Raised and showed chins 15 yrs ago; how much has changed?

[Applewood]

Hi all!
I used to raise and show chins 15 years ago and have been wanting to get back into this. Looking around online for the chinchilla forums I used to be part of (chins-n-quills) and can’t find it. From what I am seeing, the chinchilla community now is nothing like it was. There used to be a huge demand for chinchillas and numerous reputable breeders in my state (WA) and now it is hard to find any. I recall numerous classified ads being put into the forums on a daily basis and this was the primary way we found homes for the ones we sold.

My question is- do many ppl attend the local shows these days? Are there still local shows through MCBA? Is there still a market for top quality pet or breeding chinchillas? If the forums are not the primary way of connecting with other breeders, how do you all network and advertise? Or is there another forum that I have not found that is more popular?

Thanks for any feedback!! Things sure have changed!
Rachael (formerly Applewood Chinchillas)

 

[Amethyst]

I can help with a couple things. First apparently this forum use to be called chins-n-quills, but changed names and ownership, or something along those lines, about 9 or 10 years ago.

It seems most breeders have personal websites now instead of using classifieds. There is still a market for chinchillas, especially good quality ones, just not sure how big of one. It seems many breeders have stopped breeding so finding a good breeder is very hard in a lot of areas now.

The last thing I can shed some light on is unfortunately as you noticed, this forum isn't as busy anymore, I think more people use the Chins and Hedgies Facebook page now. Social media seems to have replaced a lot of forums online, likely because there you can ask a question and get almost immediate response.

 

[Applewood]

Thank you for the feedback!! It is much appreciated!

 

[aznmexaggie]

Hi Rachel, I remember you from the CnQ days.

With the rise of social media, most of us are in Facebook chinchilla groups and have Facebook business pages now. I also use Instagram for posting chin pictures. I usually use those two social media platforms for posting sales lists or pictures of my available chinchillas and sharing them in chinchilla groups.

The scene has definitely changed and there are many new breeders around as well as many who have come and already gone just in my 12 years of breeding chins. In your area, the reputable breeders who are active up there are Tabitha Lindsay of RDZC Ranch (she used to be in California but moved to the Seattle area), Ryan Chinn of Chinn's Chilla Ranch (also an ECBC judge trainee) is in Renton, WA, and Linda Clark of Cascade Chinchillas is still up there as well. There's also Sarah Ralston in Oregon and the Craner Family from Idaho/Utah are still breeding as well - they frequent the Pacific Northwest shows. The Northwestern ECBC Branch actually just had a show today in Baker, OR.

 

[Applewood]

Thank you for the info!