My Set Up

[Debbie]

Hi Guys,

Just thought I'd start a new topic so I could post some pictures of my current set up, my new aviary, and my chippies.  Think I've posted some pics before but cant remember when LOL!

Anyway, thought I'd start with my current set up.  At the moment I've got 4 aviaries dotted around the garden, that all look the same as the piccy I've posted below.  I originally started with one, then my hubby pursuaded me to get some girls to go with my boys - I had a population explosion  , so I got another aviary, then I took on some chippies that no longer had a home so I got another aviary..........then a couple of my boys started fighting so I ended up getting another one 

The one pictured has got my 3 male dilutes (brothers in) at the moment.

[Debbie]

This is one of my Chippies, in fact one of my original chippies.  His name is Stumpy, so called because he only has half a tail although you can't see it in these pictures.  Him and his brother Chipster were my very first chippies - I bought them about 7 years ago now, but as you can see he is still a handsome little devil!!

[Debbie]

The next two pics are two of my girls.  The first is pudgey, so called because she has a fat little belly, probably because she is always the first to the food.  In this picture I hadn't even got round to putting it in her bowl because she was too quick and jumped straight into my storage container to eat it.   

The second picture is my softest female - i did originally name her Velcro because as soon as I stepped in the cage she stuck to me just like velcro, however, i have since renamed her muffin after I discovered her love of said item when she pinched mine out of my pocket one day.  Now, if I dont go in with even a piece of muffin she wont let me out of the cage until I give in or get my hubby to go and get a bit for her!

[Debbie]

I'll try and add some more of my chippie clan over the next few days, as am getting a bit tired now, but I'll leave you with this piccy.........this is the pergola that used to be at the bottom of my garden...........i say used to be because this is now what we are converting to my "super aviary".  I'll post some more pics to show you the progress shorly, but I am hoping it should be finished in the next week or two.

[ilovechips]

Really like your aviary, did you get it from ebay? It looks very similar to the one i saw

So are you building a whole row of aviaries under the pergola?

[pinkpill]

WOW! ur garden is beautiful
ur chippies are gorgeous but that profile pic of muffin is just mega cute

SNAP! i too have a stumpy named also coz of having only half a tail but he's a dilute

[Debbie]

Really like your aviary, did you get it from ebay? It looks very similar to the one i saw

So are you building a whole row of aviaries under the pergola?

Yes, I did buy these ones from Ebay, from a shop called Shromanco.  They are brilliant.  Easy to get up (as long as you've got a strong man to help you anyway), and cause i've got so many I get discounts on the price! LOL!

[Debbie]

WOW! ur garden is beautiful
ur chippies are gorgeous but that profile pic of muffin is just mega cute

SNAP! i too have a stumpy named also coz of having only half a tail but he's a dilute

LOL!  The garden doesn't look so good at the moment - its a building site cause we're trying to do aviary's, fencing and a patio all in one go........and because my german shepherd pup keeps digging holes in it!   

I'd noticed the other day you'd got a Stumpy too - we'll have to compare tail sizes   I don't know about your Stumpy, but mine doesn't go well with too many other chipmunks because they seem to pick on him - think it might be because of his tail.  He lives with one of his sons, Casper (a dilute) at the moment, Caspers just over a year old now.

I was originally gonna split my new aviary into 3, but I've decided to make one big aviary with a separate "hospital cage" for any injured or sick Chipmunks.  I've got 12 chippies who all live very well together as there are 3 mums and their children.  I'm going to get the boys "done" so as they get older they can't breed, then I'm going to put them all in the big aviary........then I'm gonna see if I can re-introduce Chipster who is already done.  The other boys I have I'm going to keep separately as want to avoid fights, and if I ever do need to breed I will still have a few chippies that will be ready, willing and most importantly able!  To be honest I'm not going to breed often.  Thought I'd try and take part in the cinnamon project to help keep them going, but apart from that my Chippies will be for my enjoyment rather than for breeding.

[Debbie]

Here you go, here are some piccys showing how my new aviary is getting on......its been a slow process!

[Debbie]

All these pictures are from a few weeks ago now...........I'll take some more over the weekend so you can see how much more progress has been/is being made.

[Debbie]

The first of these pictures is of Chipster........he's Stumpy's brother.........they are both about 7 and a half years old now......so I suppose in Chipmunk terms they are getting on a bit!

The next picture is of my last lot of chippy babies.       Dont know if you can tell but there is two different litters here, you might be able to tell that some of the babies are slighly more developed than others.  Their mothers (Pudgey and Muffin) are sisters, so are happy to nest together.

[pinkpill]

looks like the new aviary is gonna be massive

chipster looks very fluffy and of course handsome

my stumpy is only bout 4 mths old and has taken a bit of a shine to my new arrival pootle, and the feeling is mutual as you saw in the pic on my thread of them snogging theyre housemates at the mo, but stumpy is one of my chips thats for sale, if someone will buy a incomplete chip

[jennyb]

Thats a very impressive aviary, love the idea of using the pergola to make the aviary out of. I really like the criss cross design on the aviary in your first pic. Can't wait to see pictures of it all completed. We have almost finished ours. The Chippies are beautiful   Like you next year i'm going to focus on Cinnamons but i will be outcrossing my Cinnamons to Dilutes and Agouti so will probably get more Dilute and Agouti babies than Cinnamon but any Cinnamons i get will be extra special. At the moment i'm looking for a few more Cinnamons to join my small group but can't find them anywhere.

[Debbie]

looks like the new aviary is gonna be massive

chipster looks very fluffy and of course handsome

my stumpy is only bout 4 mths old and has taken a bit of a shine to my new arrival pootle, and the feeling is mutual as you saw in the pic on my thread of them snogging theyre housemates at the mo, but stumpy is one of my chips thats for sale, if someone will buy a incomplete chip

Yup, it is gonna be a big one.  Can't wait, am hoping this weekend its gonna be pretty much finished, apart from a few little extras I'll add as I'm going along.

Chipster is very fluffy - he's the biggest of my chippies, he's actually quite a bruiser when you see him in the flesh.

Ahh, I'm sure there will be no problem selling him.......I sold a 3 legged chipmunk once.......had to let her go with her sisters as they were such a close family.

[Debbie]

Thats a very impressive aviary, love the idea of using the pergola to make the aviary out of. I really like the criss cross design on the aviary in your first pic. Can't wait to see pictures of it all completed. We have almost finished ours. The Chippies are beautiful   Like you next year i'm going to focus on Cinnamons but i will be outcrossing my Cinnamons to Dilutes and Agouti so will probably get more Dilute and Agouti babies than Cinnamon but any Cinnamons i get will be extra special. At the moment i'm looking for a few more Cinnamons to join my small group but can't find them anywhere.

Hiya Jenny, 

We decided to use the pergola as we naively thought it would end up costing us less!   
Will post some more pictures over the weekend of where its up to - we did a bit on it tonight, and will be spending the next two days working on it.
I've not got a cinnamon yet.......so you're well ahead of me.......I'm dependant on your chippies having a litter with some cinnamons in LOL!!!    I'm keeping my fingers crossed for both of us.

You'll have to post some piccys of your new aviary as soon as its finished - you're in Essex from memory aren't you?  If so whereabouts?