putting two boys together near a girl?

[Kassilik]

So as some back story, I have two chins. Chester is a male and Charlie is a female. Charlie was originally purchased as a friend for Chester, as I found her in a pet store and they weren't taking very good care of her at all so I felt like I had to get her out of there, and they told me that she was a boy so I thought I'd take her home and eventually try to introduce her to Chester. (This was a long time ago, I was around 13 at the time so I didn't exactly think to check while I was there) Anyway while Charlie was still in her 30 day quarantine I noticed she was a girl, not a big deal as I was fully prepared to keep them separately if need be anyway. Chester has always been an exeptionally friendly chin though, and Charlie not always so much. I've been thinking about getting a third recently and while they may need to all be kept separately in the end anyway I'd love to pair them with either Chester or Charlie. It seems to me like Chester would probably be more receptive to a cage mate though, but I know that male chins will fight in the presence of a female. Now I'm pretty sure I've seen people who keep pairs of boys and girls in the same room but wouldn't they fight? Would they have to be kept in a separate room from Charlie? I may end up just getting a girl in the end anyway but I'm just wondering for now. Sorry for the long post!

 

[Amethyst]

It depends on the male's personalities if they will fight or not when the female goes into heat. Some chins are more laid back, others are more aggressive, so some people have had male pairs and females in the same room for years with no issue, others have had males fight to the death over a female they can't even get to. You wont know how they react until you have a male pair with a female in heat, I guess you can see how he reacts or doesn't react now, without a cage mate when she is in heat. Obviously no reaction is what you'd be hoping for, same with any new chin you get. Personally that is one reason I don't want a female, I have a male pair and would hate to have to separate them over a female. I had males and females growing up, but almost all caged separately, though had no real issues having the females play together, and the males play together (separate play times for each gender).

 

[Kassilik]

He doesn't seem to react to her being in heat at all, and they're in two separate halves of a ferret nation right now so they're quite close. I think that he would be okay, I guess it would just depend on the new chin then. I may go with a second female anyway just to avoid it in general. I never meant to actually have a female either, but I couldn't bear to bring her back to the pet store and it's been almost 6 years so we're stuck together now! Thanks for the reply though, I guess I'll just have to wait and see then.