Chinchilla Collars
Rondaschins.com sells collars if you are looking for some.
Pictured are three of the different types of collars I have used. The first is the newer style, capable of going larger and smaller with 6 holes. Second two are the older style (1940-70's) and are for smaller necked animals. The last one is a compression clasp, whereas the first two need rivets to close.
Collars are a must for run style breeding. Unfortunately, they can cause problems if you are not careful. Some of the ones I've seen are;
- Chins getting feet or jaw caught - can lead to severe deyhdration and death if you don't catch them quickly.
- Chins outgrowing the collar - leads to fluid buildups around the neck, lacerations and possible asphyxiation.
- Cysts from the collar rubbing
- permenant scarring and loss of fur around the neck from a poorly fitted collar.
- Escaping the collar and getting loose in the run, killing other chins or getting killed.
When collaring a chin, you will want to find steel fasteners. Nowadays some come with plastic ones - those are like candy to chins, they just can't wait to chew them off. It will be of much help when you collar if you take the collar out to a paved area, and whack the rivet in the collar with a hammer. This makes it much 'tighter' and harder to get open and closed. It will not only be easier to get on the chin, but will be harder for the chin to get it off.
"They just don't make 'em like they used to..." This photo shows the newer style collars after a few years of use. They are made of aluminum and very soft. In the first photo, the older, smaller one has less chew marks, even though it has probably been in use for 40 or more years. The really old one has hardly any, is the thickest and weighs the most at 4g.
When collaring you always want to leave a pinky's width between the collar and the neck, and for heaven's sake, don't open the hole right away. Make sure the chin can't get out of the collar before opening the run.
If you are worried about collars being inhumane and upsetting the chins, most females don't appear to notice and neither do people unless you tell them they are there.
Both of these females were wearing collars when these photos were taken. You can just barely see the colar on the first female.
Here are some of the collars I have seen and taken pictures of;
The three prong collar type is very popular with ranchers that have larger females. If you are looking for some you can buy them here at the bottom of the page.