Fighting kits

[Kaoriu]

I'm aware that there have been topic like this but the difference is that mine kits are not newborns anymore.

I cage a mom and two 2,5 month old chins together. Since a week or so there have been fights, now one of kits has a little piece missing of her ear :[

There are not fighting over milk (mom doesnt feed them anymore), they are big, have good housing conditions, unlimited access to food. It looks to me like they are fighting for dominance. Male kit used to be on the top of hierarchy but now the female kits is bigger and tries to get on his back.

Female kit will go to her new home in two weeks time. She will be living with a other female chin (about 2 years old).

I'm not sure if it is better to separate the kits now, and give the female kit her own cage for these two weeks or keep them together with mom and bro.
Won't it cause any problems with introducing the female kit to that older female chin at new home?
Or maybe it would be better to contact her new home now and ask to pick her up earlier?
I'm afraid the fights might get more brutal. I was already bit by one of the kits when I handed the snacks to them..

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

Remove the male from the cage. Males should be weaned from mom in a different cage because they can mate with mom.

 

[tunes]

I agree. Why is the male still in with mom and sis? He should be the one pulled and left out of the cage, not the sister. Even at a month old I've watched male kits attempt to mount mom or female siblings, yours should have been removed weeks ago.

 

[EMSChins]

Agree with Peggy and Cathy above, the male needs to be removed asap. Also just curious what kind of snacks are you feeding mom and the kits? Kits should not be getting treats. They need to get all of their calories from a high quality pellet and hay.

 

[Lillybabe]

I agree with the above. The male kit should have been removed at 8 weeks old as soon as he was eating well on his own. Hopefully he has not already managed to mate with his mother or his sister. I believe some people start breeding as early as 6 months. Even if they were both female they should be been separated the second they started fighting. Waiting until there is an injury is waiting too long. It could easily escalate. I would watch the female with mom as well and make sure there is no fighting between the two of them. If so, all three need to be in separate cages until the little girl goes home. The new home will need to take time to slowly introduce the two girls and your girl should be in quarantine from the chin in her new home for at least 30 days.

 

[Cuddlebug]

Separate the male ASAP. They are fighting because he is trying to mate with her. It is possible for kits that young to either father a litter or become pregnant.

 

[Kaoriu]

I removed the male kit. I will see how the situation solves with females, but they accept each other so far.

By fights I meant chasing each other and that started week ago. Makes perfect sense, cause he was 8 weeks old already. But that ear today made me really worry.

I wanted to wean him off bit later because he was the smaller in the litter. It didn't stop him from maturing though..

The female kit didn't let him mount her, she was the one trying to get on his back. I'm pretty sure that she was also the one to bite me. I hope she will calm down now.

They got rosehips as "snacks", and my finger was as an extra..

Thanks for your posts, it was my mistake to believe what somebody wrote about weaning kits off at 3 months. *headdesks*