I will admit a few of my females Hated the collar. I made different arraingements for those little sweeties. Most of them don't seem to mind the collars. They are very light weight.

There is no 100% safe way to breed. There are pros and cons to runs, and pros and cons to duos, trios, and colonies. I can't stand it when people say one is safer over the other. Because there are injuries related to being bred in a run, and injuries related to being bred the other way.

I personally do not choose to do runs cause I don't care for the small space, and all my trios are very bonded and I enjoy seeing them all play and snuggle together. But, on the same hand I don't knock people for using them. I just don't like them and wouldn't use them myself, but to each their own.

I also have bought from run users, but won't sell to run users. Does that make sense? Cause my babies were raised and big cages and it is a harder adjustment to go from a big cage to a run setup.

I agree with Misty as far as not selling a chin raised in a large cage and then placeing them in a small cage for breeding only. This is definately tramatic to chins.
Hobby breeders don't usually set up their chins in runs since they don't usually have more than 30 chins to tend to. Sometimes hobby show breeders do to help improve their show stock. Larger professional breeders find this system of using runs to be more realistic and economical. At this time I am working with a lot of new animals to improve my herd and I am using runs. But like I said earlier in this thread you don't have to make your runs small if you want you chins to have room to play.

I don't like the idea of Polygamy breading, as I don't like to see the females with the collars on their necks.

We have got a female that came from a polygamist breeder, who said she was a non-breading female, so she went with another male as a pair with the intention of not breading from her, but she was able to bead and produce Kits.

I prefer the pair breading of Chins as this allows them to stay as pets and you can decide which male to put with a female, and you can also give the female a break from breading and reduce the chances of bread back.

These are only my views and have not reflection on other members of this site.

Hi, I prefer to breed my chins in pairs too. However, I just wanted to clarify that in the run system, you CAN shut off a hole to prevent the male from getting to a particular female if you want to give her a break.

I know this is not exactly for this thread, but not sure where to put it.

I know of someone who lost a male chinchilla by using the run system, as he was unable to find a friendly female to let him get food and water, it turns out that this male died due to lack of food and water.

A breeding run should always start out with a cage for the male only. I have two and three hole runs and I leave the females doors shut until they are use to each other and the male has his own cage. When the male has bonded to at least one female I introduce another female in the run and place her in the males old cage and shut the door. I wait until they are familiar with each other then open the door and watch them carefully to be sure all is well. My males remain friendly to me. I can call them and they come out of the run for play time and treats. Some females do not like the collars. I will pair the female with a male and they are then housed together.

I don't like the idea of the small runs.. in all other aspects, as long as the chins don't hate each other, I think it's fine.. with bigger cages.

If you have the know-how to build and the space to house bigger runs then I think it is a good option for breeders, hobby or otherwise.

I think there are pros and cons to both systems...I prefer my own As most on here know (and some have seen in person) I built my own runs. They are 24 X 24 X 24 and have 2 shelves with the run in the back. This allows for a lot of space to jump and play as well as the safety of males being able to get away from the females. I ALWAYS leave a cage on one end of each bank of runs for the males only. I think they like having their own space away from the girls to eat, sleep, drink and rest. I often find my males in their own cages...this does not seem to hinder breeding in the run system either as every female currently in breeding is either pregnant for certain, showing signs of pregnancy through weight gain, or are currently nursing a litter of kits. Nope, no problems here! All the males and females get along with their mates too. I love it!

BTW- height you are looking at, is 6 feet tall

I like your system, Mandie. I can see the value of having runs -- One of our newest additions has been known to be quite nasty to her males (as we've heard from her previous owner). I'm VERY reluctant to put her with our boy in a situation where he cannot get away from her, should she prove to have mood swings, or just a nasty temperament in general.

I agree Bex, although so far I would be comfortable permenently caging my males with their current mates, it gives me peace of mind to know that if one of the girls go ballistic, my boys can get away.
Someone once said it was cruel because the girls are given no choice in the situation and can't get away from the boys...I feel that's hogwash in my case. If the girls don't want the boys in their territory, they simply sit their fat butts infront of the jump holes blocking the entrance If the boys are already in their cage, they go into their houses and block the entrance...either way, they're not mating unless they want to!

Can chinchillas were collars or harnesses? I don't necessarily mean having to do with this cage setup...just in general.

Sorry to be random, but I had wanted to ask that question before and now you made me think of it!

It's not recommended...restraining by harness can break a chinchilla's back and typical collars are not only impractical, but can also be dangerous if chewed.
Collars chins wear for these run systems are metal disks around their necks that are larger than the jump hole opening thus preventing the females from entering the runs.

Oh, I see what you mean now! Sorry, I am new to chins and I was confused.