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[Sweetnessheart]

I have a seven week old chinchilla baby that I need to wean from his mother.  My first baby!   
My questions are..... :-[ Do you take him away and place him in a cage next to hers?  Or Do you take him away and place him in a cage on the other side of the room so he can't see his mother?  Or Do you take him away for periods of time and slowly get him used to not being with his mother?

[chinchillagrl06]

I have heard doing it slowly over a week having him spend longer and longer time away from Mom. Just make sure to monitor eating and drinking. 

[Sweetnessheart]

Well....I was going to try weaning on a gradual level.....I took Tippy out of Snowflakes cage (Mom) for about one hour.  When I put him back in with Mom, he immediately tried to mount her!  I guess Mom and Baby are now separated forever!  I definitely don't want "that" to happen....if you know what I mean!

I might try placing him back in later on today to see if the "mounting" will happen again.

[Jo Ann]

Hi Sweetness,
   
   Separating them slowly is usually best, but sometimes, mom is so ready to let them go their way, that she will not allow them back in the cage with her.

   A male chin does not have the ability to impregnate a female until he is 12 weeks old ... so you are pretty safe till then. 

Also trying to mount is not always what it may appear to be ... females will mount each other and males will mount each other as a way of trying to show dominance ... who's going to be the boss in the cage ... or the alpha chin.  This is also sometimes decided with fussing or even fighting.  Sometimes mild and sometimes violently.

Momma usually knows when she is ready for the kits to leave.  She will start sitting on the feeding dish (or anywhere else she can get away from them) to force them to quit nursing and stay on solids.  A kit should be eating some solids long before it is weaned.

Keep an eye on the weight and consumption of food and water of both the kit/kits and the momma ... sometimes the momma will loose weight when the kits leave.  Some momma chins want to keep them as long as they can and others want them to leave a.s.a.p.   

 
Jo Ann [/i]

[Debbie.nl.ca]

At least for the first litter I like to gradually separate.
I always let Mom have runs so babies get popped into a smaller cage. That way they get used to time away right from the start.
From day one I'll pop the kits into a pouch around my neck while I clean out their cage and Mom runs. After a week they need a cage to run in too.
Then for a couple of days after I've separated, I'll let Mom& Dad see the kits again for short spells.
I seperate at 8 weeks and sell at 10-12 depending on the kit.