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winknfox

"Loving my chinchillas"
Joined
Oct 20, 2010
Messages
107
Location
Centralia,IL
I bought a pair of chins about two weeks ago from a breeder in St. Louis. She was able to give me health history and I saw the parents of the female and pics of the male's parents, so I felt confident in getting them. My male is and ebony, Sammy, and my female is a pink white named Squishy. I had her to get them introduced before I brought them home so that they could be together. They did great and are definitely getting along... I found a mating plug...so I'm marking the calendar for April. I didn't expect it would be so soon. I just thought I'd share my news. :)

P.S.
When should I move her to a baby safe cage? Anything that I should have on hand for the birth, in case of emergency(this is my first chinny pregancy)?
 
winknfox said:
P.S.
When should I move her to a baby safe cage? Anything that I should have on hand for the birth, in case of emergency(this is my first chinny pregancy)?
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You really should have known the answers to those questions before feeling confident in getting your pair.

What happened to this post from 10/22/10:
winknfox said:
Thank you all very much for your input. After reading all this and reading RDZC Ranch's page on breeding(which is very informative), I have decided to get a female or two that are babies and give them and myself a year or two to get educated on everything...so now I will be on the lookout for a breeder in IL. I have seen a few posted on here that I am going to check out.
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Sigh...

Here's a link to the FAQs: http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=864
 
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I feel I am ready for this after tons of research. I am used to taking care of animals and dealing with birth. I am a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. I have nursed squirrels, raccoons, kittens and puppies from as young as a few days old. I understand the risks and what comes with breeding. I feel asking questions is a good thing even if you have read everything that you could find. Knowledge from someone who has gone through it always helps. It is my first time with breeding chinchillas, but not my first time dealing with animals and birth. I understand your concern, but my chinchillas are well cared for and I will give them anything that they might need.
 
I don't breed, but want to some day. I have become good friends with a small breeder who I got one of my babies from. I ask her a million questions, so I only know what I have learned from her. She moves her moms to the maternity/baby cage the last couple weeks of pregnancy. When they're getting big and sleeping lots, she moves them over to the baby cages so they can get lots of rest.
 
My question is a good legitimate question which I ask myself anytime I choose my matings. Kate put forth a good question too which is along the same lines. If you don't care about the kits you produce, then I guess you don't need to answer them as it seems you have chosen to just ignore.

It just worries me when new breeders pop up and don't even have mentors or quality breeding stock or animals which compliment each other... they jump into breeding, get over their heads and then ask questions/seek help. The research (attending shows, talking to reputable breeders, learning about quality, etc.) should be done beforehand.
 
Why do you want to breed? If you are a rehabilitator why not rescue chins instead? That seems to make more sense in this climate when the rescues are overflowing with chinchillas.
 
I actually would be fine with rescueing chins, but from what I hear and read, you have to go through quite a bit to be considered a rescue. I believe that you can actually be arrested if you claim to be a rescue without the proper steps being taken first. I wouldn't even know where to start with that. Also, I do want to breed some to get into showing. The chins I bought came from a woman that I have been talking to for a few months. I trust her. Her chins are well taken care of and all healthy. I also used the knowledge that I learned from MCBA newsletters to help in checking for good health as well, although I know that doesn't mean malloclusion or other issues won't arise. Is it not a quality chin because I didn't buy froma breeder on here? I don't choose to ignore as much as let it go, because I feel as if anything I say will just be attacked. I know that I am not an expert, but we all have to start somewhere.
 
You don't have to go through anything to be a rescue unless you want to be 501(c)3 certified.

I'm just curious, who is the breeder that you got your breeding chins from and is mentoring you? I haven't heard of many breeders around the IN/IL area, so I'd like to know if there are more around I don't know about.
 
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As far as the rescue goes, I read a post online somewhere stating that you could actually be arrested for claiming to have a rescue. Would you happen to know who I could talk to just to be sure...maybe the Dept. of Natural Resources? Thats where I had to get my rehabilitator's license through. I love the idea of rescuing chins, but its a big step and one that I definitely have to research before doing...and of course find a mentor that rescues...there is a rescue in St. Louis, MO. Has anyone heard of it? Maybe she could give me some pointers.

As for the woman that I got my chins from...Her name is Mary. She's a very sweet older lady. She doesn't breed often though. She owns around 12 chinchillas of her own that she keeps, so definitely not large scale. She loves her babies though and is very picky on where they go. She doesn't consider herself a "breeder" since she doesn't breed more than maybe once a year, so not really a business, its more of a hobby for her I think. What I thought was good about this is the fact that she knows all of her chins and their health issues, quirks etc.
 
winknfox said:
As far as the rescue goes, I read a post online somewhere stating that you could actually be arrested for claiming to have a rescue. Would you happen to know who I could talk to just to be sure...maybe the Dept. of Natural Resources? Thats where I had to get my rehabilitator's license through. I love the idea of rescuing chins, but its a big step and one that I definitely have to research before doing...and of course find a mentor that rescues...there is a rescue in St. Louis, MO. Has anyone heard of it? Maybe she could give me some pointers.

As for the woman that I got my chins from...Her name is Mary. She's a very sweet older lady. She doesn't breed often though. She owns around 12 chinchillas of her own that she keeps, so definitely not large scale. She loves her babies though and is very picky on where they go. She doesn't consider herself a "breeder" since she doesn't breed more than maybe once a year, so not really a business, its more of a hobby for her I think. What I thought was good about this is the fact that she knows all of her chins and their health issues, quirks etc.
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That is one of my biggest pet peeves. If you are pairing animals to produce offspring, you are a breeder. End of story. Good dog breeders only produce one litter a year routinely - they're still breeders. Heck, I'm still a breeder even though I had a grand total of 5 babies born last year. My chinchilla breeding is a hobby too - I have never made a darn cent off of it. I'm still a breeder.

This is in no way a vent against you, just a vent against this whole "they don't consider themselves a breeder" mentality.
 
Well, what I mean by this, is she isn't out to make a profit from her chins. I still consider her a breeder, since she does breed even if its not often. I understand what you are saying though.

On another subject of asking questions that may have been posted before, I just felt that by me asking questions, it helps to get to know others. I want those who don't agree with my choices to give me a chance and let me prove that I can do it instead of critcizing. I don't plan on breeding in large numbers. I am wanting to show chinchillas. I recently joined MCBA for that reason. I learn something new everyday and am glad to have this forum. I just wish that the members could be more patient and understand that I'm not trying to offend. I think its a good thing that I ask questions...it shows that I care. I don't claim to know everything, but I'm sure some of the best breeders on here didn't know much when they started either.
 
Wink, I think you'll find that 98% of the breeders on this site aren't out to "make a profit". I can only think of ONE breeder who frequents this forum that may turn some sort of a profit on his chins.
 
I think their is some confusion as to what "breeding quality" means-not just in this particular thread but in all threads by new breeders like this: someone asks, "are they quality chins?" and the breeder says "they seem very healthy and have always been taken good care of." This is not what we want to know-we want info on fur strength, clarity, veiling, size, density...and that's how we know you are not ready to breed these chins, because you don't even know what these words mean or how to determine their existence in a chin. It is not about health-even the poorest quality chins can be extremely healthy and well taken care of-doesn't mean they should procreate.

Of course it is too late in your case because your female is likely already pregnant. But you would do well to get this pair evaluated at a show before you let them at it again (assuming you even have pedigrees) and if they are not stellar quality, invest in some that are. And know what "quality" is in a chin before you make more of them.
 
I have read up quite a bit on fur quality, mostly through the MCBA letters. They describe what certain terms mean that judges use at shows and how they determine if their fur is of good quality. Regardless of what others may think, I have spent more time learning about chinchillas, their fur, their health, breeding,etc. then you can imagine. Reading just isn't the same as firsthand experience though.
 
That's why it's good to research and ask questions, attend shows, visit experienced breeders, etc. before you begin breeding... many newbies who start breeding end up realizing a year or so later that they would have been better off if they started with good quality animals (standards especially!) and taken the advice from the experienced breeders. Then they have to obtain all new breeding animals if they want to achieve their goal of breeding quality animals and many have huge "herd reductions" or culls to sell off all those poorer quality animals they produced.

I'm glad I took Gary Neubauer and Ellis Adcock's advice at my first show of not getting tied up with a bunch of colors and focusing on breeding standards. I only bred beige and standards for the first five years, got the hang of that, learned the traits of my lines and what my animals throw, and produced competitive standards and beige. I only just recently added other mutation colors (whites and BV) to my herd.

There's a right way of starting out as a breeder... and a wrong way which will end up being a bumpy road. If you start out the wrong way, you will just be kicking yourself down the road when you realize the only thing you did is add a lot more pet quality animals to the population.
 
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