how many dustbaths per chin?

[mishellyshel]

I keep one dustbath in the new rescues room, he has one to himself.
I keep one dustbath in my upstairs bathroom for Richie & Stitch to share as that is currently their play area and then I keep another dustbath in the play area downstairs. Each of the 7 chins use this one. I change out the dust as soon as it gets too gritty Andy after 3 or 4 of them dust, i add a little more.
Is 7 chins to one dustbath too many? And if so, is it a matter of not changing the dust often enough OR the bath itself being used to much.
If they ever pee in it, i take it out immediately and replace with another that has fresh dust.
Just wondering what you all do that have multiple chinnies.

 

[AZChins]

I rotate out my dustbaths. Each room of chins has its own dusters...I never mix them between the rooms. And, the rescues' dusters are washed in the dishwasher after each time I dust them.

The more chins you have using a duster, the more you will have to get the surprises out and add more dust. I think it's okay to use just the one for seven chins. They're in the same space anyway, just don't let your guys use the rescues' duster and you should be alright.

 

[proudmom25]

I read on here recently that you should have one dustbath per cage...to help reduce the risk of spreading an infection amongst the chins...should it arise.

 

[ticklechin]

I have 4 dust baths for 8 chins, they all use them and they have them in the 4 play areas they use. I dump dust every 7-10 days.

 

[mishellyshel]

i dont mix the dustbaths and i change out the dust pretty much after every one gets a roll in it. so about every 3 days, as i rotate playtimes.
i have plenty of those dust houses and could easily use more, i just didnt see the purpose if i am changing out the dust so frequently. maybe i will use one per FN tower.

rescues get their own separate bath and it is washed out before being used again.
pet sitting get their own separate bath and are washed out or if their owner has specific guidelines.

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

I have 3 dustbaths for 9 chins. (7 cages)

Chase has his own because he useds a different dust than the rest of them.
Then the girls use one (4 girls) and the other boys (4) use the other.

 

[tunes]

I have one dust bath per cage. I will not share dust baths between cages. If you have ever had an illness spread through your herd, you will understand why this is so important. I had a large rancher tell me this once, and I scoffed. Pffft - They are all in the same room anyway, right? No - many things can be passed through poop and bodily fluids and you may not be able to get every bit of it out of the dust bath without dumping all the dust and completely sterilizing the pan.

It's also why I stopped doing play time and I used to do play time daily with all of my chins (at the time around 80). I had three playpens set up and rotated chins in and out. There was no way I could completely bleach down the area in between each play time, and I learned the hard way that play time was a no no when you have so many animals.

 

[Stackie]

I have a different dust bath per each cage. Roo & Koda, Bentley & Diesel, Bostin, Smudge, and Moose. I found some cheap litter boxes for $2.00 that I use. I'm especially glad I've done this since my last sickness scare.

 

[Laurie]

I have 5 dust baths for 6 cages--Mick and Wesley used to be caged together so they still share the same dust bath, however I should really separate that so all my boys who are alone have their own dust bath--they girls who all share a cage mate share a bath.

I'm not as good as Dawn and dump my dust every 2 weeks instead of one.

 

[ticklechin]

I have 5 dust baths for 6 cages--Mick and Wesley used to be caged together so they still share the same dust bath, however I should really separate that so all my boys who are alone have their own dust bath--they girls who all share a cage mate share a bath.

I'm not as good as Dawn and dump my dust every 2 weeks instead of one.

I have a freakin dust fetish, LOL, I have 400 lbs on hand all the time. John thinks my dust and apple wood fetish is a illness!

 

[mishellyshel]

Ok....you all made excellant points. Thanks. I actually bought a whole bunch of the plastic dust houses with the intention of everyone getting their own, but then figured since I was changing it so often that it didn't matter. I will put their names on the houses this weekend. I definitely do not want any illness to be spread.

 

[Essentia]

I have a dust bath for each cage, so if there is more than one in a cage they use the same bath. I usually keep 50-100 lbs. of dust on hand. I can't imagine keeping 400! I need more space.

 

[InkedupTara]

Same here 1 per cage with exception to Mickey. He is under Sissy and Tiny the tripods who share half a fn. So he has his own dust house. They have to use a shallow dish.

I change the dust I think every 2 weeks unless it needs more. I also have a little scooper thing that I run through the dust to get the poops out everyday.

 

[mishellyshel]

OK, you guys seem to keep the dust much longer than I do, which leads me to believe I am not using enough. AFter a few chins use it once it is almost all gone.
How much do you put in each house/container??

 

[tunes]

I put at least an inch thick in each dust bath.

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

Humm, guess I need to get some more dust bath houses or fish bowls. lol

I wish I should hold 100 lbs of dust at a time

 

[InkedupTara]

I think mine is around 2 cups. Never measured it though.

 

[mishellyshel]

ok wow......1 inch or 2 cups is way more than i am using.
no wonder you keep 400 lbs dawn!
thanks guys. i am definitely going to give each section their own bath & put more dust in it. at least i am using blue cloud.

 

[AZChins]

I only use a couple tablespoons, but it gets changed out pretty regularly. I sift out the poops...by the time I am done there is only enough dust to fill six or seven of my dusters with 1/2" dust. I'm pretty frugal on the dust...I try to make it last as long as I can since I dust the chins twice a week. For the 250 or so here it takes about 5 lbs each time I dust.

 

[jags]

We have one duster per cage for the reasons Peggy already mentioned. I use about an inch to an inch and a half of dust in the dusters. It takes a lot of dust every year with close to 1500 animals here and I just brought home another 8 tons of dust last month. We mostly use Blue Sparkle as I feel it works well, is easier to get in the quantities we need and the cost is much less.