Chinchilla kits on the whole are very endearing - fluffy, precocious, and full of beans. Some are more “beanified” than others.

Leila’s kits are a hoot! Grenville and Griselda were cheeky from the moment they were born - the triplets are exactly the same. Within 24 hours they were climbing the bars and flinging themselves off backwards with gay abandon. Within 3 days they were mouthing pellets and Readigrass. Within a week they had begun dragging the toys about in the cage. Tonight they’ve been climbing up the humans and attempting to mountaineer up the sofa.

The third kit fostered with Bella is a mini version of her bigger siblings - she is a little quieter but that did not stop her from clambering all over Talie and attempting to disappear between the sofa cushions. She also spent a good few minutes “peeping” at Talie and then Bella’s little male (who was clambering gingerly over me at the time) joined in the communication noises. They sat and “peeped” at each other for ages, even when they were touching noses and then the female decided to use the poor male as a springboard.

All of the kits are gaining weight nicely and are pinging about like small, furry, “pop-up” toys. You know, the kind you had when you were a kid that had a plastic top and a spring - like the “monsters” on the credit card advert? You push the top down until it sticks to the base and then it jumps up after a few seconds ……….. Anyway, one minute the kits are quietly sleeping and the next they are popcorn hopping like crazy. Very sweet and hilarious to watch. Both Bella and Leila are beginning to look a little haggard - I will probably give them a bit of a break over the weekend - away from their little charges if only for a few moment’s peace.

It’s the first Southern Region NCS (National Chinchilla Society) show on Sunday at Markyate and although I don’t have any chins to show I have to attend - partly because I’m Vice Chairman and the venue is only 20 minutes from home but also because I have the show lights and printer which are needed to run the show. I also buy and prepare the provisions for the kitchen.

Consequently, Talie and I were mooching around Costco after work to get everything we need - baking potatoes, ketchup, bacon and rolls for the breakfast bacon butties (compulsory fodder when you’ve hauled yourself out of bed on a cold, grey Sunday morning in winter). The trolley was full - I just hope enough people pitch up or Talie and I will be eating bacon rolls and baked potatoes with spag bol for the next 6 months!

Someone in the chin room has the squeaks this evening - not sure who is alarm calling but they are going at it in a very serious way. Something has definitely upset the apple cart. If they don’t stop soon I’m going in there to have words - anyone who keeps chins will know the outcome of this: The culprit will instantly stop squeaking as soon as the light goes on and I enter the room and every single small, furry face will peer at me innocently. Once I leave the chin room the alarm calling will re-commence at a faster, higher pitch than before and I will be forced to go back in the room and stare at each chin in turn - I’m not sure why I think the Paddington Hard Stare technique will work on the chins - it’s doomed to failure. I’d be better off just admitting defeat and going to bed.

Oh and by the way, the chin room still has a minty fresh aroma to it

Bio-Air. Wonderful stuff, Bio-Air. It’s a very powerful and effective essential oil based air freshener. It contains eucalyptus, peppermint, camphor, and menthol. Used very sparingly after cleaning out the chin room it fills the room with a minty aroma for hours. It’s also good for putting under the cage of any chins with respiratory infections or colds (just a tiny drop on the newspaper but only if the chins cannot reach it) to aid with breathing and clear the nasal passages etc.

Sounds like a sales pitch doesn’t it? I don’t mean it to but this stuff is great - Debbie recommended it some time last year and now I use it at least once a week to make the chin room smell clean and fresh. It’s powerful and it lasts for ages - and the chins seem to like it.

So …….. on to the story. I keep the trigger spray down by the sink in the kitchen (it’s also good for eliminating cooking smells like bacon) but somehow the bottle was balanced on a bottle of fabric softener. When I came home on Monday I could smell the tell-tale peppermint aroma but could not initially work out where it was coming from. Talie and I were blaming each other for using it but neither of us did. Odd. Definitely odd - because we could both smell it. Panic! Had I left it in the chins’ room and it had been knocked over? Use too much of the stuff and it makes your eyes water for a while - I know this because I used it in the car once a little over-enthusiastically - and needed to drive around for 3 days with the windows down!

The smell seemed to be coming from the kitchen (we deduced this by sniffing loudly - very scientific) and I suddenly saw the bottom of the bottle - it was upside down. Now this stuff is not cheap and I was about to start bemoaning my financial loss (it’s expensive to buy but lasts for ages - unless you spill it!) when I realised that the contents of the bottle were now soaked into an old piece of towel which I used for the chins. Oh well, it must be useful as an air freshener in it’s own right now - a bit like the fabric wicks you find in those liquid air fresheners. I deposited the cloth in the chin room by the air purifier and immediately the room was filled with the scent of menthol, camphor, peppermint, and eucalyptus. It took me ages to wash the minty smell from my hands too.

Its now 2 days later and the chins still have a “hint of minty freshness”. It’s wonderful. I wonder how long it will last?

The kits are beginning to popcorn hop like little furry fleas. I love it when they do that. They are all gaining weight, even the smallest female, and Leila’s big kits are begining to mimic their mother by tasting pellets and hay. One of them was looking particulalry smug earlier with a tiny piece of shredded wheat in his/her mouth.

Apart from waking up and seeing the little kits in with Bella bickering, all is quiet. When I left for work this morning there were kits on each side of both mothers, contentedly suckling.

Fingers crossed it remains that way and they all start gaining weight.

Ah yes, Leila has certainly produced 3 mini Grenville and Griseldas. Precocious, mischievous, bickering, monsters!

Poor little runt female has been having a hard time trying to feed. The two larger kits scuffle with her, especially the other female and so she has not been getting much in the way of feeds. Leila is still trying to separate them when they fight but she is having difficulty. I have been keeping a close eye on when all and, whilst no damage is being done, the little one is getting tired. She has not re-gained her birth weight yet. I separated the bigger female out for a while earlier today and the male and the runt got on either side of Leila and settled down immediately. It was only when I tried to re-introduce the bigger female that things deteriorated again.

Bella’s little kit is continuing to gain weight. Bella continues to be very protective and I have always doubted she would take on another kit (I have tried it before and failed) - but she has surprised me today. I took the runt away from Leila because she is going to get hurt or fail to feed and starve - the other two get along fine, one on either side of Leila and no bickering (famous last words, eh?).

Cautiously I handed the runt to Bella and she sniffed her all over, gave her bottom a quick wash, and then tucked her underneath her belly. The kit was a little bewildered at first and was wandering about but Bella simply followed, groomed her gently and then tucked her up again. Both “Shorty” and the runt have met, sniffed noses, and ignored each other. On the baby monitor I can currently see Bella in the “feeding kit” position, with both kits plugged in to each sde of her - so far so good!

All is quiet in the chin room.

Oh and, as predicted yesterday, Leila’s groomed all the marking off the kits’ ears!!