Hi Hope,
I have a male whose sired kits for the original breeder who uses the poly breding system but he did not produce any kits for the person I bought him from who also uses the poly breeding system.
... I know size can play a factor in slow breeders but this male is not huge, about 700g so I was wondering what other factors you think can cause a chin to be a slow breeder & if any of you have slow breeding males how long did they take to father a litter?
Chinchillas have their own personality, just like humans ... some will clash. You just have to find the right female.
We had a male chin, Jack. He also went through 2 other breeders, but would not produce and was not friendly with people or other chins ... with lots of time and patients, and 3 different females ... he finally found one he liked. When we put Daisy in with him, it was like turning the light on ... he loved everyone! They had many litters. When Jack passed, Daisy would not accept another chin to be her mate ... that was 2 years ago ... she still hasn't. (Maybe your new fella misses his first bunch of ladies.)
Jo-Jo and Puff have been together for 7 years and only produced one litter of one kit ... 3 years ago ... none since. But they are very loving and get along well ... if I separate them, neither is happy. (This is what you call a s-l-o-w breeding pair.
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What I would do, would be to contact the original breeder and ask how he did there and would he/she send you pictures of the room he was in and the cages. I would find out the brand of food they used and the normal routine they have with their chins. When was the normal cage cleaning time for the chins. Chinchillas do not like change ... he may have liked the "atmosphere" that he was in there. Even something as simple as the lighting, or a different schedule can make the difference for some chinchillas.
Jo Ann