Where could I get a copy of that book? I'd like to know who wrote it and what other things it might have to say.
have read in the book that came with my chinchilla that if there is a runt the mother will bite its neck to see if it survives.
I've never heard of such a thing! I have raised chinchillas for many years (I have had up to 200 at times), I now have 100. The ONLY time I have ever seen a mother kill a kit is when there is not enough milk to go around and she will choose the weakest of the litter and kill it so that the others have a chance to survive ... the reason she will kill it, is so that it will not slowly starve to death. If there is something major wrong with a kit and the mother knows it will not be able to survive, she will kill it to keep it from suffering. This is VERY RARE and if you keep a close eye on mom and the kits, you can remove a kit and feed it yourself. In no way
does a momma chin bite the neck of a kit just to see if it will survive!
Please read:
"The First Signs Of Trouble" at:
http://www.geocities.com/jobernstein1949/ also my male when he was a little one had his front fingers chewed off by his father. If he was ever around the babies is it very likely that he would do the same to them??
Very unlikely. SOMETIMES, if kits are left with the parents to long (over six weeks), one or both of the parents can damage the kit/kits ... it is
very rare, but does happen. Once a male kit turn 10 weeks old, he has the ability to impregnate a female chinchilla (even his mom)
sometimes, if the father is with the family and the male kit attempts to breed with the mother, or shows interest in her, the father my damage or kill the kit ... this is rare, but it does happen ... It is VERY IMPORTANT to ween the kits at 6 weeks old IF they are healthy. IF they are not normal and healthy, sometimes the mom will continue to nurse the kits.
I do not leave a male kit with it's mother past 10 weeks of age.
There is allot more to being a good, responsible breeder than just putting two chinchillas of the opposite sex together. There is allot you need to learn before even thinking of breeding.
I have a male two year old chinchilla and some friends were thinking about sometime in the future getting a female and trying out breeding.
Then what happens?
Do you keep both the mother and father and let them live together for always, or do you separate them? If you say separate them ... Not exactly what I call fair ... chinchillas have all the emotions humans do.
I have seen a chinchilla pair where one has died and the other misses it's mate so much it quits eating and dies too.
I have seen pairs that have been separated after being together for a while ... they both miss each other so much, they refuse to eat and drink and starve themselves to death.
What happens if they only have one kit? Who gets to keep the kit?
What happens if one of the pair or one of the kits gets sick and has to go to the vet ... who's going to pay the vet bill?
What if your male and the female they get don't like each other and fight ... who's paying the vet bills then?
Who will keep the pair until they have a kit?
I've had pairs that are put together and the female gets pregnant the same day.
I have a pair that have been together for 11 years ... they have had one kit ... they were together for 7 years before it was born and they have had no other kits.
It's not as simple as you may think. I think I've given you a few things to think about.
Jo Ann
PS Please let me know where you got the book and the name of it. You can e-mail me if you do not want to post it. Thanks!