Any breeders that don't use breeding runs?

[WhatsupDoc]

I was wondering if there are any breeders out there that don't use breeding runs? We don't use breeding runs and I was wondering if there were any other breeders that don't. Please contact me if you don't use runs, I would love to ask you questions.

 

[tunes]

I use breeding runs, for space saving reasons, but I don't use the jumps. I breed in pairs, trios, and colonies.

I also use melamine maternity cages as well as wire cages.

 

[starleomach]

I breed in colonies. pairs, trios and have 1 run set up

 

[Mt. Zion Chins]

I don't use runs. I breed in pairs or colonies (usually three - 1 male/2 females)

 

[chinsNdobermans]

I used to breed exclusively in pairs and trios. I've mostly transitioned to runs, but I still have one pair that isn't in a run.

 

[kathiva]

I don't use runs either, I have mostly 2x2x2 cages, and some a little smaller for either one chin or one mom and babies, but I do have 2 vertical runs though that I use them sometimes for introdcuctions or for when I need an extra cage for a mom that has given birth, but all my chins are in big enough cages right now

 

[Snickers]

I don't use runs. I breed in pairs or colonies (usually three - 1 male/2 females)

I also breed like this.

 

[Danderson]

I use breeding runs, for space saving reasons, but I don't use the jumps. I breed in pairs, trios, and colonies.

I also use melamine maternity cages as well as wire cages.

What size is the run you use for your pairs? I have been considering doing this.

 

[tunes]

A 2 hole Ryerson run - so 24 x 24 x 12. I had been switching over to all wire cages from a company in Texas, but honest to God, I just hate those cages so the switch has stopped.

 

[Melbear]

I breed in colony's, pairs and runs. Depends on the chin as I really prefer colonies but sometimes those just don't work depending on the attitudes of the animals. It's awesome when you can set up a colony and the females look after each others babies.

Melanie

 

[RDZCRanch]

I had colony cages for a while, but they would randomly fight after one or two years so I stopped and switched completely to runs. For my herd it's just safer. My runs are large enough to accommodate the occasional pairs and I do have several set up right now, but I wouldn't ever do more than a trio again.

 

[Shahna]

I breed in colonies. There are many challenges to breeding this way. You have to have a lot of extra cage space and you really need to know all your animals really well. I have gotten to the point where I know what chins I can potentially cage together and which would never work, simply by their disposition. Granted this is never for sure thing, but it is a good starting point.

I currently have around 40-50 breeding females, so coordinating them is quite the challenge. It is much easier on a smaller scale. A few pointers:

1. Immediately remove a female that becomes pregnant and put her in her own cage.
2. Wean your same sex babies in groups of 3 or more. This helps later breeding introductions easier.
3. For introductions, have intro cages with a divider. I use Quality Cage bird breeding cages. They have a solid divider and a wire divider and make intros nice and easy.
4. Once I have the females grouped 9 times out of 10 I can just throw the male in with no issues. They need to be carefully watched for 24 hours. I normally always do my intros on a Saturday morning when I can be home and watch them and also get up in the night every 2 hours without it affecting my work schedule.

 

[Cuddlebug]

I Quality Cages townhomes stacked on top of each other (three to a stack). I have trios in some of the cages and nursing mothers, kits and chins not currently in breeding in the rest. I remove a pregnant female from the trio before she litters and put her in her own cage. Quite often, both females are pregnant at the same time which gives me the opportunity to put that male with one or two other females. I rarely have a chinchilla caged by itself as I put kits in with same sex kits or a female that is not breeding at that time.