondering how to stop water bowls from freezing. Do insulated bowls exist?
Finally, how cold is too cold to be outside? I could move Benji into the garage as a temporary measure but it would need to be a hutch only, and I would need to buy one especially. If it's likely to be needed I'd rather buy it soon so that we don't have a last-minute panic and maybe struggle to find something suitable! (The playhouse is too heavy to move, and even if it wasn't, it wouldn't fit through the passage between where it is now and the garage door).
At the moment he has a playhouse with a felt roof; three walls are lined with hardboard for extra insulation and he has a box filled with hay to snuggle into (I've just read that straw is better so I'll get some before the weather gets much worse). The playhouse is inside a run with a corrugated roof to keep most of the rain off, and both playhouse and run are about a foot away from the garage wall, which will hopefully provide some shelter. A second side is two or three feet away from a thick hedge, which might provide a little more shelter, and we're thinking of covering those sides with tarpaulin too for extra protection from the weather. We could probably cover a third side as well if that would be helpful.
What can I do, or what do I need to do, to improve this for the winter? I've read about warmers that you put in the microwave but unfortunately I don't have a microwave! Is there anything similar that doesn't require a microwave? Is it worth trying to give the playhouse extra insulation, maybe putting something onto the roof? I'm guessing blankets inside the house would just be chewed? I'm also wondering how to stop water bowls from freezing. Do insulated bowls exist?
Finally, how cold is too cold to be outside? I could move Benji into the garage as a temporary measure but it would need to be a hutch only, and I would need to buy one especially. If it's likely to be needed I'd rather buy it soon so that we don't have a last-minute panic and maybe struggle to find something suitable! (The playhouse is too heavy to move, and even if it wasn't, it wouldn't fit through the passage between where it is now and the garage door).