How much fighting is normal?

[schmittre]

I have a bonded pair of brothers and a male I rescued a little over a year ago. I worked on bonding them for months and they are now housed together. The vast majority of the time they all do well together/sleep with each other. But there are some occasions at night or during playtime they will chase each other and have some fur slips. The fur slips are never by the neck, but are on their rump, and blood has never been drawn.
Is there some level of fighting that is to be anticipated like this? Or is this a potential precursor of the behavior getting more serious where they start attacking to hurt? It kind of seems like they just sometimes get on each others nerves or are squabbling over dominance, but I only have my boys to base this off of. I’d rather be safe and separate them if it’s known to get worse. Also if it’s recommended to separate them, would it be anticipated to be a permanent separation?

 

[Amethyst]

Occasional squabble (like once every few months or less) is normal, and minor fur flying (like the odd tuft here or there) during that is not uncommon. If it's full fur slips like to the point that you see skin/bald patches then that is not normal for chins that are bonded enough to be housed together. If it's more frequent fighting with actual fur slips would go back to separate cages and just do playtime together for a while assuming no fighting is happening. Since there has been no blood drawn I would say it's not a fail bond yet, they just might need more time.

Since you say it seems like they are getting on each other's nerves, I also wonder, what size cage do you have for all 3 of them to live in? Some chins need personal space, so really a minimum of 12 cubic feet (the size of one unit of a Ferret Nation size cage) per chin may be needed to allow for that. Also how many sleeping areas, food bowls, and water bottles do you have? and are they spread out in the cage so they can't resource guard preventing one from accessing them? I suggest having as many of each as you have chins to help prevent fighting over them.

 

[schmittre]

Occasional squabble (like once every few months or less) is normal, and minor fur flying (like the odd tuft here or there) during that is not uncommon. If it's full fur slips like to the point that you see skin/bald patches then that is not normal for chins that are bonded enough to be housed together. If it's more frequent fighting with actual fur slips would go back to separate cages and just do playtime together for a while assuming no fighting is happening. Since there has been no blood drawn I would say it's not a fail bond yet, they just might need more time.

Since you say it seems like they are getting on each other's nerves, I also wonder, what size cage do you have for all 3 of them to live in? Some chins need personal space, so really a minimum of 12 cubic feet (the size of one unit of a Ferret Nation size cage) per chin may be needed to allow for that. Also how many sleeping areas, food bowls, and water bottles do you have? and are they spread out in the cage so they can't resource guard preventing one from accessing them? I suggest having as many of each as you have chins to help prevent fighting over them.

Thank you amethyst for the reply!! The fur slips never leave bald patches or spots, it’s just a small tuft. As for the cage I have a double unit ferret nation that all three share. They have a bunch of sleeping areas so I don’t think that is an issue. I have ordered additional food and water bottles and will place them in ASAP to see if that will help. If it is still an issue after trying more food/water/hay areas I have a single unit ferret nation cage I can separate the rescue back out. I really appreciate your advice!!!

 

[petran79]

I notice that one chin tries to bite the other by the tail hair and pull the tail away when he wants to take his turn for sandbath, while the other just pushes him away.

Overall they seem to know their limits and when to back away