Extra Dark Ebony Chinchillas - reproduction age?

[Chinzilla]

Hello forum,

Quick question for you. I have an 11 month old extra dark ebony named Oliver, who I am planning on breeding in the future. Now, personally, I'd like him to be a little over a year before I introduced a mate, so he could fully develop.

However...

I have learned something very interesting about EDE chinchillas in that, they do not reach their full potentional for breeding, until about a year and half/two years old.

I was wondering if this statement was true? Can he not breed at all before that age frame or is that when he would be more likely to succeed? Or is it a myth all together?

Thanks!

 

[Godins Chinchillas]

Personally, IMO, I like to get them in by the time they are 9-10 mos old. The older they are the harder it is getting them going. This applies more towards females. Lately I am finding the chins I held back for show and are over a year of age are just sitting in my chin room doing nothing but getting fat.

 

[saphire]

I like to wait till they are 1 year old done before putting my animals into breeding.

I like my animals to be fully grown. That goes for the standards. As for my recessives Sapphires, Blue Diamond, Recessive Whites, Violets I will wait longer since it takes them a little more time to reach their full size.

That is my preference.

 

[halfstache]

I had always heard it best to wait for females until around 10-11 months so that their bodies were basically at their full size, and males could be bred as early as 5 months because they are not responsible for passing a kit. I'm sure every breeder has their own take on what age is best.

 

[Dreamlite]

I usually wait till they are between the ages 8 months and a year old. If you don't reach a good size by then they are too slow of a grower to be usable in my herd. I've had ebonys have growth spurts at a year and a half but they were already good sized.

 

[chechinchillas]

I go by how quickly they get their size, but usually about 8 mos to 1 year. I have noticed that my ebs sometimes continue to grow until about age 1 1/2 to 2 years

 

[Encantadora]

Males are usually started early. And since they don't carry the babies, you can be safe.

 

[Spoof]

In some cases I start my males as soon as I think they've hit puberty. Some of my old, extremely cranky females are far easier to pair up with a four month old male. Normally a male will not become fertile until 6-10 months of age. Some earlier, some later.

As far as I can tell, unless you have a huge run of females and he exhausts himself, a male will reach the same size regardless of wether or not you put him in breeding at four months or two years.

Most often you want to hold them for a year to determine quality and/or show them. I do this with some but I also have lines that have proven themselves over so many generations I use them regardless.

Sometimes if you let them get too old (2+ years) they don't know what to do with it and are useless. Sometimes if they are too young and get frightened by the female they are useless. This is where you need to know your herd and temperaments.

Regarding the extra dark ebonies maturing slowly, it has little to do with color and a lot to do with the lineage. I check pelvis size, not animal size at a year to determine wether or not a female should go into breeding. With some of my lines it is not unusual to have a 650-700g female at a year become a 1,000g female at three years after four or five litters. They just grow really slow.