colony breeding

[mommykitty]

i would like more info on colony breeding please. like how big dose the cage have to be, how many chins per cage?

 

[tunes]

My largest colony is 4 females, 1 male. Generally though I just do trios. I'm not sure of the exact measurements, but my large colonies are in cages where the jump cover has been removed in the middle. If I had to guesstimate, I'd say 48 wide by 20 tall by 28 deep. Trios would be half of that. I would provide slightly larger cages if I had room, but not much larger as then I would be worried about kits falling, mom getting too high for the kits to reach, etc.

There are a lot of threads on the forum about colony breeding. If you use the search function at the top of the page, type in colony, you can read through all of them rather than having people re-post the same information. If you don't find what you want in there, then post the question and we can answer for you.

 

[mommykitty]

thanks i dident see the search butten

 

[mommykitty]

i have a cage thats 29" h 17"w 29"long would that be to high ?

 

[VolunteerChin22]

It would be more helpful if you could post pictures. There are more considerations than just size to make a cage safe and useful for breeding.

 

[mommykitty]

i think the spaceing on it is to big its 1/2in by 4in so if thats to big im gona have one made.

 

[Vyxxin]

That's nearly 2.5 feet high, I would not personally use it as a colony cage. While there are other considerations (as said) size can easily be an eliminator IMO. Too small, too high, too narrow...for colony cages I would think long and short? I don't personally colony breed but would think the same rules apply for kit safety.

 

[tunes]

That sounds more like a super pet cage. Bar spacing for kits should be no more than 1/2 x 1 inch openings. I also agree that I would go longer rather than taller.

 

[6Dusters]

I have a Ferret nation 142 double. I have cut mesh wire panels and attached them with cable ties on the OUTSIDE. When you don't have a need for the panels you simply take them off and store them. I have only removed one panel as there are no kits for now. No problems with the cable ties. I keep plenty of ledges/hay/wood houses to keep them busy.

Now I do have a QC mansion with 1x1 wire. YOU HAVE TO TAKE YOUR FEMALE OUT TO A BABY SAFE when you notice she is gaining weight and laying on her side.That clue is pregnancy. 1x1 wire spacing allows kits to escape!!!! And even if it were a 1/2x1 I wouldn't use it to keep a newborn family in. Mom will make every opportunity to be too far away to nurse and I don't want newborns to fall off ledges should she birth high on the ledges.

I split my males off so I don't have a breedback. I like to control my colonies. My chin room is small and I have to keep my numbers very low.
I do have a side by side custom introduction cage with a jump hole in the center. I use this to reintroduce them again when I want to breed. You can also have two small cages side by side as well. I just so happen to be lucky enough to have this intro cage.

QC also makes this cage. Pretty affordable. Baby proof. See link.
http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=129_142_153&products_id=639
That is at the bottom of page 5. Page six has some nice affordable smaller collapsible cages. They would be nice for growers.

It's a matter of how many animals you want per cage and most importantly remember the safety of wire gauge. Kits are very small and get get through something bigger then 1x1 wire spacing. The one time I bred two females to one male was interesting. Don't know if I would do it again. One female gave birth. Other was fine with it. The other littered a few weeks later and was too nasty to female number one's kits. Had to seperate them. Each colony is different.

 

[Vyxxin]

See, I was considering doing small colonies in the FN142's (I have several) by panelling either the outside or inside (permanently though, w/wire clips) but was concerned that it was too high. Thoughts? I just do NOT like tall cages for kits. The tallest I've EVER put a female in is 18-20"? Just me being over protective?

 

[6Dusters]

Note: I also rolled up fleece and stuffed it down between the outside wire panel and the bass pans when the kits were newborn. Didn't want any leg injuries.

 

[mommykitty]

im gona use my big one for pets they should love it and get a new one for breeding! kepping them safe isent being over protective its beeing smart!

 

[Cuddlebug]

I have a chinchilla mansion and 6 chinchilla condos from Quality Cages. The Mansion gets used for rescues, now. I put trios and moms with kits in the condos (with the kits safe wire, of course). It works great for me.

 

[jbcstratton]

Just wondering if you have done your research on breeding as you just posted this in chinchillas wanted beginning of October.

"im looking for a chin to love! its for a pet only , im neer altoona pa. thanks!"

 

[mommykitty]

i have had chins for years and when my boy died i wanted another pet. i have been looking into breeding for a year and am starting small!