Baby surprise!

[Rara814]

So, last night as I am playing with my chins, I notice one of my females is pregnant. Now I had her with a male who had been thought to not be able to well ya know. So, anyway, I feel her belly last night, and told my boyfriend she was pregnant. He agreed, however, this is her 2 litter, and I thought she had months to go yet..Haha, tonight I go to the cages and there was little baby surprise. Now I am a little worried because Mommy was given a dust bath last night. AgainI thought she had months to go. Anyway, baby is doing great and so far so is Sandy.

 

[Dreamlite]

Unless the male is castrated he can make babies. Is either chin pedigreed? Chins can breed the day they give birth so make sure they are not caged together, now or ever again. You don't know what kind of issues they may carry geneticly.

 

[6Dusters]

Unless your male has been "fixed" he has the potential to produce offspring with any female he is exposed to.
He can also breed a female whose cage is too close to his. Or get a female pregnant if you put them out together for playtime.

This is a quote you made from October 2012,
QUOTE: So I was considering breeding my chins. But then I see all the time so many chins who need foster homes, chins being put to sleep because of over population, and so forth. So, I am now wanting to get my chins fixed, and run a true rescue.

I'm glad to hear your kit is healthy. However your going to take some severe "HEAT" for this post. Too many times we witness in our private lives or on the forum those who will breed OR start with one chinchilla and several months later have obtained a boatload of CR chins and suddenly they have too many to care for. Then the novelty wears off when the cute little furballs clean up times start to cut into their lifestyles. Or the person(s) find that the cost of keeping them becomes too great. For instance, it costs me about $50 a month to keep 15 in clean bedding and feed. Thats $600 a year.

I'm not passing judegment here. Your a big girl. However I want you to understand keeping more then a few chinchillas can sometimes be a royal pain. Yep, you read that right. I've missed out on an entire summer hand feeding a kit whose mother was without milk. I've held dying kits in my arms and felt helpless. I've watched a real sweetheart here slowly give up her life as I sat back and could do little but watch her pass away. Despite several visits to the vet who gave her little hope. Have some sort of savings plan because your going to need it. Emergency visits for chins can be affordable and severe. And most of the time the latter. My biggest fear breeding my chinchillas is the dreaded C-section. That should scare the life out of you financially.
I hope we don't find you as one of the people whom we call the "zero to hundred" people. They start off with one or two and in a few months they are loaded up with every chin they thought they could save.
Best wishes for your new mom and kit. And I hope these words of wisdom weigh heavy on your heart.

To answer your question about the birth and dusting. No, it won't hurt either.

 

[Rara814]

Ok, when I got Daddy, I got him from a breeder who was getting rid of him because he couldn't breed. So as I am trying to find him the best choice to date mate him with, I found it to be very difficult because he would not get along with any of them. The only one he was getting along with was the I had him housed with Sandy. I have so many chins because I love them and they needed homes. I don't know why I would get any heat for my post, I didn't breed them proposely. Again, I was told by the breeder he couldn't. And one of my big fears with chins is getting too many and not having time for them all. So I haven't gotten any more. I wanted to do fostering but when I contacted the rescue near me they said they were not in need of any foster homes at the moment. When it comes to my chins I know what I am doing, and I know how to care for them again the only reason I had this baby was because I truly did not know he could make them. Anyway, I am still excited about the baby. People can give me Crap about this if they want.

 

[Rara814]

Also, no they are not pedigreed I wasn't trying to breed them. And I do know what their genetics are. I do ask these things when I get my chins.

 

[clb]

Ok, when I got Daddy, I got him from a breeder who was getting rid of him because he couldn't breed. So as I am trying to find him the best choice to date mate him with, I found it to be very difficult because he would not get along with any of them. The only one he was getting along with was the I had him housed with Sandy. I have so many chins because I love them and they needed homes. I don't know why I would get any heat for my post, I didn't breed them proposely. Again, I was told by the breeder he couldn't. And one of my big fears with chins is getting too many and not having time for them all. So I haven't gotten any more. I wanted to do fostering but when I contacted the rescue near me they said they were not in need of any foster homes at the moment. When it comes to my chins I know what I am doing, and I know how to care for them again the only reason I had this baby was because I truly did not know he could make them. Anyway, I am still excited about the baby. People can give me Crap about this if they want.

Well for future reference a male Chin can go years without producing a kit then suddenly he does. I have heard a few times on this forum that sometimes all it takes is a change in environment to get a male or female to suddenly be able to produce kits.

Even after a male has been fixed he needs to stay away from females for a few weeks to prevent breeding until he truly shoots out blanks. I would recommend separating him from all females completely. This means not close to their cages nor playtime with them. He will even breed with his daughters and back breed with the mother so I hope he is not with the mother and kits right now. Also if he is with the mother and kits many times the mother will try to fight him off as she will not want to breed this can mean death of mother, father, and/or kits.

Is mother and kits in cage with small enough bar spacing? Also should be in small cage now without ledges, wheels, and chin houses as mother may accidentally squash her kits to death.

You will need to weigh the kits as well to make sure they are gaining weight consistently as they grow.

 

[Rara814]

Ok, again thanks for the advice, its not needed. No, I don't have him with them, or close to them. I was glad none the least that I have this new baby. He is the only baby I have. And as far as I know, daddy has no more kits. Again, I was happy I had the baby either way, and i wanted to share. I however did not know that about the change of environment thing. No, the wires are time in the cage I moved them to. (the baby and mommy) I know how to care for them, I was just surprised/proud of the new kit and wanted to share.

 

[EMSChins]

Now I am a little worried because Mommy was given a dust bath last night. AgainI thought she had months to go.

This in and of itself shows that you were looking for advice or at the least re-assurance. And since this statement indicates that you have not done even a little research, I highly doubt that you know all there is to know about breeding and raising kits.

Sorry but it does get a little tiresome when someone comes on here looking for advice or for pats on the back for having a kit/s and then when they are informed of the cold hard facts of breeding, they get all defensive!

 

[Rara814]

I'm not getting defensive. I have done research on them. For 2years before I even got one. When I said that about the dust its because in the research I've done, its has said moms cannot have a dust bath 2 weeks before and after birth. I was simply stating I was a little concerned about it. And really, informed of the cold truth, lady this isn't my first kit. I've just never breed them to sell, or anything of the sort. And I have not sold it gotten rid if one of my chins. So, how and why is it any of anyone's concern of how I use my time or money, if I wish to use it handling chins, then so be it. Yes, I know its hard work, yes I know its a lot of time, yes I knew all if that when I first got a chin. So, no I wasn't asking for advice. And if you have such a problem with others breeding WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN A BREEDING THREAD?! I have really had enough of this forum almost everyone of you are clueless and think your way is the only way. Well that's not it, not every chin is the same, just like not every human is the same. So, go on and keep thinking whatever you are I am done with this. None of you can apparently read right or more so comprehend what you read. It's irritating. I shouldn't have to explain myself and what I do with my time and money to any of you. Everyone of my chins are very well taken care if and very happy, if I want to have 100 chins, then so be it. As long as I am caring for them correctly. If I want to breed them so be it. So what was it you saw the other chick say I'm going to get heat for it, and since no one has you felt the need to. What a joke.

 

[Dreamlite]

If you want to start helping a local rescue you need to do a lot more research. If you don't understand the basics o where babies come from you shouldn't have oposite sex chins. How hard is it to understand male + female = kits! Anything not fixed can and will breed.you asked a breeding question and you want us to not point out what you could be doing better? We care, that's why we say and ask what we do. If you have done your research you understand the importance of useing properly bred chins. Why breed a chin that could pass on health problems? Even if you plan on keeping itwhy put yourself therough the heart ache when/if it gets malo or furchews or has a heart condition.

 

[Brittany]

I'm not getting defensive. I have done research on them. For 2years before I even got one. When I said that about the dust its because in the research I've done, its has said moms cannot have a dust bath 2 weeks before and after birth. I was simply stating I was a little concerned about it. And really, informed of the cold truth, lady this isn't my first kit. I've just never breed them to sell, or anything of the sort. And I have not sold it gotten rid if one of my chins. So, how and why is it any of anyone's concern of how I use my time or money, if I wish to use it handling chins, then so be it. Yes, I know its hard work, yes I know its a lot of time, yes I knew all if that when I first got a chin. So, no I wasn't asking for advice. And if you have such a problem with others breeding WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN A BREEDING THREAD?! I have really had enough of this forum almost everyone of you are clueless and think your way is the only way. Well that's not it, not every chin is the same, just like not every human is the same. So, go on and keep thinking whatever you are I am done with this. None of you can apparently read right or more so comprehend what you read. It's irritating. I shouldn't have to explain myself and what I do with my time and money to any of you. Everyone of my chins are very well taken care if and very happy, if I want to have 100 chins, then so be it. As long as I am caring for them correctly. If I want to breed them so be it. So what was it you saw the other chick say I'm going to get heat for it, and since no one has you felt the need to. What a joke.

If you have such a problem with hearing the TRUTH, and you think this forum is a joke, you should leave. It's no sweat off our backs. The only ones who will suffer will be your poor chins, and it will be due to your closed-mindedness. We'll go on taking care of our animals, and educating people who actually care about learning.

 

[Aridan]

The people on this forum love chinchillas, and there are passionate feelings that any kind of breeding of non-pedigreed chins, or chins with known issues, is a disservice to the animals and the people who end up caring for them. It does not better the species, which is the ideal that many breeders seek to achieve. Between that, and the many people who have had "surprise" kits because they "thought" their male could not breed, would not breed, or was fixed, you may see why this is a touchy subject. Ultimately, people are trying to help and educate each other.

 

[Pookinaround]

I hope that you would care enough about chins in general to stay and learn rather than get defensive, start cursing up a storm and then just leave because that is the easy thing to do... Being new it is almost as if you have to prove yourself in a way. Trust me I am there and have been going through it myself. But I will say that the choices that you make are a big part of it. Blowing up and leaving is a choice too which you are more than welcome to do but like I said if you choose to stay instead and try keeping an open mind and looking at the ways others do things you just might surprise yourself and others as well along with learning some things along the way.

Being that you got off on a wrong foot it isn't too late to change things. I know exactly what you were talking about the misinfo regarding the dustbath. That is just one example of how valuable a forum like this is...to really dig in a learn things. I hope that you reconsider and stay but please understand there are certain things that will never be accepted or condoned and if you choose to do them anyway you have to expect heat. If you ever want to talk about any chin issues I try my best to be honest without being judgemental.

 

[Rara814]

So, now I don't care about my animals or care about educating myself on them? Have you not read my post? I did research on then for YEARS before i got my first chin. I'm closed-minded now also. Huh, that's a first. Again, it really seems like no one can comprehend what they are reading?

 

[Pookinaround]

I WAS TRYING TO BE NICE TO YOU IS ALL!!!! Don't bite a hand that is trying to extend an olive branch... There you go getting defensive and blowing up when all I was trying to do was to diffuse the situation on the thread and give you a chance...I was being honest as I could be in what I felt was a polite way to try and turn this around for you.

 

[Rara814]

I didn't see your post until after I wrote that, I did however send you a PM. Before again I just read that.

 

[EMSChins]

Also, no they are not pedigreed I wasn't trying to breed them. And I do know what their genetics are. I do ask these things when I get my chins.

I am curious as to how you can know "what their genetics are" if they are not pedigreed? Without a pedigree it is impossible to know anything about them genetically and even sometimes with a pedigree you can only trace back so far.

I'm not getting defensive....And if you have such a problem with others breeding WHAT THE **** ARE YOU DOING IN A BREEDING THREAD?! ...None of you can apparently read right or more so comprehend what you read.

You are being quite defensive, I don't really think that point can be argued. If you could please re-read and "comprehend" what I wrote, I never actually said anything about your breeding or breeding practices. I have no issues with someone breeding chinchillas if it is done correctly. What I do take issue with is people who come on this forum, make a statement or ask for advice and when they don't get a ton of responses saying exactly what they want them to say - they get all DEFENSIVE!!!! It would be a whole lot easier to read and comprehend your posts if you proofed them to make sure that they actually made sense and are comprehensible before you post! Just one example:

No, the wires are time in the cage I moved them to. (the baby and mommy) I know how to care for them,

 

[Stackie]

Rara814, this is a family friendly forum and you need to watch your language, even if the forum automatically censors out the curse words. Any further derogatory posts from you will not be tolerated. If you don't like the advice given here (whether you want it or not- if people see something alarming, they will comment on it), then feel free to go elsewhere. It will be your animals that suffer as this forum is populated with countless knowledgeable breeders & owners. If you truly care about your animals you will take their advice into consideration. If I have to edit any more posts from you due to language or rudeness in general, you will be subject to disciplinary action up to being banned from the forum.

 

[Brittany]

So, last night as I am playing with my chins, I notice one of my females is pregnant. Now I had her with a male who had been thought to not be able to well ya know. So, anyway, I feel her belly last night, and told my boyfriend she was pregnant. He agreed, however, this is her 2 litter, and I thought she had months to go yet..Haha, tonight I go to the cages and there was little baby surprise. Now I am a little worried because Mommy was given a dust bath last night. AgainI thought she had months to go. Anyway, baby is doing great and so far so is Sandy.

If you had done thorough research from multiple credible sources you would have known that unless a male is neutered there is no 100% gurantee that he can't breed. Additionally you would know that it's fine for a mom to have a dust bath around the time of littering.

Ok, when I got Daddy, I got him from a breeder who was getting rid of him because he couldn't breed. So as I am trying to find him the best choice to date mate him with, I found it to be very difficult because he would not get along with any of them. The only one he was getting along with was the I had him housed with Sandy. I have so many chins because I love them and they needed homes. I don't know why I would get any heat for my post, I didn't breed them proposely. Again, I was told by the breeder he couldn't. And one of my big fears with chins is getting too many and not having time for them all. So I haven't gotten any more. I wanted to do fostering but when I contacted the rescue near me they said they were not in need of any foster homes at the moment. When it comes to my chins I know what I am doing, and I know how to care for them again the only reason I had this baby was because I truly did not know he could make them. Anyway, I am still excited about the baby. People can give me Crap about this if they want.

You weren't trying to breed them, yet you were "trying to find him the best choice to date mate him with."?!?!? So YES, you atleast knew it was a possibility.

I'm not getting defensive. I have done research on them. For 2years before I even got one. When I said that about the dust its because in the research I've done, its has said moms cannot have a dust bath 2 weeks before and after birth. I was simply stating I was a little concerned about it. And really, informed of the cold truth, lady this isn't my first kit. I've just never breed them to sell, or anything of the sort. And I have not sold it gotten rid if one of my chins. So, how and why is it any of anyone's concern of how I use my time or money, if I wish to use it handling chins, then so be it. Yes, I know its hard work, yes I know its a lot of time, yes I knew all if that when I first got a chin. So, no I wasn't asking for advice. And if you have such a problem with others breeding WHAT THE **** ARE YOU DOING IN A BREEDING THREAD?! I have really had enough of this forum almost everyone of you are clueless and think your way is the only way. Well that's not it, not every chin is the same, just like not every human is the same. So, go on and keep thinking whatever you are I am done with this ****. None of you can apparently read right or more so comprehend what you read. It's irritating. I shouldn't have to explain myself and what I do with my time and money to any of you. Everyone of my chins are very well taken care if and very happy, if I want to have 100 chins, then so be it. As long as I am caring for them correctly. If I want to breed them so be it. So what was it you saw the other chick say I'm going to get heat for it, and since no one has you felt the need to. What a joke. **** this place. Lol.

When you come on here making posts we are not going to let it go without pointing out some of the GLARING issues we see with your breeding practices. First of all we want to educate you for the better of YOUR animals. Second we don't want someone who is new to chins to come across this post and think that the breeding practices described are ok. That's how misinformation gets spread, and that's how people like yourself end up in these situations where you THINK you know what you're doing, but somewhere along the line you've gotten the wrong information, and taken it for the truth.

So, now I don't care about my animals or care about educating myself on them? Have you not read my post? I did research on then for YEARS before i got my first chin. I'm closed-minded now also. Huh, that's a first. Again, it really seems like no one can comprehend what they are reading?

If you are SO convinced that the misinformation you've read is the truth, and you are not willing to listen, then YES are being closed minded. I'm sorry if this comes across as harsh, but this is from a person who has never bred, and still has to deal with the issues of breeding chins of unknown background. I have spent $1000's on two of my pets who have genetic related issues. I don't want you, or anyone else to have to suffer through what I've experienced.

 

[clb]

Ok, again thanks for the advice, its not needed. No, I don't have him with them, or close to them. I was glad none the least that I have this new baby. He is the only baby I have. And as far as I know, daddy has no more kits. Again, I was happy I had the baby either way, and i wanted to share. I however did not know that about the change of environment thing. No, the wires are time in the cage I moved them to. (the baby and mommy) I know how to care for them, I was just surprised/proud of the new kit and wanted to share.

I wasn't implying you don't know hot to care for your chins simply giving you information. Most people who have surprise kits know very Little about how to take care of the kits and/or mother after birth. Most of those cases usually involve getting two "females" at a pet store only to find out later one is a male.

Oh yes environmental change can change everything from personality to breeding. I would never believe a breeder who tells you a male or female chin can not breed without at least checking with a vet first to see if he/she is fixed. Most likely he/she (especially a female) is not fixed.

How much did the kit weigh at birth? Bar spacing has to be 1/2 inch I believe for kits, I don't know what you mean by "tiny." What is there genetic background? Knowing that can help with vets later on.