Is it Evil?

[Ash]

Obviously, you're not going to grab and yank onto the ears. And grabbing the ear is much safer than, say, grabbing the chinchilla around the chest area, which could easily break their ribs and/or puncture an organ. You don't need to grab the ear unless you need to restrain their head for one reason or another, so, Carol-Anne, you really don't have to worry about it. For general carrying/restraining purposes, the tail works perfectly fine.


Back to the topic at hand: It wasn't cruel at all. Honestly, that chin looked somewhat calmer than some I've seen at York :lol:

 

[Spoof]

Honestly, that chin looked somewhat calmer than some I've seen at York

Totally! I've seen some so ticked off that the breeder comes away bleeding, which is bad for fur stain and of course, the breeder.

That girl was just agitated, it's really bad when you get a screamer/kicker and they're seriously trying to kill you. Most just sit there though, which is nice.

I know that showing chins is different than having pet chins but I still wonder if it's necessary to contain them by their ears.

Well, you can't really touch the fur, so you've got two options - head and tail. The other option is to hang them upside down. That's hard on your arm when grooming 20 and they're more likely to scream and become stressed out.

You can suspend them by the ear and not cause any damage. I don't like to do that, but sometimes to get collars on females I'll do the double ear pinch and put it on.

 

[Olallie]

I saw that video before, and I thought you did a good job grooming! My boy loves to turn around and bite the needles on the comb, poor boy still hasn't learned they poke him anyway!

The only way I would hold the ears is if I need to check his eyes, and keep his head from moving, or to groom behind his head. That's it. I don't hold the ears for anything else.

 

[amberlin]

I thought you handled the chin like a pro! Yes the ear part got my squirming on my seat but it looks like you knew what you were doing...

 

[tunes]

I gave my friend crabs for his wedding gift yesterday.

I'm just not even going to ask about that Tara, because the visual in my head is just wrong.

 

[arf2184]

Hey, I did that this morning (grooming that is, not giving out crabs for presents). Most of the ones I did today have never been combed before...one of them fought me quite a bit and had to be held by the ears. I don't like doing that, but when they're flipping around so fast I'm worried about them accidentally getting poked in the eye with the comb, it's the best option and doesn't hurt them.

 

[Claire D]

Good video there - I'd say it is a good teaching aid but it's a pity that the whole thing is being misunderstood judging by some of the replies posted on youtube.

one of them fought me quite a bit and had to be held by the ears. I don't like doing that, but when they're flipping around so fast I'm worried about them accidentally getting poked in the eye with the comb, it's the best option and doesn't hurt them.

I think this is one of the main reasons people hold chins by the ears - if it prevents a chin from getting injured by the needle point comb and also protects the owner from a nasty bite (and boy can chins deliver a painful, deep bite if they have a mind to!) and it also does not harm the chin at all then I think it's absolutely fine. It's not as if the aim is to screw the ears off the chin - just gently holding them.

The other thing I'll throw in here and I don't know if anyone else has tried this so I'd be interested in any responses ...............
If a chin is stressed you can gently rub one ear between your fingers and the chin will often calm right down - I often do this with my chins when they are at the vets or just when I am getting new chins or rescues settled. They seem to respond to having their ears gently massaged between your fingers.

 

[Stackie]

If a chin is stressed you can gently rub one ear between your fingers and the chin will often calm right down - I often do this with my chins when they are at the vets or just when I am getting new chins or rescues settled. They seem to respond to having their ears gently massaged between your fingers.

Claire, all of my chins love ear rubs too and it does seem to calm them down. I have one in particular that I can stop in his tracks as soon as I start rubbing an ear. He will sit there for as long as I rub.

In response to the video, looks pretty standard to me. I watched grooming at one show and I have seen much worse!

 

[Diamond Bar Chins]

There is always going to be the extremist that say you are hurting the animal and doing it harm boooo on them.....
I had a chin that got rightly nicknamed satan chin because she as an angel till we started showing and she could snap back at you quicker than a snake and make you bleed and yes she was an ebony haha

 

[Laurie]

Yes you are horribly mean! Where are my crabs? I want some crabs! What is this chins name anyway? Squirmy McSquirmer?

 

[Spoof]

I don't want to ruin your diet! These were fatty crabs!

Her name isn't appropriate for print - so far she's the only one that's tore up my hand this year. I think I posted a picture of that on here somewhere...

 

[menagerie]

The other thing I'll throw in here and I don't know if anyone else has tried this so I'd be interested in any responses ...............
If a chin is stressed you can gently rub one ear between your fingers and the chin will often calm right down - I often do this with my chins when they are at the vets or just when I am getting new chins or rescues settled. They seem to respond to having their ears gently massaged between your fingers.

This works for dogs too.

 

[CerLynn]

A little late on this one, but I agree, that wasn't bad at all. Koko is usually good enough that a simple tail hold is enough, but Kenai goes nuts and tries to rip the comb out of my hand. I've tried the ear hold to comb the neck area, but unfortunately he doesn't like that either, so I have to resort to hanging him by the tail...

If they only knew it'd be over more quickly if they didn't struggle!

 

[KayKay97]

This is so evil! Try to hold on by his back, anyone who shows chinchillas KNOWS you don't grab them by their tail!

 

[aznmexaggie]

This is so evil! Try to hold on by his back, anyone who shows chinchillas KNOWS you don't grab them by their tail!

Anyone who shows chinchillas knows you don't want to touch their fur before they go up on the show table. Your only option when showing is to hold them by the tail when grooming.

 

[Stackie]

This is so evil! Try to hold on by his back, anyone who shows chinchillas KNOWS you don't grab them by their tail!

Kay, you are 12 years old. These people have been showing chinchillas for YEARS and have tons of experience. They know what they're doing.

Holding chinchillas by their tail does not hurt them and is a safe way of handling a chinchilla as long as it is done correctly.

 

[Spoof]

This is so evil! Try to hold on by his back, anyone who shows chinchillas KNOWS you don't grab them by their tai

Exactly why I hold by the ears instead. )

 

[starleomach]

This is so evil! Try to hold on by his back, anyone who shows chinchillas KNOWS you don't grab them by their tail!

Wow I hope you are kidding, The tail is how you often hold to groom for a show you cannot hold them by the fur to prepare for a show, Tail or ears is the way to go. I keep a good grip on their tail most of the time. You are awfully young to know what goes on at shows only a handful of children are there and all are the children of Ranchers or breeders and wouldn't bat an eye at this.

 

[Essentia]

This is so evil! Try to hold on by his back, anyone who shows chinchillas KNOWS you don't grab them by their tail!

Actually I don't show chinchillas and I know you don't hold them by the back when grooming them. There is absolutely nothing wrong, or cruel, or evil with holding them by the base of their tail. It's actually one of the safer ways to hold an aggressive chin in general (even if not grooming).

 

[EnslavedByNinjas]

Suspended by the tail was the only way I could hold Nibbler for the first 3 months or so. If I did so much as try to support his weight on my hand via his back legs, he would kick so hard I was worried about his tail breaking. If I just dangled him upside down he'd give me this resigned "well, there's nothing I can do now" look and just hang there until he got where he was going. Feisty little bugger. Nothing evil at all about that, is there? Beats a broken tail....