How cold can chinchillas tolerate?

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When I had the chin house I'd heat minimally, it wasn't abnormal for it to be 55 in there, occasional if I didn't get the propane switched over before it ran out, it'd freeze, my water lines would literally be frozen by morning and I never saw any ill effects of it. I know many larger show ranchers have rooms that are colder specifically for their show animals to thicken the coats, but I'm not sure what the temp they use is.
 
Riven said:
When I had the chin house I'd heat minimally, it wasn't abnormal for it to be 55 in there, occasional if I didn't get the propane switched over before it ran out, it'd freeze, my water lines would literally be frozen by morning and I never saw any ill effects of it. I know many larger show ranchers have rooms that are colder specifically for their show animals to thicken the coats, but I'm not sure what the temp they use is.
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I am moving my horses to a new barn and she has extra stalls that she will not be filling with horses. It only gets below a little below freezing for a few days in the winter and the rest of the time it is in the 30's and 40's. Am wondering if it would be safe to keep my chins in her barn without the risk of them freezing?
 
I think you may be able to make that work, Caroline. I have heard that sub freezing for long periods can lead to extremities getting frostbitten but that was in the Midwest. The issue here I think would more so be the heat in the summer...I assume the stalls are not air conditioned and are fairly open (or at least not well-insulated)?
 
I was wondering about summer as well. If the stalls are fully enclosed then you could always do an indoor style propane heater for the times when it gets really cold. I'll tell you from experience that frozen waterers SUCK!
 
Caroline said:
I am moving my horses to a new barn and she has extra stalls that she will not be filling with horses. It only gets below a little below freezing for a few days in the winter and the rest of the time it is in the 30's and 40's. Am wondering if it would be safe to keep my chins in her barn without the risk of them freezing?
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I have not spoken with her yet about it. The thought came to me today as I was driving home. There is the summer heat and how cold it gets in there to consider. I do not want to have a flame in the barn with all that hay, sawdust and horses. Not only would I not want to put any horse's life in danger but two of my horses are on the endangered species list.
I am just hoping that maybe somehow I could make it work that I would not have to sell my chins.
 
You could possible run a layer of foam insulation around the stall to enclose and insulate it and kind make it a small room and that might help a lot. What is the current situation causing your to sell Caroline?
 
Riven said:
You could possible run a layer of foam insulation around the stall to enclose and insulate it and kind make it a small room and that might help a lot. What is the current situation causing your to sell Caroline?
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My kids are all allergic to them. We have got several hepa filters and they have tried allergy meds, neither of which are helping.
My son is threatening to move out and he often spends the night at friend's houses just so he can breath.
 
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Old time ranchers kept their barns/buildings at about 40 F. The biggest concern was preventing water bottles or systems from freezing up.

My chins in the winter generally stay in the 50s in their current area; in their new area they will be about 60.
 
When its that cold do you have issues with kits? I know when we bred sheep or cows cold weather took a toll on the newborns till they were dried off.
 
I've never had problems with kits getting too cold. I've also talked with ranchers who told me that the cold will slow my production, but I've looked at my records and my biggest months are usually April and May, and considering I usually keep my barn the coldest from Dec-Feb, I'm not too sure how that could be. My slowest months are always in the dead of winter, and I keep my barn 60-65 in the summer, so the cold doesn't seem to be affecting the production at all here, but my production seems to be better when it's colder based on my records.
 
threewingedfury said:
I've never had problems with kits getting too cold. I've also talked with ranchers who told me that the cold will slow my production, but I've looked at my records and my biggest months are usually April and May, and considering I usually keep my barn the coldest from Dec-Feb, I'm not too sure how that could be. My slowest months are always in the dead of winter, and I keep my barn 60-65 in the summer, so the cold doesn't seem to be affecting the production at all here, but my production seems to be better when it's colder based on my records.
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How cold does it get in your barn during the coldest part of the winter?
 
SHE SAID YES!! The barn owner said I can keep the chins in her barn!!! I am so very excited because it means that I now don't have to sell my babies! I told her I would give her a chin as a token of my appreciation.
 
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