Babies on the way

[momenteller]

My question was why are you breeding those particular chins? Do they have some sort of qualities that compliment each other? If you would like to get to know breeders on this forum, I think you should have some sort of goal in mind for what you are hoping to produce, so they can possibly help you reach this goal. If you can't answer these questions, it appears that you just placed two chins in a cage because one was male and one was female. And I think that is what some take issue with. Not that you want to breed, but that you don't want to breed well.

 

[addictedtochins]

The female is 2 and the male is 1 year 4 mo. She weighs 690g. He weighs 780g.

Isn't she a little small to breed, esp when the male is bigger. Have you done the thumb test to make sure her pelvis is large enough. Why don't you post some pics of them. FYI Winkfox, now that you have paired up two chins you are now a chin breeder.

 

[Tennyson]

It's good to say you have read about stuff, and I know it's hard to start this thread very excited about everything and then get hounded on so hard, but it sounds like you really want to do things right-so why waste all your hard work and research by starting off down the wrong path?

Here are some simple ways to raise your value as a breeder in our eyes: separate your pair now. Then hit the Michigan show on Saturday (I know thats short call lol, just an example-find a show that works for you) and get your chins and their pedigrees evaluated by judges and other breeders. Then buy the highest quality pair of standards you can find, and spend awhile working with those standards. And if ebonies and whites turn out to be your passion, you can move into them with your already awesome pair

It may seem we are all just trying to tear you down, but really we just want what is best for your chins and their offspring! If you really have all the experience and knowledge in animal care it sounds like you have, you might be a valuable asset to the chin community, just don't waste it by rushing in too fast.

 

[chinsNdobermans]

And keep in mind, although all of the different colors are fun, standards have their own fantastic beauty and without them, chinchillas would be nothing!

 

[RDZCRanch]

"Every breeder starts somewhere" seems to have become the mantra to breed animals from any joe schmoe that can stick some males and females together. Honestly, yes, every breeder starts somewhere. You start getting hounded on when you're given great advice on how we ALL wish we had started and you just do it your way because you feel you're ready to start.

I don't know Mary and I've never heard of her. I highly doubt she breeds high quality animals with great show potential and stellar lines. Every great once in a while it can happen, but 99% of the time you get poor quality animals from backyard breeders. A backyard breeder is anyone that produces "healthy" animals for "fun" and doesn't attend shows or care about producing quality.

What colors do you hope to achieve? What qualities do you think each of the chinchillas' has that compliment each other? Reading is great, but it's just that, reading. You CANNOT get a good idea of what the show terms mean until someone physically shows you these attributes on a chinchilla. It's just not possible to understand good vs. bad density through a book or article and you sure as heck will have a hard time understanding clarity and blue.

The advice we give to ALL new breeders is to attend a show first and foremost. This is not a huge, horrible, painful thing we ask people starting out to do. A show really helps you understand quality and often times helps new breeders choose a direction for their breeding program. Location is no excuse not to attend a show...I'm a poor college student and I have driven over 20hrs to get to a show and I've been going to shows since I was 15. Where there is a will, there is a way. Next, you should buy your animals from a quality breeder. By quality breeder we mean someone that actually breeds for quality and attends shows regularly. It doesn't have to be someone that is a member of this board, but it should be someone we have at least heard of since the chinchilla community is not that large these days and we know the quality breeders.

 

[harleycowgirl22]

i highly agree with Tabitha i have owned chinchillas for over 20 years and not that long ago realized there were shows and a whole chinchilla world out there. since then i have really learned what a good quality animal is and been to several shows. when i first found this site i was on it for weeks on end and read everything i could find. admired everyone else's baby pictures and stories. before i went to my first show i was familiar with a grading scale and what the judge's terminology was and what they meant. it all made sense to me and i thought well that cant be that difficult....boy was i wrong now that i have seen these things explained to me and pointed out i can see things in the animals now, but even i being around chins for so long and spending so much time reading etc am still learning to see certain things on the various colors. point is things take time, experience is necessary and this is a long term thing not a short term thing.i hope you take the time to talk and get to know individuals and breeders on this site and the shows are nothing scary everyone is very friendly, willing to answer lots of questions, show you things, demonstrate other things and they welcome people with open arms. everyone wants to see the chinchillas continue to improve and the only way that is going to happen is if they pass what they know on and help others. good luck and please be open minded and optimistic.

 

[viciousalice]

I am interested to know what "breeder" you got your chinchillas from. I have been doing tons of research on breeders trying to find one who is close to mentor my room mate and I. She really wants to get into breeding and we both want her to go about it the right way. I know there is no breeder in St. Louis who sells pedigreed animals as I live here and would know. I am just afraid that if you have done so much research you would know that getting the proper quality animals would mean that they have to have linage, or a pedigree. If you don't know this or wish to ignore it, it scares me to think you'll ignore important health concerns tied to breeding and your animals will either suffer or die...

 

[Andrea]

I hope you are prepared to keep the kits if no one wants to buy them. Have the parents been shown? Are the lines healthy? Why are you breeding an ebony to a pink white? You should not have just taken any old pair and started breeding them "just because." There is a lot of saturation with chinchilla breeding right now. Good luck though, I hope you have healthy kits and mom does not have difficulties. Please line up a vet just in case.