Home .Site Updates About, Achievement Reports FAQ's Disclaimer, Copyright, Contact Pet Chin Rescue & Rehoming ..International Chinchilla Rescue Network (ICRN) Quotes For Compassion Saving Ranch Chinchillas ..Pet Homes For Ranchies: News, Information, Photos Make A Difference ..Change by Choice Show You Care, Donate ChinCare: Educating Chinparents MM promotes positive activism, not AR extremism, see: Correcting Misconceptions and Defining Terms PHFR NEWS, INFORMATION, PHOTOS PHFR is the ranch chinchilla outreach program of MM. CbC details the facts of pelting today, FAQ's explains what PHFR is, how it works and why it succeeds. Anyone interested in starting their own PHFR project is welcome to notify us. Support PHFR by donating or posting the above logo with a link to this page. 2007 PET HOMES FOR RANCHIES (synopsis, report and photos, ranchie update, project contributors) 2007 SYNOPSIS For this Project we collaborated with the same ranch that we worked with for the 2004 and 2006 Projects (they haven't pelted since 2004! WOOHOO!), we have plans in the works to expand and collaborate with others in the Midwest very soon. On 5/11/2007 we picked up 24 ranchies, this was a mix of boys and girls, standard grays except for six mutations. Many are retired breeders and some are in their teens. We've had some wonderful rescues volunteer in advance to receive and foster these ranchies. We'll be dropping off some with Second Chance Chins Chinchilla Rescue in MI and ForCHINate Chins Chinchilla Rescue in OH on the weekend of 5/18, the rest will head out to Wisconsin Chinchilla Rescue at the end of May. 2007 PHFR PROJECT: REPORT AND PHOTOS *photos in bold type* (first week, second week and finale') The First Week, 5/11- 5/18 This is really a sweet crew, mostly mellow temperaments (see these old gals in two poses: photo 1, photo 2) because for the most part chinchillas get more sedentary as they age, becoming more the "lap pet" that most people want in a pet chinchilla but rarely get with the younger crowd. Here's a chin settling in on his first day off the ranch. There are some middle-age and younger chins in this group as well and to help indicate ages more readily we put their birth year in their ear with marker. Since they'll be here for only a short time before being fostered out by rescues, we're just referring to them by their date of birth; we'll let the rescues name all 24! Our main worry with an older crowd is their ability to adjust after living so long entrenched in the ranch environment, which is overall a much less stimulating environment compared to the busy sights and sounds of domesticity that it is our job to help them acclimate to. To aid the transition we always simulate their previous smaller cage environment by starting them out in carriers so they don't have to cope with too much profound change all at once; they have their small secured space wrapped in a sheet that helps them feel safe and from which they can take in all the new developments. Chinchillas are housed in solitary cells on the ranch, when we pair them up we don't put in hideaways (houses, hammocks, etc.) until we're sure there'll be no risk of barracading that could easily lead to compatibility disruptions. Normally we group in pairs by spotting like temperaments, in this case we felt that the retired breeders may enjoy herd companionship more (still grouping by temperament) and that's been working out quite nicely for them: photo 1, photo 2. Since the older chins would need an immediate sign that things were getting better and they had something to live for and look forward to so they had cause to keep their spirits up, we provided things that would make an immediate positive impression on their senses: cloth instead of wire under their feet, some unsweetened Wheat 'N Bran mini Shredded Wheat biscuits (read the warning that goes with feeding grains!) and an herb mix in their food dishes, and on TV they could watch and listen to low-stress cartoons like The Pink Panther series on DVD. Sadly, one dear old gal didn't make it, she was ear-marked '96. We had our eye on her from the time she arrived because she never perked up, just spent all her time immobile, huddled and terrified until she finally succumbed to shock despite being held, massaged and encouraged by us. This is '96 with one of her playmates and resting on daddy's knee just hours before God took her home. She did smile for us, she smiled as she was held by those who loved her right until the end. And she died free, with dignity, as a pet chin. One young chinchilla boy in this group was born only a few months ago in 2/2007, and either his litter mates or mother managed to gnaw his ears to stubs or this was a birth defect, but in any case precious little "Nubs" is incredibly cute, and has spunk to spare! Here is Nubs resting, he's quite the character and his "deformity" is more of an attraction than otherwise, but it was this perceived defect that made him an at-risk ranchie. Now he'll be placed by rescue in a carefully-screened home and have an excellent pet life! There is one young biter in this bunch, whom we've named Chewy (Chewbacca) and he's paired with Han. We've gone through several "floor plans" and a little bit of cagemate shifting to determine who's best grouped with whom and who will be ready to go after one week and who will need more socialization time and will be going with the last rescue transport. Chewy and Han seem well suited for each other, Chewy only bites at us when he's picked up and the rest of the time his snippy behavior through the carrier bars has decreased rapidly. When chins use biting it's from severe stress, fear or frustration, a self-defense gesture meant to express the intensity of their grievance. Here Han and Chewy are using us as a "safe base" during playtime and here's Chewy letting it all hang out just three days off the ranch. On day six he's actually touching noses with us from inside his carrier but is still prickly about being picked up. He'll outgrow the biting soon, he's only the second biter we've encountered in a ranchie and it's clear that he's just very intimidated by being picked up. We'll work on training him out of it, that's part of the socialization process they go through with PHFR. Some of the retired female breeders have a hairless ring around their neck where their collar used to be, the skin there is calloused and some even have a large piece of hairless dewlap where the skin once bulged around their collar. All will greatly benefit from exercise, the lack in muscle tone compared with the chins in our own chinfamily is pronounced. A few of the retired female breeders have ragged or heavily scarred ears from years of being repeatedly mounted by aggressively dominant males that bit during pre-copulatory grooming. The old girls' demeanor was quite submissive and reserved upon arrival but with playtime we've begun to see all these chins' delightful personalities emerge: playtime 1, playtime 2, playtime 3, playtime 4. This senior male has learned to hop into his hammock by the fourth day: hammock 1, hammock 2. Here a senior female tries her first raisin. On day six the senior girl "herd" is looking alert, interested and happy! The Second Week And Finale', 5/19- 5/30 After dropping off some of the ranchies with Second Chance Chins Chinchilla Rescue in MI and ForCHINate Chins Chinchilla Rescue in OH on the weekend of 5/18, we had a very busy second half of the 2007 PHFR Project! We continued socializing with playtime: playtime 1, playtime 2 and the ranchies got to explore more of our chin-proofed upstairs and they began to relax and enjoy their time out even more than before. The small cages that housed the cohabitating retired female breeders were graciously lent to us by Second Chance Chins Chinchilla Rescue (thanks!). The girls made great use of them, notice how in the beginning of the second week everyone has made great strides in mellowing out, they're sleeping on their side and more have discovered the hammock. We had a big surprise on 5/22 with the arrival of Fred, who was born to one of the retired female breeders. When cleaning cages that night we discovered him scurrying about the cage with his left ear torn off at the top, we applied some styptic powder to the wound and thought that perhaps he'd been bitten by one of the other females for trying to nurse from them. After verifying which was the mother by checking undersides for signs of recent delivery, we put Fred and his mother in a cage by themselves. I, the webmistress, had been up all night but the next morning I took MANY, many pictures of darling Fred of which here are a few: Fred 1, Fred 2, Fred 3. I was too nervous and upset about Fred's ear to sleep so I held vigil nearby. Later that morning, about 6am, I noticed he had a little scratch on his other ear and above his eye but since there was loose hay in the cage and he was being so very active, trying to climb the walls and sitting in the food dish, I assumed the scratches were due to his getting into some kind of mischief. He'd been nursing from his mother and everything seemed alright when I'd watched him approach her... Then about 7am, I heard a small, piercing cry and the mother bounced hard around the walls of the cage. I rushed over to Fred, who now had a flesh wound on either side of his left shoulder, he was cradling his left arm. The cut went through the skin but that was all, thankfully. I removed him immediately and started frantically making phone calls, clearly Fred's mother had had enough of nursing kits and had rejected him. I didn't want Fred to be hand-fed by us if we could find a surrogate mother for him, that'd be more nurturing. When I contacted CHINtuition they told me they were hand-feeding a boy named Einstein, he was at four weeks, his mother had died and he needed a friend; I knew they'd do a good job caring for Fred and this way he'd have companionship. This was one of several long days that both of us struggled through for the 2007 PHFR Project... When I dropped off Fred at CHINtuition a few hours later, Einstein totally adored him and Fred received his first hand-feeding. In fact, Einstein was SO thrilled to have Fred as his new friend that he did the chinchilla happy dance again and again! In the week that followed Einstein and he were inseperable, Einstein cleaning the styptic powder off Fred, checking up on him and showing him how to take his first dustbath. They splinted Fred's arm when it didn't show immediate improvement and later when he developed bloat, it was probably due to the associated stress. Despite being treated for his bloat and showing improvement, Fred ultimately passed away after living for just over a week, and although Einstein was nearby it was most difficult for him, he was so grieved at losing his dear friend and brother. Our thoughts and prayers are with Einstein, it's so hard when they're young and can't comprehend loss and death. Another sad point in the second half of the 2007 Project was the loss of '93 due to old age. We've had our share of senior deaths at our rescue, you can tell when a chin is on the path to the Andes Mountains in the sky when they start to act weak, wobbly and then finally lay on their side, exhibit agonized breathing, sometimes seize and then it's a short time until they pass. This is '93 at the start of the process where she still looked bright and happy. Death really takes a toll on those of us who do chinchilla rescue and ranchie homing work, but it's worth it to know that we made their last moments here worthwhile. We upgraded the retired female breeders to one large cage and put all eleven of them in it for herd companionship, combining the groups from the two smaller cages they'd been in previously. It was interesting to see and this was possible both because these girls had been subservient breeders their whole lives and because ranch chinchillas are socially inexperienced: herd behavior 1, herd behavior 2, that is, they didn't exhibit territorialism whereas normally female chinchillas would. At first they all stayed on the bottom of the cage where it seems they felt most secure, but gradually they worked up to the higher shelves and finally into a group hug in the hammock. We even caught one gal on the wheel and managed to snap one decent picture before she got embarassed and hopped off. Chewy and Han stayed buddies while they were here, this photo was taken of them at night while they were watching TV. We worked with Chewy a little more and by the time he arrived at Wisconsin Chinchilla Rescue they were able to pick up Chewy without getting bit, at least the first time, lol, he'll still need some more work but they have a wonderful way with rehabilitating biters there. Before we left for Wisconsin we took some final shots, we had to shift everyone around after the weekend cage cleaning to get our chinfamily back into place and the girls had to go back into the smaller cages for just a couple days. These pictures are so precious, they all look happy and content at this stage, just like pet chins should: finale' 1, finale' 2. 2007 PHFR PROJECT: UPDATE ON A RANCHIE TURNED PET CHIN! The following update was submitted to MM by Second Chance Chins Chinchilla Rescue who heard from the adoptive chinparent of the ranchie we called "Nubs." He has been in his forever home with Miranda for several months now and was officially named "Teddy"! Miranda writes: "I fell in love with Teddy (aka: Nubs) the minute I saw his first pictures, and I am so happy that it was me who got to give him a home. I wouldn't trade Teddy and his nubs for any 'perfect' chin. Teddy is a friendly, outgoing, bouncy, happy guy! He is totally an 'in your face' chin just like he was the day we met him. He has to rub noses with me at least once a day and tries to take my glasses off when I wear them. He just has a ton of personality, and he loves to be petted, scratched, stroked, anything. He very rarely gets tired of any type of attention. He is so much fun - thank you so much for giving him such good human interaction when you had him! He absolutely loves people. PHFR is such a wonderful project, and I have much admiration for everyone involved." 2007 PHFR PROJECT: CONTRIBUTORS Our MM donators! Their funding helped with railroading, supplies and saved all 24 chins from pelting! ABB in MI: fostering, railroading! CHINtuition in MI: fostering, hand-feeding! ForCHINate Chins Chinchilla Rescue in OH: fostering! KFO in MI: railroading! Second Chance Chins Chinchilla Rescue in MI: fostering, loaned supplies! Wisconsin Chinchilla Rescue in WI: fostering!