Breeding With Temperament In Mind?

[Vyxxin]

Do not confuse this with breeding FOR temperament. I was wondering (not sure it's been discussed on this specific question) how many of you will remove animals from breeding for exceptionally bad temperaments? You know what I'm talking about, the female you HAVE to put in the bottom run just so you don't get your face peed on every time you pass by...the male that you constantly have to be mindful of because he'll literally lung out of his hole like a fricken wolverine to try and take a finger off...THOSE types. I only breed 2nd place or better chins and if they took a 2nd they have to have a "saving grace" physically to be placed in breeding. All my breeders are pedigreed. I do not re-breed females that had birthing problems or problems caring for their normal sized litter...BUT...at some point in breeding I just decided that I'd rather replace (when at all possible) any foul tempered animal as soon as possible (usually with a same sex offspring). I'm at the point where I'm seriously considering getting rid of a few...with no replacement around...just to have a more even tempered herd as some of the animals I've acquired in the past year aren't animals I enjoy "dealing" with on a daily basis. Thoughts? Practices? I'm not saying to only breed friendly animals, or that I do. I'm not saying to breed a shoddy animal just because they're friendly as that is the LAST consideration I make...but for me, it IS a consideration. At this point, with probably 1/4 of my breeders being less than friendly (differing degrees) it's starting to be a hassle. These two need netted (they'll bite) this one is an avid sprayer, watch your hand in that cage because she's tempermental (moderate most days, take finger off if pregnant)?

 

[CTChin]

I think the right answer would be to replace them if they are making you not enjoy your hobby. They might do better with someone else (?) I have a chinchilla here that I received free because he was so nasty to the breeder and he is sweet as pie to me lol

 

[Snickers]

I have one female that I call queeny of all my chins she complains and sprays. She had 4 litters so far. Her babies all have nice temperaments must take after their dad. Her babies have done well at shows. Her and her 2 daughters are in breeding with a Dark Star Standard male I picked up at the CA show. I will never give her up for anything in the world.

 

[Spoof]

I think the right answer would be to replace them if they are making you not enjoy your hobby.

This.

It's the truth, wish I had acted on it sooner. I brought in some new blood two years ago that I have not been able to breed out temperament wise, big mistake. For some it is no big deal but I require chins that I can reach in and they will lay on my hand and cuddle with no previous handling. Calm, curious, and born that way. They do exist. I am completely restructuring/rebuilding my herd because of it and the fact that I will be gone a lot this spring. I figure when the babies I am keeping are ready for breeding in the fall, I'll be ready for babies again. )

 

[Snickers]

For temperament can it also be how much you handle your chins? I purchased 3 chins at the CA State show and they are all friendly now. I do spend a lot of time with my chins.

 

[Vyxxin]

Well, I DO spend a lot of time with my chins...breeders included which is where the problems come in. I too like chins that I can be sweet with. I scritch them, I hold them...I like being able to check for pregnancy without pulling my hand away missing digits Just wanted other breeders to weigh in. I've kept some chins that are less than desireable personality wise...but it's becoming an issue as I've done it more than once...or twice...and now the "meanies" are starting to add up.

 

[Spoof]

For temperament can it also be how much you handle your chins?

You can teach any chinchilla to accept you, even the nastiest of wenches. I rehab a lot of learned-aggression rescues and they eventually come around.

I was talking about inherent temperament. I train every chin I have here to be ok with my hand and to let me scoop them up, some have taken me several years to bring around and that is where I got in trouble. I have a couple I don't care to handle their babies from the day they are born. They're bolting all over, trying to jump out of your hand, struggling, biting, crying. Sure, I handle them and they come around but I have other lines I could literally never touch, just walk in and they come right up to crawl out on my arm and see what I'm up to. No fear, no crying. I have sent the chins out of those lines to new homes for over a decade and never had a call. With this other line I can guarantee I will get panicked calls the first night I send them home even though I tell them they will cry. Nothing I do seems to be able to help them adjust to a new home any easier and they cry for days. They also take a good deal longer to warm up to a new family, sometimes as long as two months.

My tan white line just moves in the first day and owns the place. Confident and friendly as can be. They can also learn names and tricks. Even after two years of work the main female from that other line will not accept food while I am there to learn tricks. I have to make sure I really grill the families that take this other line because they're really only eye candy. They aren't capable of learning, they don't adjust to changes well and they spend the day hiding if a stranger comes in.

The point of no return was when I crossed the two lines this last generation, a total of three from the original animal, and the babies came out extremely unpleasant. Not even my awesome tan white line could change that temperament.

I'm to the point where I prefer to have an entire herd of the friendly curious types. Even if they don't show as well it makes it so much easier on me. )

 

[6Dusters]

I had one breeding female that was a spaz. ( not born here ) While she did not bite nor spray, I could never get her to calm down. If you reached into her cage she would bolt.
I bred her to a male who I had never used. He was very bold and she was very bossy to him. I used two different cages for each birth. The first cage she scared me with her spazzing when I would approach the cage. Jumping around made me fearful she was going to crush a kit. I moved her into a smaller cage with the second birth and the same result. Racing around/climbing walls and jumped off the cage wall. And that cage was not much bigger then a breeding run hole.

Offspring displayed a mixture of her racy behavior. I decided not to use any of these animals. I culled both the male and female breeding pair.

In my case two high strung animals produced un-desirable traits.

 

[RDZCRanch]

I don't consider temperament. The only thing that's a deal breaker that would have me rehoming a chin is a strong and nasty biter. Even my most aggressive chinchillas will let you scratch them or bop their noses without biting or nipping.

 

[Cuddlebug]

Most of my breeders are sweethearts. I do have one female that no matter what I do,she will always spray me. That is, unless she has babies. Then, she is a lover. Her kits all have had wonderful personalities. I would not get rid of her for anything.

 

[threewingedfury]

I'm with Tab on this one, temperament is not a choosing factor for my herd. I have had some of the meanest females produce the sweetest kits and vice versa and no complaints from my customers thus far in regards to temperament. I think with a little bit of time and TLC, any chin can be worked with to calm down to an extent. Sprayers, cackers and biters don't bother me.

 

[Vyxxin]

For me it's not the offspring, as most seem to be even tempered...but...just doing daily chores and being peed all over is no fun. Not being able to check a female for pregnancy with ease...not fun. I'm just thinking at this point, it'd be worthwhile culling out the meanies for some peace!

 

[Riven]

Despite what people want to think temperament IS hereditary. I had a female here that was a nutter, didn't have enough milk for her babies, fostered one out to the sweetest female I have... kit was sill nutty as a squirrel turd.

I also have a really sweet female, but 50% of her offspring with a certain male would be nutty as well. Different male... no nuts.

A cranky chin also can stress out the other chins. If anyone's lived with or spent time with someone who is always tense, you know exactly what I mean. I believe there is a balance that needs to be met. If I have a really nice animal, I will bred it regardless. If it's an adequate animal that's nutty, that might be the breaking factor if I can easily find a replacement.

I have a female who sprayed when I got her, and I know that the previous person who had her was very gentle and patient with her, but she still sprayed. I put her in a lower quiet cage with a laid back male, and she now only sprays if I surprise her. If I let her know I'm there I can easily reach in, she sniffs me, she kacks... but she doesn't spray. I plan on this female staying here forever, no one wants a pet who sprays, and she's to the point where she apparently comfortable enough to relax a little. I suspect if I even moved her to a different cage, we would be starting over. Likewise I have a male who was always sweet, I loaned him out to someone, when he came back, he's overly possessive and will try to bite me if I mess with his girls. He will literally stalk me from one end of the run to the other from cage to cage if I stop in front of each of them. In fact he got out this week and stalked me from the top of the runs his girls are in! He's a great male, produces great, and he hasn't always been that way, so I just make sure I watch for him to come in and take a bite and be ready to move if he does. If that was an adequate male... I wouldn't put up with it, I'd replace him.

My chins are my relaxation, I strive for top quality to be competitive, and that is my number one goal, but if a chin stresses me to the point I don't want to deal with it. I won't. With the pet market being as big as it is right now, I don't see any reason not to take consideration of temperament if you plan on selling pets as long as your quality doesn't suffer for it.

 

[Terbear24]

I do remove animals from breeding with really nasty temperments.
I do have a couple of females that have their days or are more protective of their babies and I just make sure I make extra time to socialize the babies.

 

[Terbear24]

And also I remove them because I like to be able to handle and pet my chins with ease and if there is a nasty one that makes it stressful for me!

 

[Megan]

I personally don't worry about temperament. Most of mine are able to be touched or the cage opened without fear. I did have one biter, and one bad sprayer. The sprayer produced some of the sweetest kits. I have one male who you need to watch as well... I don't mind having the nasty guys in breeding providin kits are decent In temp as a lot of my offspring goes to pet homes these days.

 

[poetrue]

I definitely think about temperment in my breeding practices. I won't simply remove a chin from breeding b/c they are nasty to me, but I will change up pairings or remove an adult from breeding if all their kits are nasty. I've found that some of my more territorial breeders produce sweet and beautiful kits so they might not be my favorite chins, but I will keep them in breeding. On the otherhand I have stopped breeding a few really high-stress chins b/c they would always produce kits that were hard to handle, were scared of everything, and just stressed out regardless of how much contact they had as kits. Those kits were not worth it to me, especially since they were too high stressed to show!

Cheryl

 

[Vyxxin]

The show aspect is another thing that I've always kept in mind. I worry about putting a sprayer (for example) on the table and having the judge get a yellow coat. OR, one of my biggest pet peeves...so high stress that they constantly slip fur (making them hard to show) either when removing them they run around the cage and slip body fur OR while holding them to groom having LARGE tail slips. Temperment, to me, seems to be a small factor but still something that may be worthwhile to consider.

 

[arf2184]

I've never met a chin that I couldn't work with to get past the biting and/or spraying eventually. However, I do breed for temperament (among other traits) and don't breed easily stressed animals. As said, they tend to slip more fur, I think they have a greater possibility of becoming chewers or having health problems, and they just don't make very good pets for the average person.

Chinchillas are living beings with their own likes/dislikes. I have had one that simply didn't like me for whatever reason...she always bit (or tried to bite) me but was fine with my dad. I'm sure we could have worked through it eventually, but I never intended to keep. I hear she's doing well in her new home, with no biting.