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[Crazy4Craisins]

I have had my chins for over 6 months now, and I woke up today to hear (what i think/thought) my female chin making noise inside the bathhouse. My female chin and male chin sometimes sleep in there together. What I just discovered minutes ago is that my female has just given birth, and they are both in there with the new born. (I cannot see what is going on in there) I had no idea that my chin was pregnant and I need some quick advice as to what to do from this point and what I can buy/do to accommodate this situation as quickly as possible to make sure no one suffers.

I am very afraid that this may not go right, and again I had no idea she was pregnant, I had read up on all signs of pregnancy and as you can imagine I just got a shocking morning wake up..  Every single time my male tried to have intercourse with my female she would flip around and bark at him so I never thought this would happen. I want to supply everything needed and make sure every thing is ok.

quick facts: the bath house currently does not have dust in it / my male chinchilla has just left the house, female and baby havent / I am unsure of the baby's health , all i can say is that the female has been making noises and her face is wet, i dont know what she is doing with the baby in the bath house.

the baby looks ebony like his father, female chin is regular grey. THANK YOU

[Crazy4Craisins]

so my only issue now lays on two:

I have learned that the male should be separated, and I've read that he should be separated for 72 hours after birth to prevent back breeding. Also, he should be moved to another room. I am prepared to go purchase another cage right now if necessary, I just would like to further research or be lucky enough to recieve valuable feedback in case I do not need to separate the male and have him go through that.

Also, my second question is supplements. Which supplements would I need to get for mother/baby? I have only learned to do a cranberry(1/4) water mix to support milk production. I take it that I don't have to feed the baby if it looks as though the mother is doing fine.

Again, my biggest concern is the father. I wouldnt mind keeping him in the same cage, though things I have read contradict each other. I could use some valuable advice right now. Thank You

[Lori Ramsey Earle]

Hi there,
You definately need to pull the father out - pronto. If you don't, you'll run the risk of having a breedback and your mama chin could get pregnant. If that happened, she would have the stress of nursing her current baby, along with the stress of being pregnant. Not good her her health and wellbeing. In my opinion, you don't need to put the father in a seperate room. I never did with mine, and there were no problems with that. I separated my dads for a week, to be safe, but that's up to you. I always gave my new chinnie moms yogurt for a treat, and would put a tiny bit of granola and raw oats in her chow. She can use extra calories, you just don't want to give her anything too rich. Make sure she has plenty of fresh hay, chow and water at all times as well.
Make sure your cage for mom and baby has mesh that is no larger than 1/2" x !" - any bigger than that, the baby will escape. For some reason they love to escape! Also take a look around their cage and make sure there's nothing in there that could harm the baby, like a ball or a play tube that could roll over on it. Be very careful about that, and try to be proactive(if in doubt, take it out).If you put in a blanket for baby and mom, use polarfleece - it doesn't fray(kits can get their paws caught in loose threads).Cut a fleece blanket into  4 or 6 equal pieces, so that you can change it daily. I always thought both moms and kits enjoyed cuddling up on a blanket.
Enjoy your new kit - they truly are delightful little guys! Lori

[kneesaa]

I didn't know my chin was pregnant either, but she had the baby on the bottom of the cage and the male was still sleeping in the wood hut. I would get the male into a different cage fast. All I did was put the  divider's back in and I had mama and baby on the bottom of the cage. Watch out when the baby starts moving around, my baby found lots of places to get out at.  I didn't give my mama cranberry juice and all she got was lots of alfalfa hay and her food. But she was a  good mama. I was told to watch for infection on the mother and wait 10 days till they get a dust bath also take the dust bath out. Hopfully someone else will answer you with more knowledge than I have. good luck Shannon

[Jo Ann]

   I hope you have removed the dad and have him in a separate cage by now to prevent breed back.  That would be to much of a stress/strain on the mom and her resources to be nursing one litter while trying to develop the next. 

   Each breeder has their own ways of doing things, but, I've never heard of moving the male to a separate room. 

 I usually have the cages side-by-side, but at least 3" apart.  This way they can still communicate and retain each others scents.   I keep them separated for 10 days.  On day 10 (when mom gets to have her first dustbath after giving birth)  I let dad have the dust bath first, then let mom join him, then the kits join mom and dad ... if at any time there seems to be a scuffle between mom and dad ... remove the kits immediately and them separate mom and dad.   

Dads are usually good about helping with the kits ... BUT ... let mom make that decision ... she can usually sense if there will be a problem.  Most males help, but on rare occasions, they have been known to kill the kits ... If mom objects to him being back in the cage with the kits, I do not force the issue.   I have one chin mom that will allow the dad back when she has female kits only ... if she has a male kit in the litter, she will not allow the dad to come back until the kits are weaned.

All male kits must be removed from the parents before they turn 10 weeks old.  At the tender age of ten weeks, the male kits have the ability to impregnate a female.  Female kits have the ability to become pregnant at 3 1/2 to 4 months of age, but are much to small and immature to safely deliver kits.  You do not want insest and you do not want the dad to fight the kit for breeding rights ... the dad usually wins ... and often ... the mom trying to protect the kits will be injured/killed also.   If the kits are healthy, it is best to wean them at 6 or 7 weeks and put them in another cage.   Male and female kits must be separated.

Just closing off parts of the cage does not always work ... they can breed between the wires ... and ... whoever retains the top half of the cage will be peeing and pooping on the residents of the bottom half of the cage.  The one in the top half is also subject to having it's toes bitten off.

For the safety of the kit, the wire should be 1/2" x 1/2" or 1/2" x 1"" ... no larger.  If a kit climbs our or falls out of a cage, it can be killed, stepped on, chill and become sick, starve and or eaten by another family pet before being found.  They are very active from birth!   I have found kits are best raised in single level cages.   Usually within the first  24 to 48 hours the kit will climb to the top of the cage ... it can climb up, but, not down, so when it reaches the top, it turns loose and falls to the bottom, often to it's death.

Just my thoughts and experiences.

   Jo Ann

P.S. Anytime you put a male and a female together, they will attempt to reproduce ... even if you do not see them.   

[Debbie.nl.ca]

P.S. Anytime you put a male and a female together, they will attempt to reproduce ... even if you do not see them.

And you would not believe how fast they are at doing the deed.
So how is Mom & baby?
 Don't be afraid to check on them, most Moms don't mind, once they are finished.
Did you only get the one kit?

[Crazy4Craisins]

P.S. Anytime you put a male and a female together, they will attempt to reproduce ... even if you do not see them.   

You got me there.. I really never believed that they would be going at it anytime soon because every time I saw the male, Benny  get behind her, it would be the matter of a second before Shy would turn around and bark at him ..almost like a disciplined yet still-teasing slap in the face straight out of an old film. Every single time... she runs away then everything would be okay.
This goes for in cage and their recess time.

Anyways, I didn't think it was going to happen, but it does make sense after all. What I have done is move Benny to a separate new cage, and since neither are kit-proof I bought wire mesh half x half inch cloth and built walls. I cut the mesh into four separate walls and left the ceiling open.

The mother is quickly back to herself, trying to escape out of the cage to play when I open it and sometimes asking for raisins. I've been feeding Shy 1/4 cranberry juice and rest water, and in another bottle simply water. In both cages I feed oxbow pellets every night, I give timothy hay all throughout the day and leave a few alfalfa cubes. I haven't gotten a scale yet but the baby seems to be more active, and independent as time passes. Though every time I look other than that the baby is under its mother, making noises and being fed. The mother and kit get along very well and are usually together and warm.

I have tried putting the kit in the father's cage, but he keeps getting in his/her face and I can't tell wether he's being affectionate/curious or is going to hurt the kit so that didn't last too long.

It is now Monday night, and the baby was born on Saturday morning.
Thank you for all your help also, I've used everyone's advice.
I also wonder what easy formula, if there is one, I could use to supplement the baby?

also-- I've learned plenty during my 6 months with these amazing and sensitive furballs, but I am not only open to but eager to accept feedback and criticism so I can eventually give them the best care. Pictures are below.

Thanks

Kit http://img23.imageshack.us/i/kitnhf.jpg/
Benny & Shy http://img291.imageshack.us/i/bennyandshy.jpg/
Two cages http://img197.imageshack.us/i/bennyp.jpg/
Wire Mesh http://img197.imageshack.us/i/wiremesh.jpg/

[Jo Ann]

    The kit is absolutely adorable!    The parents look nice, too.      

Do you have plans to get them larger cages?

You got me there.. I really never believed that they would be going at it anytime soon because every time I saw the male, Benny  get behind her, it would be the matter of a second before Shy would turn around and bark at him ..almost like a disciplined yet still-teasing slap in the face straight out of an old film. Every single time... she runs away then everything would be okay.

Females have the ability to get pregnant at the very young age of 3 1/2 to 4 months of age ... but this is not advisable because the birth canal is usually not large enough to deliver the kit/kits safely. 
Males, at the tender age of 10 weeks old, have the ability to get a female pregnant!
The female will refuse the advances of the male until she is in full season, then, if he begs enough and properly (doing the mating Swish-Swish Tail Dance) ... she will allow him to mate with her at the proper time.
Oh ... and it only takes 10 to 15 seconds to do the deed, so if they run behind or under a couch or chair when she is in season ... start counting the days!   

I haven't gotten a scale yet but the baby seems to be more active, and independent as time passes. Though every time I look other than that the baby is under its mother, making noises and being fed. The mother and kit get along very well and are usually together and warm.

This is good ... sounds like she is being a good momma.  The scale is very important ... one that weighs in 1 or 2 gram increments.  Because the kit is so small, if it looses enough weight to be noticeable with your eyes alone, it has already lost to much weight and is very much in danger of not making it.  I use scales made to weigh letters that go to the post office ... they are usually no more expensive than the regular scales and being able to weigh in grams is very important when it comes to the kits and their survival.

I have tried putting the kit in the father's cage, but he keeps getting in his/her face and I can't tell wether he's being affectionate/curious or is going to hurt the kit so that didn't last too long.

I normally put the father in the kit's cage while momma chin is having her daily play time.  Watching them constantly is very important, for the kit's sake.  By placing the daddy in the kit's cage, the kit is in it's own territory, not the father's territory.  This also allows the daddy to leave his scents inside the cage, keeping momma and daddy familiar with each other's scents.   This will make it easier to reintroduce them after day 10.

I also wonder what easy formula, if there is one, I could use to supplement the baby?

I've tried kitten and puppy formulas (both powder and liquid) and have found goat's milk to be the best when a supplement feeding is necessary.  Only when it seems momma does not have enough milk or has rejected the kit, or when it is a large litter, do I supplement feed.  Momma chinchilla's natural milk is the best for her kits.   If you find it necessary to supplement feed the kit, the goat's milk can be frozen in a plastic container and just enough scrapped out and warmed for each feeding will make it economical.  Warm the formula by placing it in a small glass or shot glass and place the container in a cup of very hot water.  It is best to feed with a glass eye dropper.

Never heat formula in the microwave ... microwaves kill all the good things in the milk/formula the kits need ... it would be like feeding them water.

The mesh wire you are using looks good and should be safe as long as you cut off and smooth the pieces of wire that are protruding where the wire was cut.  These sharp pieces could cause some real damage to one of the adults or the kit, if they try to check them out.   

I noticed you have a plastic hut and a plastic dustbath container in the cage.  Plastic is dangerous for chinchillas.  The chinchilla will usually try to chew on anything they can get their little teeth into.  Chinchillas eat/consume what they can bite off ... plastic does not dislove in the digestive tract.  This can cause mini cuts in their digestive tract which usually set up an infection and can kill.

Dust baths should only be left in the cage for 10 to 15 minutes each day.  If you leave it in longer, they will urinate in it, which will set up a great environment for bacteria to grow ... not good for your chins.

Momma chin should not have a dust bath until the tenth day after delivery ... any sooner and the dust bath dust can get inside of her and cause a very bad infection.

   Jo Ann