Leaving chins alone for days

[Tagna]

There is a new byb that has popped up in my area. Besides having the wrong names for mutations she has some "facts" about chinchillas. One being you can leave them for a weekend.

I personally don't leave my chins except for going to work and doing day trips. I know, had I left my chins on certain days I would have come home to a dead chin after dealing with stasis.

So I am wondering if anyone thinks it is okay to leave chins, the longest you would do so or if you would use a chin sitter?

 

[ticklechin]

If you would not leave your human child for "x" amount of time alone without being checked by a caretaker, then that is how long I would leave a chin, both can get into trouble that quick.

 

[Basket_of_Chinchillas]

I would use a chin-sitter if I was gone for a 24 hour period or more. Basically, day-trip I wouldn't worry, overnight at a friends I wouldn't worry providing I had checked on them in the later afternoon or had someone else check in (food and water bottle check!), anything longer than that and I would get a sitter. I'm lucky though, my land lady is a major animal lover and will happily check on my fur babies for me.

 

[Spoof]

So I am wondering if anyone thinks it is okay to leave chins, the longest you would do so or if you would use a chin sitter?

It's all about how comfortable you are leaving your pets and trusting your backup systems. All animals on my property are set up to be self-sustainable for at least a week. This includes the chinchillas.

Reasons:
If I get injured/incapacitated they need to be sustainable for a few days until my emergency contacts are told I'm in trouble and can check on them. If the hospital doesn't know who you are, it could take awhile.

If we have a disaster and I can't get to my house for a few days, I know that they will be fine.

I do travel for work. When I am gone for extended periods of time I have someone drop by every few days to look in on them. I'm comfortable enough with my setup that I can do that and trust someone that knows nothing about chinchillas can walk in and feed/water/check bodies.

Also understand that I have a very specific type of setup that I custom designed to do this. These guys are not in giant pet cages, the ones that are in the house in FN's go back out to the barn for trips. It seems like they find a thousand ways to get into mischief in the bigger cages when you are not there and I prefer to avoid that risk.

 

[becky12883]

We do a lot of long weekends where we leave Thursday afternoon and come home Sunday evening. I always make sure to have someone come look in on them at least once, twice if I can get it. I hate leaving them at all, but taking them with everywhere we go isn't reasonable. They are completely set for the weekend before we leave, the sitter usually just has to throw a handful of hay in the cages and check the water bottles. We over load them with pellets, hay cubes, chew sticks and double up on water bottles. They have never been out of water, food or hay when we got home. If something were to happen to us we have a plan of action for them in place to get them to at least a temporary home.

 

[addictedtochins]

I wouldn't leave them alone in hot weather when the A/C is needed without having someone check on them twice a day. If heat is not a factor I have left them for a little under 72 hours. I double two huge water bottles. (Did you know you can make a chew proof guard with a small square of 1/2 wire mesh?) I buy hay by the bale and stuff 6 brown paper lunch bags full of hay and 2 large (8 cups maybe) containers of pellets. This post made me realize my pet checker upper lol has moved.....I need to find someone else..bummer. He would come once a day. I also have the cages padlocked because one time a neighbor kid knew we were gone, came in through a window and let all the ferrets outside. It took 24 hours but we found them all thank God.

 

[cindyv3737]

I don't live alone. My roommate will check on my girls if I am gone overnight. However, if I am gone for a longer period, then I get a sitter. I'm only comfortable leaving them alone when I'm at work and know I'll be home in the evening. Even then I worry. Summers in my area can get up to 110. It's those days that I worry nonstop and get home as soon as I can.

 

[Snickers]

For one night I will leave them alone, except when it is hot. The day I leave I make sure there is enough food and water. When I get back home the next day the 1st thing I do is check on them.

 

[Tagna]

For those that leave their chins, have you ever had an issue with coming home to a problem? I know I have only dealt with kits twice but I was paranoid enough with going to work with the last 2 who were slow gaining.

 

[Stackie]

The most I am comfortable leaving my chins for is overnight. I have left them alone for a weekend but not by choice- my car broke down when I was visiting family that lived 3 hours away. I always give them extra food/hay/fill up water bottles when I know I will be gone for awhile, so thankfully they had everything they needed. In the rare occasion that I am going to be gone for a weekend or more, I have a friend who house sits and takes care of all the animals. I have a few chins who are notorious about knocking water bottles off cages or dumping food bowls.

 

[becky12883]

The only problem I ever came home to was this past December. We went home for Xmas, left on Thursday and came home on Tuesday. We has someone check on them Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night and were home Tuesday afternoon. Monday it was ridiculously cold and windy, like -30F with the windchill. The heat in our house could not keep up and our house was only 40F when we got home. The boys were fine, just mad that it was so cold and not very active. I did get them all to cuddle with me for a while though, and they are not usually cuddlers. Oh and another problem that we had was not chin related at all, our pipes froze and we had no water in the kitchen for 2 days! Luckily the bathroom pipes were better insulated.


ETA: We try not to leave them for more than 24 hours in the summer months. We had 90-100F days this past summer so we went camping pretty much down the road so we could check on them daily.

 

[Snickers]

On Labor Day weekend I will be gone overnight since we have a Home Owner Association meeting that Sunday in the mountains. In the summer I am home all the time, unless I am doing errands.

So far we have not had problems, (knock on wood).

 

[Dragonflye]

I will leave my chins overnight, but that's it. If we will be gone for more than 24 hours I call the pet sitter. I have a couple of bowl flippers here, so I feel more comfortable if someone comes over to check on everybody.

 

[ticklechin]

I think pet chins and breeding chins being left alone is apples and oranges, if you are a breeder you should NOT leave breeding chins alone for days-mothers having birth problems, females eating males, kits doing dumb *** things, moms killing kits, kits starving to death- if you can't have the decency of at least having someone check a couple of times a day-this is your business and not a hobby that is why you are not a BYB everyone says , then don't breed.

 

[Spoof]

if you are a breeder you should NOT leave breeding chins alone for days-mothers having birth problems, females eating males, kits doing dumb *** things, moms killing kits, kits starving to death-

This is interesting that you say this. I was surprised to find that some of the guys that had been in the business the longest - we'll use Jack Humpries and Bruce Kenworthy here - only checked the chins Monday through Saturday. They never went into the barns on Sunday the 30 years they had chinchillas. Was surprised when they told me that. I check mine every day I am home. When they came to shows they just locked up and took off.

There is the potential for loss weather I am right there staring at them or on a trip. I travelled about 30% last year, so quite a bit of opportunity for things to happen that never did. I set myself up for success using a lot of trial, error and experience.

This does not mean that people should go leaving their pets at home. As I said earlier, there is a huge difference between my breeding setup and your pet setup.

 

[AZChins]

I've heard that before that chins can be left alone for quite awhile in a breeding set up...but I wouldn't risk it. The potential for problems during labor and delivery is too great to not keep an eye on the chins. Even if the set up is absolutely perfect, the chins seem to be able to find ways to get injured or get stuck or find something else to do that requires me to be there to check in on them at least a couple times a day. Watering systems and bottles can fail, things can happen to feeders and food dishes...and then what if someone has a baby that gets stuck during delivery? (It makes me anxious just thinking about this!)

I don't go away from the chins for more than a few hours at a time. I wish that I could, I wish so much that I could leave them alone for a couple of days because it would make my life easier. But, I haven't been away from them even overnight in nearly 9 years. Last time I did that I had someone here to watch them for the 3 days I was gone. It's nice that other people can risk it, but for my own sanity I can't just leave them alone.

 

[lilchinchilla]

we'll use Jack Humpries and Bruce Kenworthy here - only checked the chins Monday through Saturday. They never went into the barns on Sunday the 30 years they had chinchillas. Was surprised when they told me that. I check mine every day I am home. When they came to shows they just locked up and took off.

I'm not sure where you heard that from. I know for fact, Jack's daughter (who lived in Jack's second house next door to his house. She actually is moving back to that house again, this next month, by the way.) checked on the chinchillas and took care of them for him, when he was not around.

I can't speak for Bruce as I do not know what he did. I just know Jack did go in the barn on weekends (I was there when he did. I stayed over at Jack's house many times and spent hours in the barns on weekends that I was there.), and when he took his trip to Venezuela and other places, his daughter was there looking after his chinchillas the entire time. If it wasn't his daughter looking after the chinchillas, it was his grand daughter. Same for Bob Lowe. He paid his daughter to look after his chinchillas.

Me personally, if I am not going to be available for my chinchillas for more than 12 hours, I either take them to a family member or I have that family member come over to look after them while I am away. If I can't get a family member to look after them, then I try my friends who have some general knowledge of chinchillas and their needs and care. I also write out a massive instruction list too, just in case.

 

[Spoof]

I'm not sure where you heard that from.

lol, Jack at the BC show. I asked him who took care of the chins while he was away, and that's when him and Bruce talked about the Sunday thing and not worrying for short trips. At the time I did the same as you, had roommates or took them to a friend's house.

What I've found with birthing issues is that I never catch them. I haven't seen a female have babies in over a decade. They always have them right before I check before work and I find them wet or while I am at work and I find them dry. If there's a problem I miss it regardless. In 15 years I've had a handful of the issues Dawn described, all when I was home and some when I was only away for 15 minutes (fights) but even being right there didn't change the outcome.

 

[lilchinchilla]

Well I do remember now(it was too early in the morning when I posted before, and I hadn't had my coffee yet.), Bruce had an exchange student who helped with his chins too. I believe for exchange of room and board, the student had to help care for the chins. It's been years, but I remember meeting the kid once, pushing a broom in one of the buildings, and Bruce explaining who he was.

As for Jack, I do know his daughter (and grand daughter) lived next door and did care for the chins if he was away.

There was never too long of a time (i.e. days) where the chins went without someone looking in on them or cleaning their cages, or caring for them.

For him to come to the BC shows, it was a short trip, and he was back home. He would show up in the morning to judge our shows, and he might sleep over, but usually he would go right back home over the Coquihalla.

Even then I believe he meant, if he said that to you, about having it set up - as in that his daughter didn't have to clean cages or do any work other than look in on the chins, and check the waterers and feeders. That is what he had explained to me. It's the same as what I would do if I am gone for a while. I would clean cages, and set everything up so that it wasn't too hard on whomever is looking after them.

You're welcome to call and ask him, if his daughter looked after the chins while he was away. He still lives there, still the same phone number as always.

The only thing truly set up for a week, was perhaps his automated watering system since it hooked directly to his house... but even then, his daughter still had to check the waterers to ensure they worked. She still had to go in and check on the chinchillas. I know that, because I had asked him too, whenever he came to my home on the island, for a few days. Same with the shows.

You might have met his grand daughter, as she did the paper work at some of the NCBC shows here.

 

[liewwan]

When I have to go out of town, I make arrangements for a care taker to be there every other day and someone else in the house to check on my chins morning and night. All females will be blocked off from males if in breeding to avoid any issues. The chins are set up where they have enough food, water, chew items and hay for 3 days; however the care taker's instruction is to change everything when she comes over. I personally wouldn't feel comfertable to leave the chins alone for 12 hours. With the rescues side; should there be any chins that are needing special care then a caretaker is required to be there every 4 hours (mostly they will end up staying at the house to avoid all the trips).