My chin has fur issues, molting?

[JaeTea]

I've noticed my one chin looks like she's molting. There's random pieces of hair ready to fall out and her hair just looks horrible in general, especially compared to her sister.

There also seems to be random lines going through her back fur, as if its uneven.

Is there anything I can do to clean her up or is this just a case of bad genes?

 

[alli713]

She's probably priming. Chins will go through a prime and get new fur in.

If you feel up to it, you can comb her. Either get a chin specific comb (which are about $30 or so) or get a dog flea comb. Grab your chin by the base of the tail close to the body. Then hold them upside down or on a very slick surface that they can't get a grip on and struggle. I find that holding them upside down is best and then they don't struggle. You'll then comb them from tail to head, backwards of how you would comb a dog. This will take out all the extra fur. You'll want to comb in short strokes, like inch by inch, not in one big sweep.

It seems harder than it really is, you just need to get a hang of holding them by the base of the tail. I hold them with my thumb and two first fingers. Just make sure you're close to the body so as not to hurt their tail.

If you're near a breeder or a show, I would suggest going and seeing how they do it first before you attempt it so you don't end up with a bald chin from them slipping their fur.

 

[aznmexaggie]

I reposted one of my old threads to this forum in regards to this question. I hope it is helpful:
http://chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?p=13929

 

[3CsMommy]

OH THANK GOD! :hug2:

I DON'T HAVE A FUR CHEWER! :dance3:

I was about 80% sure that my older chin was chewing the younger one's fur, but Crash looks exactly like those pictures. Looks like he's priming instead of being barbered.

Now, a question: Cervantes is 2 and I've *never* seen his coat blow. Should I get a comb with this week's pay check and figure out how to brush his little butt?

 

[JaeTea]

I reposted one of my old threads to this forum in regards to this question. I hope it is helpful:
http://chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?p=13929

Thats what she looks like but its nowhere near as bad. She only has a few little tufts.

Does the fur fall out by itself? I don't notice any tufts of fur in the cage.

Lilly does have those uneven lines running through her fur which makes it look really bad. In the photo you can see the grooves near the tail and on the left hind leg. Is this also cause by priming?

 

[chinchewy1]

That looks like priming to me for the most part. What dust are you using? A good fine dust helps to decrease the fur breaks that she has near the base of her tail. You could groom her with chinchilla combs that you can get from Jags but if she is just a pet (not going to show) then a cat slicker brush works well to get the dead fur out.