Weight

[muzzyj]

Ok, so I've had Pepper for almost three months now, I bought her from pet smart ::hides from the boos:: If I found this forum sooner I would of definetly gotten one from a breeder. Anyway, I have no idea how old she is, but it seems like she's still growing. I got a scale this morning, and she weighs 448...this seems kinda low to me. What should she be? how can I help her gain a little more? She eats Mazuri feed, lots of loose timothy hay, and alfalfa cubes. Shes pooping and peeing normally.

 

[GorillaJTA]

Ok, so I've had Pepper for almost three months now, I bought her from pet smart ::hides from the boos:: If I found this forum sooner I would of definetly gotten one from a breeder. Anyway, I have no idea how old she is, but it seems like she's still growing. I got a scale this morning, and she weighs 448...this seems kinda low to me. What should she be? how can I help her gain a little more? She eats Mazuri feed, lots of loose timothy hay, and alfalfa cubes. Shes pooping and peeing normally.

Since you are not going to get an accurate age from Petsmart (It's ok.. That is where I got my first chin...), you can figure that it is young and will hit a growth spurt, or it is just small. My petsmart chin, Flea, was around 490 for months, then shot up to 640. You are feeding her well and giving her what she needs, so she should be healthy.

 

[muzzyj]

Ok good. She has been eating a lot more over the past few days so maybe she's getting close to one. I'm glad I finally got a dang scale so I can watch her development a bit better

 

[Ronda]

Even if she doesn't grow much more just remember that some of the breeders in to 40s, 50s and 60s were breeding animals of that size. Only recently have we had the larger animals. I heard one rancher say he couldn't believe how large the animals have gotten over the years.

Just as long as she is eating well and acting okay size really shouldn't matter - just how much you love her!

Congrats on your new chinny additon.

Ronda

 

[muzzyj]

Ok, just making sure, everyone else's Chins are HUGE! I love her so no worries about that. I've actually got two more coming home this weekend, hehe

 

[muzzyj]

454 today! Woot. Guess she is still growing. Btw it's terrible getting her to sit still. She ran off the scale twice before she realized she wasn't getting away till she sat still. Any tricks?

 

[Mikayla]

I give them a little bit of a shreddie so that they sit still to eat it, they normally don't effect the weight.

 

[Ash]

Some people also put a chin in a jar or dust house, put their hand over the hole so they can't come out, then just subtract the weight of the jar/dust house.

 

[Brittany]

I give them a little bit of a shreddie so that they sit still to eat it, they normally don't effect the weight.

When I weigh my chins I place my hands over their head, it ususally makes them sit still enough to get an accurate reading. Other people put them in a shoe box with a lid (holes poked in the top of course).

Since you don't know the exact age of your chin I would hold off on giving any treats for a few months. It is recommended that chins don't get treats for the first 6 months so that it doesn't upset their caloric intake. If you haven't done so already you might want to consider just giving hay, pellets, and wood chew toys for a few months.

For the record I would hope that nobody gives you a hard time for buying from a pet store. Yes, I would try and convince a new owner to go the breeder route, because there's a better chance (not a 100% gurantee) of getting a healthy animal. But regardless all chins need a loving home. Your chin is lucky that you're being proactive and educating yourself on proper chin care.:thumbsup:

 

[Mikayla]

When I weigh my chins I place my hands over their head, it ususally makes them sit still enough to get an accurate reading. Other people put them in a shoe box with a lid (holes poked in the top of course).

Since you don't know the exact age of your chin I would hold off on giving any treats for a few months. It is recommended that chins don't get treats for the first 6 months so that it doesn't upset their caloric intake. If you haven't done so already you might want to consider just giving hay, pellets, and wood chew toys for a few months.

For the record I would hope that nobody gives you a hard time for buying from a pet store. Yes, I would try and convince a new owner to go the breeder route, because there's a better chance (not a 100% gurantee) of getting a healthy animal. But regardless all chins need a loving home. Your chin is lucky that you're being proactive and educating yourself on proper chin care.:thumbsup:

Sorry! I didn't see that, I know all my chin's ages. But then again most of mine will sit still enough without a treat