When is a chin an adult?

[NOLA Chins]

At what age would you think, browsing Petfinder, a chin should be considered an adult?

My tendancy is to call them adults at 3 y/o, but is this misleading? Baby < 6 months; young 6 months to 3 years and then adult. Senior at 10.

 

[Ash]

I would think around 1-1.5 yrs would be good for "adult" seeing as how many breeders put their females into breeding at 1.

 

[Dustbunnies]

When do they usually stop growing (reach their overall max weight)?

 

[starleomach]

I consider 8 months and up adults. If they are old enough to be put into breeding by most standards they are adults

 

[Rickman]

I'd say usually between 9 - 12 months, sometimes 15. Like to see them "level out."
Seems standards, beiges/whites, and lighter ebonies/mosiacs are quick growers, whereas darker ebonies and violets are on the slow side.
In my experience anyway! [only colors I've worked with]

 

[emily.j.roth]

It really depends on your definition of an adult. To some people, it may mean the age that they are sexually mature. To other people it may mean the point at which they stop growing. I've been wondering when they actually stop growing, because my chin is about 8 months old, fat as can be, but only weighs about 400g. He obviously still has a lot of growing to do lengthwise, but I guess technically he is sexually mature and therefore an adult?

 

[rach_leigh]

I wondered the same thing! Thanks for the information!

 

[jags]

I would say 8-9 months when they get their first adult prime fur on them. Growth and weight really has nothing to do with being an adult, look at how many adult people continue to grow.

 

[NOLA Chins]

Thanks for the replies. Chins can be sexually active before 6 months so I really didn't count that. The catagories are baby, young, and adult. As my purpose is to find homes for the chins, I want their description to be attractive but not misleading. Does this change anyone's opinion? I should probably go with what most pet breeders use, if there is a consensus.

 

[Luci]

At what age would you think, browsing Petfinder, a chin should be considered an adult?

My tendancy is to call them adults at 3 y/o, but is this misleading? Baby < 6 months; young 6 months to 3 years and then adult. Senior at 10.

i agree with your timeline. maybe its just me, but i find it hard to call anything an "adult" when theyre still in the "months" type of age. and as for being sexually mature, as humans, that stage is around 12 years old for girls, but we're not "adults". young is the best way to put those in between years. and i always assumed that when it came to other animals, they were considered adults after they reached their max growth/weight.

then again, i only have one chin and dont intend to breed, but i think i'll consider him a "baby" for his whole life lol. thats just me.

 

[Dustbunnies]

I think for pets "fully grown" is what people want to know when they ask if it is an adult. But "young" can include a fully grown animal in the early years of life. I think, for example, a dog is a puppy until it is considered fully grown. It may gain a bit after a year or year and a half even. There is more research on dog breeds that can answer that. Chinchillas are not documented that way except individually. But, since many chin owners on the forum have weight records from their chins....they can see about when they "leveled out." We can average that if we collect enough data.

Usually a pet at a rescue or adoption center will have a guessed age. They look at dog's teeth to guess this. Who knows how old a "seemingly grown" chinchilla really would be. Unless it is from a breeder, you just can't know.

I would be very interested in data being collected on growth. I know a few of you have done your own small studies.