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[hope]

I have to ask how big are your best breeding females & can we see some pics of them please.
Do you find that some of the kits they produce are the size of the male & some this size of the female?
Do you keep the largest female kit from the litter & breed from her when she is old enough or do the genetics mean that any of those kits have the ability to produce large kits?
I know you would not breed just for size & there are lots of other factors to consider but this is just a question about size.

[Abby W.]

I won't breed a female who is under 600 grams, as a safety precaution.  But beyond that there is a wide variation of weights among my females.  My smallest breeder is 610, and the largest is almost 900 grams.  However, as with the males, I have found so far that the larger females do not breed as often, or produce as many kits.

I will try to get some pics up later.

[ThreeLilChins]

We do not have any females in breeding under 625 grams. All the females we have we do a thumb test on before we put in to breeding. Most of our females however though are in the 800 range.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

My breeding females are all over 700, most between 800 & 900.
I wouldn't breed one much under 700, nor a male under 600.
It's hard to tell when they are kits how big they will get. I have kept some that I decided not to breed because they just didn't get to a good size.
Then females tend will get heavier after they have started breeding.
Always do the thumb test, though I have one who passes have problems delivering.
You really need to go with all the qualities you are looking for, from weight, to coat, to personality.
You breed the best to produce the best. Anything less will be disappointing, and could be heart breaking.

[hope]

My females are all in the 700g to 900g range.

[RMC]

I don't use weight as a guage for size on any of my chins,to me that is like trying to use weight as a guage for how tall someone is.
As far as the smaller weighted chins being unsafe to breed the evidence shows the exact opposite, the costina type has the largest litters with the least amount of birthing difficulty. while the brevi type has far fewer kits and a significantly higher rate of birthing difficulties.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

I don't use weight as a guage for size on any of my chins,to me that is like trying to use weight as a guage for how tall someone is.

If I were a dwarf or giant, or suffered from obesity, I would think twice about reproducing myself.But I'm not sure I understand what you are saying.
I strive for robust, healthy chins with great coats,color,personality, and no necks.
That's the way "I" like them.
Too small and they seem to lack in coat quality, and too big we have seen them be too lazy to breed.
Granted they are all awesome and loved, I just don't think we should be breeding some of these tiny chins. There could be all kinds of problems.
I really try to stick too the standrads set by the experts at the shows.
I breed for quality not quantity, and I have only seen problems in small animals.

As far as the smaller weighted chins being unsafe to breed the evidence shows the exact opposite, the costina type has the largest litters with the least amount of birthing difficulty. while the brevi type has far fewer kits and a significantly higher rate of birthing difficulties.

May I ask where this info comes from? And what/how would you consider one to be small?
I need more info to reassess my thinking. How do the rest of you feel about this?
I'm not saying your wrong, just contradicting what I've been taught.
We are all here to share and learn, and I really do thank you for input.

[RMC]

I as well breed for show and my chins have and will continue to do well. By the standards that have been set by show experts. If you doubt this look at my show results on both organizations websites.As far as small chins having poor coat quality I have never ever seen the coat qualty on the huge Brevi type chins that I have seen on the smaller types.
I prefer extremely clear animals,with excellent texture, but still have good conformation. I can't accomplish this by useing the huge brevi type chins.I guarentee you that at a show you wouldn't be able to tell my 650g chins from some of the 800g chins to the eye they are the same size. That is why I say that weight is not a good indicator of size or conformation.
As far as Brevi's having a higher difficulty in birth rate then the other types. It has been well documentesd in many species of animals .that if you have a large flat face you are at a increased risk for birthing difficulties. If you have a longer less flat head you will have less difficulties.
Wich type travels down the birth canel easier?
If you have been tought the opposite I would really look into your sources of info. Talk to vets and ask them what body structure types have the highest risk for birthing problems. I also have talked to many ranchers who have bred for years and have relied on there experienc ,knowledge and records. and all will tell you the Costina type will breed like rabbits have little or no difficulty raising larger numbers of kits. While the Brevi's have more birthing difficulties, have less kits per birth and have difficulty raising more then two kits at a time.   

[chinclub]

I guarantee you that at a show you wouldn't be able to tell my 650g chins from some of the 800g chins to the eye they are the same size.

You know I have to agree that there is something to that.  I'm not really in the habit of weighing my chinchillas (I tend to go by sight) but recently I have been having to as I am cutting my herd in half and everyone seems to want to know the weight of the chinchillas I am selling.  I have really been shocked at some of the weights I have been getting on my girls.  I have one girl who is just as big as the girl beside her.  Both are proven breeders. Both excellent chinchillas. I weighed them both and was surprised to find almost a 100 gram difference in their weights even though they both look about the same.  I have also bought some beautiful award winning chinchillas at shows that weighed less that I would have thought.

~So weight isn't everything. 

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Thanks RMC.

I guarantee you that at a show you wouldn't be able to tell my 650g chins from some of the 800g chins to the eye they are the same size.

This I can see, I don't consider 650 small or 800 big.These I would consider normal. I was thinking more of the chins under 500grams.
I have sold a couple of small ones that I recommended not be bred.
I find they tend to be very hyper burning off the calories and nutrients. They are harder to handle, and don't make the best of pets as a rule.
Wouldn't it take many more in the pelt department with small animals over the bigger. I would have thought the ranchers wanted bigger.
I like them on the bigger side, I want a 1200 gram female not pregnant.
I have had several males that run around around 1000 grams, and I love them.
Well I love them all, but you know what I mean.

[RMC]

A few years ago I purchased a RCC black female at a sanctioned  show ,and was very supprised when I got home she only weighed just over 500g. After talking to several very experienced breeders ,I decided to put her in breeding. She went into breeding with a 625g standard male. She gave birth to a standard female (RMC R70) who I took to two sanctioned shows. She placed RCC at the Colo.ECBC show last year. she also took section champ female at the Intermountain MCBA show last year as well. Yes a stamdard female from a 500+g mute was RCC and section champ when shown. She was also one of the lightest color phase chins shown . She was classified as a dark medium.

Ranchers have known about the "brevi." type chin for years but it was  only  been with in the last few years that they have been used much in most herds.  

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Reading from the MCBA Mag, originally published in 1966,
Characteristics Of Chinchilla
I'm reading the same as I have read today,
Blocky type animals they are after. Not the long wedge type.
The fine fur texture with out it being too soft or too course.
Then the swirls and lines in the grotzen.

So what part of the chin is the grotzen?

And aren't we still trying for the blocky, no neck, wide forehead, ears back type of chin.
I know this describes the brevi type, but aren't they all so mixed up now with so much breeding?
I would think the ranchers have been breeding out the Costina & Lanigar types, but have now come up with a new type incorporating the best qualities of all 3 types.With the size and bulk from the Barvi type.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Ok I founds it on CA chins

The Grotzen line that goes down the center of the back should be well defined

Just in case anyone else didn't know
I can't wait for that "chinchilla term dictionary"

[Abby W.]

Haha Thanks Debbie!  I was just reading this thread and thinking "what the heck is a grotzen?!"