Newbies Breeding

[ticklechin]

To newbie breeders from rescues:

We have enough "improved species" at the moment, and on the way with your "learn as you go breeding" we also have enough "learn as you go bred chinchillas" the rescue is full, there are no more beds avaliable at this time and chins will be turned away. This will lead to owners letting the chins die from neglect or be set free in the wild. Don't be a part of the problem, be a part of the solution and take in unwanted chins rather than making more. Not everyone needs to make babies, some of us actually find pleasure in rescue and rehab and by doing it you are making a chins life better.

 

[AZChins]

Tell me about it. I'm about five to six cages away from being full and not being able to take in rescues. A lot of the rescues I have taken in lately have been from "breeders". Why do the breeders that have been breeding for years have to cut back so much on breeding for babies when it seems new people think they should be breeding?

 

[caiti]

I honestly don't see the appeal of breeding whatsoever. Yes, the horror stories are terrifying and like Dawn said, there's a surplus that needs to be dealt with at the same time.

Having one pet chinchilla gives me enough near-heart attacks for my quota of neurosis for the day...every day. I'm done, for now at least. I love my chinchilla to death but if I had to worry about more creatures other than my family, friends, home pets, my lab birdies I help take care of and Chloe I'd just about lose it. And Chloe is the only one of those that I am solely responsible for.

I really don't know how you people do it.

 

[Andrea]

I can pretty much guarantee that newbies breed for ONLY the following reasons:

1. Cute babies
2. $
3. Just throwing a male and female together to be "cagemates" and then...surprise! BABIES!

It's true that everyone "has to start somewhere" but right now the chin world is saturated with breeders and rescues are full, so I think if there was any sense of responsibility involved, newbies would not breed. Unfortunately, that's not often the case. Personally I love spoiling my girls as beloved pets and I want to leave the breeding to those who are really trying to better the standard of chinchillas both aesthetically and behaviorally. I have also noticed not only the influx of new breeders, but that old timers are churning out more kits to try and cover costs during the economic downturn. I'm not saying this is EVERYONE but I have noticed it with some breeders. The only time kits should be produced is when betterment is the #1 goal, the parents have been shown, the lines are proven to be healthy and the breeder is prepared to keep the kits that do not sell. I think there are very few breeders who meet those standards. I also feel that all breeders should be involved in rescues as well since they are adding to the population...but that's just a personal feeling for me and I know it's not always practical.

 

[whijjone]

I have had my two boys, Jellybean and Taffy, for one year now. I have read books, internet articles, and asked questions on here nonstop on how to be the best parent for my little guys. If it wasn't for this site..I don't think they would be as happy/ healthy as they are. That being said,it was only a couple of months ago I decided to buy two little girls for them. I thought about breeding them, but before I begin..I am reading and asking questions again to get more information. I don't live close to any of the places that have shows therefore I have not been, but just because people ask questions doesn't mean they are not going to be good breeders..but they are doing everything they can to provide for their critters the best way! ) If you havent guessed..I'm one of those questions askers lol!

 

[arf2184]

I have had three people in the past month and a half email me inquiring about buying a female to be 'a friend' for their male chin. One of the questions I ask people is if they breed or plan on breeding chinchillas. All three of these people said no, they don't plan to breed. Seriously?!?!? Do people not understand where babies come from?

I just don't understand people. I do however try to answer every email in a polite and patient manner. The way I see it, I may be talking to an idiot whose mind is set and nothing I say will matter, but then again, I might be talking to a person who just hasn't really thought things through and I may be able to educate them a bit. I don't tell them they shouldn't breed, I just explain everything that is involved from showing, caring for moms and kits, money, time, placing kits, etc. (and send them a link to Riven's 'Realities of Breeding' page complete with gruesome pictures). And I don't sell them a chinchilla until they answer about 30 additional questions about breeding that shows me they've done their research (which almost always means "I don't sell them a chinchilla...period").

I actually emailed quite a few times with two of the three most recent people and I think I talked them out of getting a female chinchilla. One actually did end up doing quite a bit of research on her own and decided against breeding.

I think that breeders and rescues (and pet stores) who sell to just anyone are part of the problem, though I do understand that not everyone has the time to thoroughly question every single buyer. It does take a lot of work (copy and paste helps though. ) and even then once the animal leaves there are no guarantees as to what will happen to him/her.

 

[Mt. Zion Chins]

I don't know how many times I get an email about getting an opposite sex companion for their chin. I email back why that is not a good idea and I 'gentle way' I often then get an email back - 'why are you being so nasty'. Just because I try to discourage them they think I am being 'nasty' PEOPLE!!!

 

[Mikayla]

I can pretty much guarantee that newbies breed for ONLY the following reasons:

1. Cute babies
2. $
3. Just throwing a male and female together to be "cagemates" and then...surprise! BABIES!

Not all new breeders have that mentality, because I would never even imagine letting '$' be on my list Some breeders, yes. But some newbies actually so want to breed for the right reasons.

 

[chechinchillas]

First of all Mark Miller I agree with everything you wrote 100%. I would also like to add that I have had wonderful customers over the years and some of them have wanted to breed and yes, I have helped them get started. They were like me when I got started, loved the animal and wanted to learn everything they could about them. I educate them and continue to be there for them to educate them. I do not get tired of answering their questions, I enjoy it. All of my animals are in large cages and spoiled, but I have still been able to do well profit wise. It does take alot of time and effort, but I enjoy it.

 

[ticklechin]

Mikalyla, what are the "right reasons"? The same tired old reason of improving the species????? How much more can one species be improved?????

To newbie breeders from rescues:

We have enough "improved species" at the moment, and on the way with your "learn as you go breeding" we also have enough "learn as you go bred chinchillas" the rescue is full, there are no more beds avaliable at this time and chins will be turned away. This will lead to owners letting the chins die from neglect or be set free in the wild. Don't be a part of the problem, be a part of the solution and take in unwanted chins rather than making more. Not everyone needs to make babies, some of us actually find pleasure in rescue and rehab and by doing it you are making a chins life better.

 

[Mikayla]

No...I love chinchillas, I love learning about them, I love going to shows and showing my animals, I love the expectancy of how they will 'turn out.' I have many mentors who are more than willing to help me. My main point was that she said that those were the reasons of almost every newbie breeder, and I know of three, AT LEAST, who breed for much better reasons

 

[ticklechin]

So what happens after you see how they "turn out"? Do you sell the duds and kits you made too many of? How many times can you enjoy that feeling before you have too many chins? My point is with rescues overflowing, legit breeders cutting back on breeding due to the economy how can you justify making more chinchillas just to get a warm and fuzzy feeling?

 

[chechinchillas]

I think many chinchilla owners would like to experience the joy of raising a baby from birth and plan on keeping the baby to put with mom or dad, also separating mom and dad after breeding. I do think many owners do not realize that sometimes deliveries can go horribly wrong with them loosing the mom, baby or both. Breeding can be wonderful and it can be just as heart breaking and devastating. I put every breeding emergency I have had on my website to help newer breeders and to show people thinking about breeding some of the things that can happen. I admit I have had times when I have just been utterly heartsick because of something that went wrong and breeding is definitely not for the faint of heart. It is not the norm and most births are free of complications, but you need to research and educate yourself before you even consider breeding and it needs to be with healthy, high quality animals only, whose lines have a history of health.

 

[Mikayla]

Dawn, then why are breeders who have been breeding for 40 years breeding? I only breed quality chins and I know that, and quite frankly, I don't need to be told that I am not doing anything right on here. Let's leave it at that. I just wanted to say that I don't think those three reasons, from the earlier post, were in everyone's mindset.

 

[ticklechin]

Sometimes reputation tells its own story......

 

[whijjone]

I'd like to say..I don't know if I have "high quality" chins, but what I do know is an animal is much more than a "stud" or a show chin. I love my guys as a pet which is what an animal should be. Mine are all happy and well fed and I don't plan on selling my chins to anyone who will put then in a box with no room to jump or play or be the happy prt their meant to be..and I'm sticking to that. Alot of people will be upset or angry at this but be as you wish. )

 

[RDZCRanch]

I'd like to say..I don't know if I have "high quality" chins, but what I do know is an animal is much more than a "stud" or a show chin. I love my guys as a pet which is what an animal should be. Mine are all happy and well fed and I don't plan on selling my chins to anyone who will put then in a box with no room to jump or play or be the happy prt their meant to be..and I'm sticking to that. Alot of people will be upset or angry at this but be as you wish. )

If you just want to make cute pets, why not rescue? My chins are more than show studs and it offends me that you just casually lumped everyone that shows their chinchillas into a "money hungry, uncaring" group. I've seen this ten thousand times and frankly I am tired of it. If you are going to breed your crappy pet store, backyard bred chinchillas then just do it and don't come on here trying to justify your breeding methods to responsible breeders. Breeding backyard bred chinchillas or breeding chinchillas without knowing their qualities other than "personality" is irresponsible, period.

If you want to breed the right way, get to a show. There is NO excuse not to get to a show. I am a full time college student and working part time yet I still manage to get to shows 20 hours away. It's doable.

 

[Mikayla]

If you just want to make cute pets, why not rescue? My chins are more than show studs and it offends me that you just casually lumped everyone that shows their chinchillas into a "money hungry, uncaring" group. I've seen this ten thousand times and frankly I am tired of it. If you are going to breed your crappy pet store, backyard bred chinchillas then just do it and don't come on here trying to justify your breeding methods to responsible breeders. Breeding backyard bred chinchillas or breeding chinchillas without knowing their qualities other than "personality" is irresponsible, period.

If you want to breed the right way, get to a show. There is NO excuse not to get to a show. I am a full time college student and working part time yet I still manage to get to shows 20 hours away. It's doable.

Thank you You said what was trying to some out of my mouth, about others and myself

 

[whijjone]

If you read my post you will see nothing against people who goes to shows..i plan to get to one very soon BEFORE I begin breeding. Nothing wrong with breeding either. You completely twisted my words and was very ugly about it which makes you look bad no one else..as far as backyard? You don't know me from Adam so that makes you wrong yet again. I in no way said breeders were bad..I have friends who breed and they do all that's necessary. But what I'm saying is all these breeders that think just because thy have hundreds of chinchillas think they are the best..you're wrong. My chins are just as good of "quality" as yours so stop being a meanie!!

 

[ticklechin]

There are those on this forum who I know have great quality chins and know what they are doing and have been doing it for a long time and I respect (Tabitha for one) post pictures of their animals, have proven show results, answer all questions asked in a knowlegable manner and post advice in a knowlegable manner, and then there are the wannabees who claim to know what quality is but post no pics nor show results to back up the claim. Yeah, I am a big old meanie pants but I tells it as I sees it.