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[siker]

Hi i have 2 male chins that are about 6 or 7 years old. Im not sure what age they shouldnt breed at after a certain age. But im interested in becoming a breeder for chinchillas, and eventually would like to show. I dont really know where to start..

I have some basic knowledge of breeding and such. but thats kinda where it stops... I dont want to dive in and learn as i go... so how does one become super prepared? Any GREAT sites that have information on this with extreme detail and such?

[siker]

Okay after doing a little bit of reading i decided that i DO NOT want to breed my two males.. Only reason is they are brothers, and havent been separated since they were born.. and i dont want them to loose that by introducing a female....

So after i decide to start breeding i will be looking for two breeding quality chinchillas..

that is all..

[GrayRodent]

If you have access to chinchilla shows I'd say start there and make some local connections. You can talk with experienced breeders and see how quality is assessed first hand. You can also buy award winning breeders at shows or know where to get the highest quality chinchillas that you can afford.

For quality you want to base your heard on standard grey chinchillas. If you want to breed mutation colors later you still need good standards to work with.

You'll want to get set up with ranch run breeding cages where the females are kept separate and the male lives in his own apartment. When breeding time comes you'll put collars on the females so they can't get in with each other through the tunnel and the male can do his bit. That is the optimal system for breeding multiple females. We do offer a book http://www.amazon.com/Chinchillas-pets-profession-Jamie-Huggins/dp/1452856796/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415906949&sr=8-1&keywords=chinchillas+pets+profession and we do have some detailed articles.

We also host many articles on breeding here: http://www.chinchillamagazine.com/pages/Breeder_Articles/

[kageri]

Go to chin shows and when you are ready to buy breeding animals find a breeder that will work with you.  I ask Katsu's breeder (he was our first breeding chin) questions over facebook all the time.  In return I answer her hedgehog questions all the time because I've been breeding them longer and sold her 2 of my females.

You can successfully do pair breeding for show animals.  You just won't be able to breed as many as a run system.  My husband hates the little plain cages and the collars the females have to wear.  It may be common here but it's actually illegal in some places like Sweden.  They just found what they hope is the last run breeding ranch which had been operating under the radar at an undisclosed location.  It's a choice you'll have to make.  Sometimes colony breeding can be done with one male to 2-3 females in a cage but it's very risky.  Highly not suggested.