1 hayrack for 2 chins?

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Lisse

Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2018
Messages
22
Hello,

We are currently trying to bond my chin a 1 year old male with another 5 year old male. So far things are going good, if this continues they will eventually stay in the cage my current chin is in. I do not have the money to buy an entire new clean cage or make an entire new interior (the entire inside is custom made and took quite a long time to make).
So I plan on deepcleaning the cage for when they move in together (any cleaning solutions recommended?). My chin is currently with the breader of the other chin, so he is in a different cage atm so they will be placed in his old cage together after a couple of weeks.
But do I also have to rearrange the entire cage or some shelves enough (and can I change it back after a while?). And I do plan on buying an extra waterbottle and pellet tray, but would it be possible for them to share a hay rack? It is accessible from 3 sides so they can each eat on one side of it. Or would this cause issues?
Also in the weekend I go to my parents house and always take my chin, never had any problems with it he is used to it. But if I put them in another cage in the weekend could it ruin their bond? Even if I take the same precautions as their "main cage"?

Thank you in advance.
 
You don't need a new cage, just try to make the one they are going into a neutral as possible. Scrub everything down with a 50/50 vinegar/water mix, sand down any stained areas. I would also try to rearrange as much of the cage as you can to make it feel new, so they have to explore it together. You can move stuff back how you want it later, but rearranging the cage from time to time is a good idea anyway to avoid boredom.

The extra water bottle and pellet bowl might be enough, just make sure you put them in different areas of the cage. I personally have 3 different hay holders for my two, but I also use 2 or 3 different types of hay at any given time. The biggest thing you need to prevent is the ability of one chin preventing the other from getting to resources. They can't physically be on the top and bottom level of the cage at the same time for example.

Once they are bonded it shouldn't be a problem moving them from one cage to another together. I would still clean the other cage before putting them in it together for the first time though.
 
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