Retirement Age

[tknoir]

Okies everyone..I need your help with an argument. A women who I had bought a chinchilla from several years ago (before I knew better than to buy from someone breeding pet store chins..idiot me..) called out of the blue and asked if she could use one of my males to breed the same standard chinchilla that had mothered my oldest chin. This standard was already 7 years old when she had the litter I bought from..this was 5 years ago.

I told the woman that I didn't think she should be breeding that chinchilla at 12 yrs old....needless to say this started an argument and she claimed she never read anything saying that chinchillas could not be bred into their late years, that it was safe even up to 18 years. :hair:

So please help..leave posts so that maybe this crazy woman will wake up before she hurts this chin further. She refuses to answer my calls or messages but she visits this site regularly. I won't get my hopes up but I do hope this will help her.

 

[Whimsy]

Hmmm, that does seem to be quite a stressor to put on an older chin. However, with that being said, no one has a right to dictate another person's decisions. In this case, the decision to let her use your male is completely up to you. If her ethical standards to not match yours, you do not have to accommodate her. That simple.

 

[Spoof]

Having a gap in breeding at that age can create complications for many species. In the end though, Whimsy is right. )

 

[tunes]

A 12-year-old female who has been in active breeding is one thing, but as Tara said, that long of a gap could be a serious problem for her female.

The bottom line for me would be - No, I don't breed rescues and I think people who do are morons.

Let's not even get into the whole needing to quarantine, having your chin be gone from you for however long it would take, the possibility of fighting between strange chins, etc., etc.

 

[lauralynne]

Not to mention they're pet store chins? :rolleyes2:

 

[Claire D]

This whole thing is a can of worms! Steer well clear.

 

[tknoir]

Yes..well I found out about her chins being pet store chins about 8 months after I bought my first one. Luckily I had no plans on breeding her anyway. Which is really sad because she is the biggest sweetie!

I realize I should have mentioned this in the first post, but I had asked her how often she bred the female. She told me at least 3 times a year if possible, and she has done this since the chin was old enough to breed. She wanted to mix in some new lines since the girl won't take any of the males she already owns anymore. That is why I didn't think she should be breeding the chin at this age..the poor thing has be preggers for most of her life and I do NOT support constant breed back.

An just for note..the argument was actually more about why I wouldn't let her use my male, the age/breed back was just a second part of it.

Maybe I should change this into a "DON'T breed pet store chins!" thread.

 

[tunes]

If she's not taking any more of the males (not exactly sure what that means?) then she's done. When my girls are done, they are just done. They won't get pregnant anymore, then they get to either stay with their mate (especially if they have been together a really long time) or one of their offspring and be retired.

 

[tknoir]

The way she made it sound it seems like the girl hasn't let any males near her for a few months, and hasn't produced a litter in about 6..so I am assuming that she's done with it all. I'm thinking of offering to buy the girl so that she doesn't keep trying to force mates on her.

 

[starleomach]

You can't control what she does with the female,but you can just say no I will not loan you a male. Aside from the fact that perhaps she should not be breeding the female there are sooo many things that could go wrong if you loaned her a male

Just one case would be what if your male got hurt or killed? what then?

As to retirement age, females should be retired when they are either no longer produces the quality of babies you need or if they have a hard time littering, caring for or bouncing back after having a litter. A healthy breedable female should not look worn after a litter.

As to age I just this summer retired a 17 year old female...I also retired a 6 year old. It all depends on the situation

 

[GliderChillaLove]

I would NOT let her use your chin, this female obviously doesn't want to be bred any longer. Like the others said, there are too many 'what ifs?' that could happen while she has your male.
with the breeding age I feel it all depends on the chin, there is not set age.