Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[britny330]

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.  I am very hesitant because I 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 don't think i could handle losing a baby that.  Does this happen often?? 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??  thanks

[Jo Ann]

   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!

[ABC Chinchillas]

There is a lot of mis-information out there in books, and although I have never heard of a mom biting necks to test the kit, If you cannot hanle losing kits I would not breed. I have been breeding 11 years an here is what happene to me just this last month.

on 4/7/09 Lil bit a standard sc female gave birth to triplets.
4/12/09 the first female died, she was killed by a sibling. I started to han feed, every two hours
4/17/09 Meg a standard had a standard female, last baby of a male I lost this fall, she was soo tiny, I also started to hand feed her.
4/19/09 lil bit's male died his whole litter was believed to be pre-mature
4/22/09 the last of lil bit's kits prolapsed we had surgery done an she died the next day
4/24/09 I had a very pregnant female attacked by a male. after a trip to the vets I began to hand feed her to try to keep her going for the sake of this kits, it seemed to be going well.
  same day, I get home from the vets and find megs's kit bloated up, turns out her igestive tract was not fully developed. she ied.
   also on that day I had two of the most beautiful babies born, a black velvet female an standard male.
4/26/09 Sambler my beat up female takes a turn and is dying, we get 3 kits out. 1 is already dead, 2 alive
     I find them a foster mom and she takes them in but I hand feed as well. they are soo ver small an likely premature
4/28 /09 the first of the two males gives up and dies
4/29/09 we are having work done on the siding of the house, the banging desturbs my black female, she turns on her perfectl healthy kits killing the black velvet female and injuring the male. The female didn't die right away. I cleaned her up an kept her alive for 2 days, she was so perfect, healthy and bautiful. thankfully the male is fine.
on 4/28/09 I had  kits born to 2 different moms, all 4 are fine and well.
on 5/1/09 I lost Samblers last baby I had been trying so hard to keep. I have nothing from her as this was her first litter.
all this with my wedding 1 week away, I haven't slept in a month due to hand feeding an taking care of these babies out of 13 babies born this month I have 5

If you cannot handle times like this, holding a dying baby, feeding all hours of the night and day and losing one of your favorite chinchillas. You should not breed. things can go so very wrong even with the most experianced mothers

[cadillactaste]

  Oh how sad...To lose so many in such a short time...though losing one is one to many...You dedicated breeders I commend you...For it makes it possible for us pet owners to enjoy the years we do have with our pet chinchillas.

[britny330]

thanks for the answers, and jo ann i know its not simple i just wanted to get past those first couple questions before i put any more thought into it.

[Petco Chinchillas]

Are you going to breed now that you thought about it?

[Jo Ann]

    So many times I have talked to people and they have thought all there is to breeding is sticking two chinchillas of the opposite sex together and poof ... out comes beatutiful kits ... every time.  If this were true, we would all be breeders.  I didn't mean to say that you did not know, britny330, but that there are some people out there that do not realize they have to take breeding seriously.  If you thought that was aimed at you, I'm sorry, I did not mean for it to come out that way. 

Often, answers/remarks made on the forum are to/for everyone in general for the good of all chinchillas.

It takes a compassionate, but strong person with a cast iron stomach, to breed any animal, if they are going to do it properly.  So much can go wrong.

Preemies under 27 grams rarely make it.  Preemies also have another problem ... most of the somewhere in there body, something is under developed and that will/may/usually cause medical problems at a later date.  Preemies that live long enough to be weened, will often not live to see their first birthday.  I had one given to me that weighed 80 grams at 8 weeks of age (less than half the size of a normal kit at that age).  She lived to be 5 months old, then due to a birthdefect  (thin wall of the uterus) took her life (the intestines prolapsed into the vagina and she had internal bleeding).

Construction usually has a direct effect on chinchillas ... especially if it is loud ... and/or if it is above them ... especially if it lasts very long or is in/on the same building.  Chinchillas do not like loud noises and often will not breed when stressed.  If they are already pregnant ... they are more apt to misscarry or deliver early.

Stress the owner may be under can have a direct effect on a chinchilla ... they are very sensitive animals and are closely attuned to your feelings. 

When a kit is in trouble and there is no foster mom that can nurse it and/or care for it ... a breeder has to be willing and able to devote 90% of their time (waking and normal sleeping time), if necessary, until the kit/kits are out of trouble.  If you work a full time job ... there is almost no way you could care for them properly.  If you work part time ... it would be doubtful ... if you have small children, it would be almost impossible to properly care for both the chinchilla and the child/children. 

Vacations are extinct ... if they last more than 72 hours.  We have not had a vacation longer than 72 hours for many, many years.   

   Jo Ann