housing guinea pigs

Question
I would like to keep about 4-6 guinea pigs in some sort of housing outside.  I was thinking of building them a large, brick-walled pen with wire mesh on top (with a large, hinged door in it for access).  Obviously I'd put in some sort of shelter for them, but I'm not quite sure how to provide sufficient shelter for that number of cavies.  Would I just put in three hutches suitable for two cavies each, or is there some sort of inddor shelter suitable for that number?  Also, would putting the hutch(es) in a shed over the winter months, allowing them free range of the shed floor, be a good idea?  Thanks for your help.

Answer
Lizzie --

It sounds as though you have this all worked out.  To be honest, I don't have a lot of experience with housing cavies in colonies, but I'll tell you what I do know.  You'll want to make sure that each animal has about 1 1/2 sq. feet of indoor space (shelter) and 1/12 sq. feet of outdoor space.  However you want to work that out is fine.  Your idea about the shed is fine, however -- you will want to make sure that there is some sort of heat in the shed.  Guinea pigs are a tropical animal by nature and anything colder than about 65 will make them sick.  Also, you would want to make sure that you are cleaning regularly and that there is nothing on the shed floor that could cause illness (chemicals, etc.)

I know this probably wasn't much help, but I hope I answered some of your questions.  If you have any more, please feel free to contact me.  Good luck!

Lorena