Chinnie buildings!

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ErinsChins

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 7, 2010
Messages
589
Location
Johnson City, TN
I am looking to buy a house in the near future and most of the houses i've been looking at do not have basements or areas appropriate for chins. I've been looking at Lowe's and Home Depot for a building. Obviously, they would have to be wired and insulated, but does anyone have any experience with separate buildings for chins? Especially ones from Lowe's or HD? I'm really not sure what size would be good either. I'm thinking something like this one :http://www.homedepot.com/Storage-Or...splay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051

Please feel free to give any input! Thanks!
 
my concern here would be first the obvious cooling/heating issues...
and that if your wanting chins to free play in a building like this that one set of doors does not at all sit well with me it seems like a very small margin for error... one slip up where the doors are opened at the wrong time and the chins are out and you could have a lost chin, hurt chin or dead chin.
while many people have chin barns, the ones i have been in have had an actual separated enclosed room where the chins are housed (large scale ranchers don't have chinny play time either) so that might be something you put allot of thought into.
you'll want a good ventilation system, and you might consider putting flooring into this shed such as ceramic or some thing easily cleanable, from most pre fab. sheds i have seen they have ply wood flooring and this could become a problem when you have chins playing on the floor and potentially peeing on the wood. if im wrong and it will be a concrete slab then that should be adequate...
think about any exposed wall materials such as two by fours etc because many sheds will be made of pressure treated spruce lumber.

ETA: i didn't read your chin number till after i wrote this:banghead:... so with 30 plus im sure there will be a few more people more qualified to comment lol
 
Last edited:
Sorry, I should've added that the building would first be insulated, drywalled, and floored. As far as heating/cooling goes, I would wire the building and use window units.
 
I've looked at them too Erin. I would love to have the chins out of the house and into their own space. My husband and I walked in several models talking about what would have to be done. My concerns were about the amount of insulation that would have to be added ( thickness ) and calculate how much wall space you want to save. I liked that a couple had lofts which I would like for storage. I think an air conditioner window unit would offer enough air exchange for the show chins. One thing I looked at werr buildings that have windows that open for fresh air in crisp fall and spring days. Window unit air conditioners need a back up in case they die. And a gas generator to handle the BTU's for that unit in case of power outage for any length of time. And of course to wire it up. I would need juice for the window unit and vacuum. I thought I would do cheap laminate floor and cheap tile halfway up the walls. So much to consider.

So we decided the next house we buy will have a chin room in the basement or a bay in the garage that will be converted. So the chin numbers will have to remain low for now. I'm good with that.

And another consideration. Shade from tree's always adds to a buildings cooling. So where to place that building is another factor.
 
For the power outage backup, thermal mass can do the trick for several hours or even days. The best is tanks of water. Of course this takes up space but if heating is your concern, the water tanks can be placed under the floor but on top of foam insulation (and insulate the sides). A vent in the middle of the floor and some at the edge of the floor will create convection currents to move the air when there is no power. If cooling is the concern, you need the water tanks in the rafters (and the cool air drops from the middle and warmed air enters the rafters from the walls). Heating and cooling units can be designed to heat or cool the appropriate water tanks. These tanks will grow algae so the water in them should never be used. This will also keep the temperature very steady which is always good for chinchillas.
 
the price tag on that shed is outrageous! almost 5 grand and then you have to spend extra on insulation, wiring, etc. definitely go with a private contractor or somebody that can build the shed, insulate it, and wire it, for much much cheaper. just my two cents.

i personally wouldn't want my chins out of the house. i'd be paranoid that something would happen and i'd be checking in on them every 20 minutes, lol. at least you can hear them if they are in the same building as you.
 
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