Hey there everybody! Help! I need to order TODAY!!

[cLyne]

A big ole "Hey y'all" :wave5:from Cajun Country and a little background.

I have never considered adding a chinchilla to our home until 2 weeks ago. When my sister was given two chins a few months back, I honestly didn't want anything other than my third daughter to clean up after at the time. Since then my older girls have asked for a pet, be it caged or not. Now is not the time for a cat or dog in the house, with the little one so young, so I agreed to a hamster knowing full well the life cycle and whatnot.

During this time my sister realized one of her chins was preggers. With her situation and with my girls craving something furry to look at, I agreed to give it a home whenever it was done nursing (but I believe she wants it out by 8 weeks whether it's done nursing or not, which is two weeks from now). I honestly believe it will be a great addition to our home and being that I've tried to educate myself with books and forum cruising, it'll probably be best for the chin. Though my sister genuinely cares for her chins, the cages and setup aren't quite up to par with plastics and the like.

So here's the lead in to the question. I want this chin to have a great home, but being that its going to be in my home in a communal room with just enough room, and in an area seen every single day for years and years, like the girl I am, I want it pretty and pleasant to look at day in and out.

After looking at all the normally recommended cages I first settled on the QC Mansion, but then noticed how many observed how enormous it was for just one chin. Like it was overkill. So I then figured that the QC Townhome would be a good option being that I will only be keeping one chin, it wasn't monstrously huge, and it seems to be the most well made beside that John Hopewell guy over in Britian. The CN isn't on my radar because of the bar breaking situations and I aware of the huge fan base for the FN, but for me it just doesn't really appeal to me. It's such a huge cage cabinet and I don't really care fro that look.

Then I came upon owners posting their aviaries/parrot cages on here and by browsing (Thanks Virus and the other I found online). And I have to tell you I really like the look of them over the QC. With modifications they seem to be a great habitat. I have one in mind, but I just want an "ok" from someone who knows.

Here's the cage:
http://www.birdscomfort.com/Image/fantop_bird_cage.jpg

The Dimensions:
Fantop Bird Cage Dimension:

- Exterior Dimensions: 24"x22"x62"
- Interior Height: 41"
- Bar Spacing: 5/8"
- Weight: 84 lbs.

Fantop Bird Cage Includes:

- 3 swing out feeder doors & an additional breeder box door.
- Huge drop down horizontal top door for front perching.
- Slide out grill & tray for easy cleaning.
- Bird proof front door & feeder door locks.
- Horizontal side bars, Vertical bars front & back.
- Removable seed catchers.
- 3 stainless steel feeder cups & 1 perch.
- Convenient storage area with two doors.
- Non-toxic, durable and safe powder coated finish.

or the exact same one, except larger:

Fan Top Birdcage Dimension:

- Exterior Dimensions: 32 " x 23" x 64"
- Interior Height: 46"
- Bar Spacing: 5/8"
- Weight: 113 lbs.

I like the fold down fan top that to me would make cleaning the top shelves easier.

Examples I've found:

I like how they replaced the slide out with this pan. I would attach wood to the cage all around the top of the pan.

Love the whole natural branch thing they've got going on in this cage.



I'm aware 1/2" bar spacing is the ideal, but 5/8" is such a tee-tiny bit more. The plan is this:

- add 1/2 x1 hardware wire all around the bottom so it can't squirm out (I'm assuming an 8 week old would need this right?)
- do the pan thing like the first pic or just add wood around the top of the pull out pan or around the base like the second, but also adding a piece of wood to cover up the large slot where the seed catcher went that they left open


Random questions:

Do ledge guards honestly help in keeping the pee and poo contained?
I saw in your cage pics that the fleece is just loosely laid down in the pan or did I just not see the means of how its attached? I assumed it would be hazardous for a chin to get under the fleece, that's why I ask.
How long do you think I would have to keep the baby hardware wire up?

What are your thoughts on this cage scheme and what would you add? Am I cuckoo to think this will work well for one chin, for forever?

I know more work would be involved to get this aviary up to par, but I'd rather work a little harder to have a bit more pretty to look at everyday.

Crazy long into, I know. Sorry about that. Also if I should have put this somewhere else, I'm super sorry.

Just trying to hastily get my ducks in a row. I really need to order this thing today!! Please, please help! Thank you for reading :wave5:

 

[momenteller]

It looks nice, but I don't have personal experience and don't know of anyone with the cage to refer you to. I skimmed what you wrote, so can't answer it all. But yes, shelf guards are worth it. You will still have poo, shavings, whathaveyou on the floor, but much less. I don't think its hazardous for them to go under the fleece. Some chins like to burrow and I haven't heard of any issues. The hardware cloth doesn't need to stay on that long, until they are four months or so, I think. But I am not a breeder and have not had small babies so someone else could better answer that.

Sorry I can't speak from more personal experience, just trying to give you some feedback since no one else has responded yet.

 

[greychins]

The poo guards do really help keep the poo contained. We're currently in the process of re-doing our set-up, and all of our cages, before they go to their new spots, are getting poo guards. I already notice a TON less poo on the floor.

I use fleece liners, mine aren't attached in any way, they're just laid down in the pans. Some chins burrow under them, so far I've never heard of something bad happening as a result (knock on wood).

As for how long you have to keep the hardware up, that depends on how quick your chin grows. Some chins, at 8 weeks, are definitely large enough that it's questionable whether they actually need the baby wire. But others are small -- we just had some babies that we had to handfeed because mom didn't get in milk.... at 8 weeks, they looked a lot younger, and were a lot smaller, despite handfeeding round the clock. And sometimes kits just are smaller. As for when to remove the hardware cloth, you'll want to watch your baby's size. There's no definitive weight, but at some point it should be clear that the chin isn't going to get out of the bigger bar spacing.

I think the bird cage idea is perfectly fine. I've seen pictures of it and I think it can be done just as good as any cage. The ones you posted definitely have enough room, so you're fine there. I would just cover the seed guard gap, as you mentioned, add some shelves and accessories, and I think you'll be fine.

 

[lauralynne]

Hello & Welcome!

 

[cLyne]

It looks nice, but I don't have personal experience and don't know of anyone with the cage to refer you to. I skimmed what you wrote, so can't answer it all. But yes, shelf guards are worth it. You will still have poo, shavings, whathaveyou on the floor, but much less. I don't think its hazardous for them to go under the fleece. Some chins like to burrow and I haven't heard of any issues. The hardware cloth doesn't need to stay on that long, until they are four months or so, I think. But I am not a breeder and have not had small babies so someone else could better answer that.

Sorry I can't speak from more personal experience, just trying to give you some feedback since no one else has responded yet.

Thank you for replying and all the feedback!

I don't blame you for skimming that crazy long post. I'll admit I was scared no one would reply at all and then I would really be stuck in my indecision.

Thanks again!

 

[cLyne]

The poo guards do really help keep the poo contained. We're currently in the process of re-doing our set-up, and all of our cages, before they go to their new spots, are getting poo guards. I already notice a TON less poo on the floor.

I use fleece liners, mine aren't attached in any way, they're just laid down in the pans. Some chins burrow under them, so far I've never heard of something bad happening as a result (knock on wood).

As for how long you have to keep the hardware up, that depends on how quick your chin grows. Some chins, at 8 weeks, are definitely large enough that it's questionable whether they actually need the baby wire. But others are small -- we just had some babies that we had to handfeed because mom didn't get in milk.... at 8 weeks, they looked a lot younger, and were a lot smaller, despite handfeeding round the clock. And sometimes kits just are smaller. As for when to remove the hardware cloth, you'll want to watch your baby's size. There's no definitive weight, but at some point it should be clear that the chin isn't going to get out of the bigger bar spacing.

I think the bird cage idea is perfectly fine. I've seen pictures of it and I think it can be done just as good as any cage. The ones you posted definitely have enough room, so you're fine there. I would just cover the seed guard gap, as you mentioned, add some shelves and accessories, and I think you'll be fine.

Thank you so much for all your feedback on everything!

I was so indecisive about that cage I just couldn't bear to order it and then just have everything not work out well.

I'm so glad I asked about those guards. I really didn't know if they would be worth the extra expenditure. I think I'm just gonna go full tilt and order the ones from QC since they have the really high metal guards.

Thanks so very much!

I'm gonna order it right now!

Do you think if my sister won't keep the chin past 8 weeks and until its done nursing, that I'll have to handfeed it?

Did you just start it on pellets or did you use some kind of milk substitute?

 

[cLyne]

Thanks lauralynne

 

[emabee9]

Just get the FN 141. It's only one level and that is what I am getting. It's perfect and you can add on if you ever decide to get another or the chin needs a bit more room. It's fairly cheap for a very quality cage.

 

[SeeleyAnne]

This might be too late of a reply, but I have my chinchilla in a bird cage similarly sized to the first blue one that you had pictured. We modified it by adding wood along the bottom on the inside, like in the third picture, but we didn't make the wood tall enough, so shavings and poop kept getting flung out of the cage. I ended up sewing a fleece "bumper guard" (similar to a baby bumper on a crib) but on the outside of the cage, to help keep shavings/poop inside. It has helped alot! Then we added some wooden levels (no ramps). So far this has been working out awesome for us, and it was half the cost of a FN cage. (Even though I really want a FN!) This post was probably too late to help you, but maybe it will help a lurker like me!