Catching chins when play time is over?

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Cwatkinss

Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2018
Messages
9
So I am on week 3 of having my two chins. They are 2 weeks old and I had gotten them from a lady off of kijiji.

So I’ve been letting them venture out this week into the classroom once the students have left. I started with opening the bottom door to see if they were interested. Them seemed to want to but the jump was high so I used a dust bath to transport them out (they do not like being picked up, and I don’t want to chase them around the cage).

Now I have found a way to use a mini chair as a step for them on their way down, so I open the door after the students are gone and they come out when they are ready to.

But it’s getting them back in is what the problem is....

One of them I can use the dust bath trick (she still freaks out and bites me a bit when I cover the front but seems fine once she is out). But the other one seems to be learning the trick... she will only stick half her body into the bath! I tried to scootch her bum in but the exact opposite happened... she panicked tried to get out but hit my hand and then got so scared of me and wouldn’t go near the dust bath again... it ended up with her in a little cubby barking at me while I was trying to get her to go back in. I have never felt so bad in my life. I could tell she was scared and after almost an hour of trying a combination of letting her calm down, getting treats and out smarting her I got her. But I knew she was not a fan of this procedure. Once I got her into the gate she seemed fine (even grabbed a snack). And once she calmed down when she was on the floor she would come and sniff my fingers and stuff so I don’t think she scarred tooooo much. Or I hope not anyways.

My point is, I don’t know what to do to get her back in... and I don’t want to deter her from dust baths. But she really does appear to enjoy going out of the cage... especially since she makes the journey her self.

Any suggestions?
 
I suggest getting a play pen, or make one. A cheap way to make one is out of cardboard or tri-fold project boards taped together. Not only is it cheap that way you can make it as big or as small as you want. In a more confined space it's easier to corner and scoop up the chins. I have a couple like these https://www.petsmart.ca/small-pet/cages-habitats-and-hutches/play-pens/all-living-things-exercise-pen-41071.html?cgid=600104 from petsmart, you can link them together to make bigger areas. I wrapped them around the cage so the chins can come and go as they please during playtime, Here is an old photo, I mostly use a spare room for playtime now. It's best to start with a smaller area and give them more space to run around as they get use to you. If worse comes to worse you can throw a blanket over the chin and it will normally stop them long enough to scoop them up.

Just keep in mind that when out they need to be supervised the whole time, and chins can jump 5 feet. My guys don't realize they can jump that high, so the 2 foot height is good enough. It's still something to keep in mind, and I have the room door closed just in case.
 
So I am on week 3 of having my two chins. They are 2 weeks old and I had gotten them from a lady off of kijiji.

So I’ve been letting them venture out this week into the classroom once the students have left. I started with opening the bottom door to see if they were interested. Them seemed to want to but the jump was high so I used a dust bath to transport them out (they do not like being picked up, and I don’t want to chase them around the cage).

Now I have found a way to use a mini chair as a step for them on their way down, so I open the door after the students are gone and they come out when they are ready to.

But it’s getting them back in is what the problem is....

One of them I can use the dust bath trick (she still freaks out and bites me a bit when I cover the front but seems fine once she is out). But the other one seems to be learning the trick... she will only stick half her body into the bath! I tried to scootch her bum in but the exact opposite happened... she panicked tried to get out but hit my hand and then got so scared of me and wouldn’t go near the dust bath again... it ended up with her in a little cubby barking at me while I was trying to get her to go back in. I have never felt so bad in my life. I could tell she was scared and after almost an hour of trying a combination of letting her calm down, getting treats and out smarting her I got her. But I knew she was not a fan of this procedure. Once I got her into the gate she seemed fine (even grabbed a snack). And once she calmed down when she was on the floor she would come and sniff my fingers and stuff so I don’t think she scarred tooooo much. Or I hope not anyways.

My point is, I don’t know what to do to get her back in... and I don’t want to deter her from dust baths. But she really does appear to enjoy going out of the cage... especially since she makes the journey her self.

Any suggestions?

Umm.. they're 2 weeks old?

On another note, I hate 2 chins and one of them hates being picked up and would not tolerate it at all. What I do is that I'll leave out a small carrier with it's lid opened and once he's done with his playtime he would usually go into this carrier and I'd close the lid then return him safely into his cage by reopening the lid and allowed him to jump back into his cage by himself. The other chin tolerates being held so not much of an issue.
 
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