How did you start breeding?

[beige chin]

Im thinking about getting a male (in about a year) to breed to my Carmela. I know that I can deal with pretty much anything that goes wrong. I have read all of the stories about stuff that goes wrong and im not scared away yet lol!
So I was just wondering how all of you breeders got started? Many of you are agenst anybody just starting to breed and people with harmless questions that I KNOW you asked when you were starting out. How did you learn all that you know now if you didn't have a breeder that would help you (or a forum like this where many breeders help)?

 

[AZChins]

I learned from the breeders and ranchers from whom I bought my chins. I am against people breeding irresponsibly without regard for their chins and the possible offspring. There's a lot of things that people do starting out that isn't harmless, and yet they decide to not listen anyway. Breeders, or at least the decent ones, get defensive because they don't like people putting chins in danger. They put a lot of effort into caring for their animals and into making sure that they are breeding the right chinchillas.

I know that I want for the chins to all live to that 15 to 20 year old age that everyone touts as being the "average" lifespan for a chinchilla.

Honestly, I really didn't rely much on what strangers on forums would tell me to do. Find a reliable, responsible breeder/rancher to help you and form relationships with breeders. You probably won't get very far without keeping an open mind and listening to what they have to say. A lot of new people let their pride get in the way and don't accept the fact that they don't know everything about the chins. There's a lot to learn about breeding chins and keeping them...and it's best to listen and be respectful of other people's opinions.

 

[RDZCRanch]

My experience has come from going to shows and forming relationships with ranchers and other long time breeders.

All anyone on here can tell you about quality and breeding for quality is that you should go to a chinchilla show. You aren't very close to any shows, but there is a really good breeder in North Carolina that would more than likely be willing to carpool with you to shows. She's also a great source for buying quality animals near you. She is a member on this forum threewingedfury and you can also contact her through her website http://www.tiffanyschinchillas.com/

The best learning tool a new breeder can utilize is the knowledge of other long time breeders. Susan and myself always offer our advice over the phone or through email, but the best thing you can do is find a breeder that is close to you that you can visit and learn from. By going to their ranch, you can learn qualities and faults of chinchillas by going through their herd with them and some will let you bring your chinchillas to be evaluated. It's nice when you can take them to a chinchilla judge's place, but that's not always practical since they are few and far between.

 

[starleomach]

I started by getting involved with shows and went to a few shows before getting my first pair from a reputable breeder. I had some pets..they stayed pets because they were not quality animals

Edited to add
I also had and still have a mentor..infact now I have a few. Dawnna from chocolate chinchillas is still one of my greatest friends, she helped me a lot when I started out and is still a go to person for me as well as the ranchers. I started when I was 16 and 15 years later I am still learning. You never stop learning

 

[Danderson]

I started by getting a pet store pair for Christmas, then after I fell in love with them I found a fairly large breeder in the same town in Calif and learned alot from her, including why I should NOT breed my pet store chins...I have been breeding on a very small scale for years and am always learning and am fortunate enough to be able to pick the brains of large breeders that I have purchased from. They are always so very helpful and willing to answer any questions I may have. Though I have not been able to attend shows yet, I do believe that is the very best way to learn. There is so much you can learn from reading this forum as well...

 

[beige chin]

I am against people breeding irresponsibly without regard for their chins and the possible offspring. There's a lot of things that people do starting out that isn't harmless, and yet they decide to not listen anyway.

I completely agree that many people will do whatever they want to do, weather good or bad, and that the responsible breeders will always look out for the chins involved

You probably won't get very far without keeping an open mind and listening to what they have to say.  A lot of new people let their pride get in the way and don't accept the fact that they don't know everything about the chins.  There's a lot to learn about breeding chins and keeping them...and it's best to listen and be respectful of other people's opinions.

I am very open minded that's why I posted this in the first place. I want to see what other people say. I know that I don't know everything (and i hate not knowing lol) I want other opinions.

You aren't very close to any shows, but there is a really good breeder in North Carolina that would more than likely be willing to carpool with you to shows. She's also a great source for buying quality animals near you. She is a member on this forum threewingedfury and you can also contact her through her website http://www.tiffanyschinchillas.com/
The best learning tool a new breeder can utilize is the knowledge of other long time breeders. Susan and myself always offer our advice over the phone or through email, but the best thing you can do is find a breeder that is close to you that you can visit and learn from. By going to their ranch, you can learn qualities and faults of chinchillas by going through their herd with them and some will let you bring your chinchillas to be evaluated.

I checked out her website, Thank you! I will get in touch with her! hopefully I can make it out there and meet her and learn from her one of these days :thumbsup:

 

[lilchinchilla]

When I started raising chinchillas there wasn't any forums. Just chinnet.com really and some breeder websites. Many breeders are so lucky today in that they have access to many breeders through online sites, and forums. It wasn't like that back in 1996.

Other than three breeders locally on the island at the time, most of my chins I got shipped in from the US. I learned everything I know, from the breeders I purchased my chins from. When there were local shows or even shows not so local, I went to them to learn more. I took the time to get hands on experience with graders/judges to learn about show quality one on one with them prior to actually showing.

If I had to say any one or two breeders were a mentor to me, I would have to say it was Sue Kisesky of PSK, or Laurie Schemelzle(used to be the breeder known as UnderHill Chinchillas.), as those were the first two breeders who ever really took the time out to help me and were always more than happy to help me with most anything I had questions about.

It was all long distance of course(even driving hours across states and provinces, and flying to meet other breeders to get more of a hands on experience.), but nothing is more reassuring than having a knowledgeable breeder only a phone call away when you need the help, too.

My suggestion is to be open to learning and expanding your knowledge by talking with breeders that are willing to help you. There's nothing wrong with being a responsible breeder, and one day when you look back, you'll be thanking those breeders for taking the time to help you when you were starting out in raising chinchillas.