Hello from Sparland Illinois

[sagers]

   Hello everyone we are the sagers im Nicole and my husband is Brian we have 4 kids 2 boys and twin girls plus our babys Hansel and gretel and there child spike who is only 3 days old and being a stinker already.
we are new to owning chins so we hope to learn alot from everyone. 
We went to a swope meet on April first and I had always owned 2 ferrets and they passed away finally at age 7 so I decided to get something new to play and spoil. So we got a pair and little did we know she was Pregnant when we got her 1 day later she gave birth to a son.  we live on a farm with horses and all and they make a great addition to our farm they are so cute.

[Sweetnessheart]

Welcome to the Chinchilla Club...!  You will find out a lot of good information here!

What a nice surprise to wake up and have a new baby   .

I know your new additions to the family will be very spoiled!   

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Hi Nicole,
How nice to meet you and your family.
Love the chins names what colors are they?
Kits are amazing eh!
So you keeping him?
Know all the draw backs, like not good to keep him with Dad when Mom goes in heat, in 8 weeks or so?
Or that the kit can get Mom pregnant as early as 4 months old???
They are some cute and grow so fast.
Do enjoy, do your homework, do share all you can, and DO POST PICS

[Summer]

Hi and Welcome   

[sagers]

Im not sure if we are going to keep him or not but its going to be hard to find a home for such a sweet thing.
As for the color I think they are standard but the one I got them from said they are a grey what ever that means.  I have alot to learn about them know any real good information sites.  I did think I was going to have to seperate mom and dad when the baby came as for she was wipping his but every time he went to the lower part of the cage. but it seems they are getting along and caring for the child togeather is it normal for her to do that

[Jo Ann]

Well .....

   First bit of news for you ... mom goes right back into season as soon as she delivers her kit/kits ... more than likely, she is already pregnant again.       This is called 'breedback' and is not healthy for the mom, the kits she is nursing and the kits that are being developed inside her. 

To late to close the barn door ... the horse already got out.      The best thing you can do now is to start her on supplements ... and plenty of alfalfa hay.  Keep her as healthy as possible.

Count 111 days from the day the kit was delivered, and that should put you very close to her next due date.  Mark it on a calendar.  I would remove the daddy at least a week before the next litter is born and he can't go back until the kits are 10 days old, that's when it is safe for him to go back.

I would not let Spike stay in with mom and dad after 6 weeks old (as long as his weight is good) ... mom is going to need all she can get to be healthy enough to develop, deliver and nurse the kits to come.  Have some canned goats milk on hand if the kits seem a bit small or that they are not staying under her about 80% of the time.  You may have to help supplement their feedings.  I have a good article on how to feed/supplement the kits with an eye dropper on my second website "Luv 'N Chins II" at: http://www.geocities.com/jobernstein1949/  under: First Signs of Trouble.  There are short videos there to show you how to feed a little one.  You might want to practice a little with this little one. 

Be prepaired with extra cages ... the kits need to be taken away by 7 or 8 weeks and brothers and sisters can not live together, nor can they continue to live with mom and dad.  It's called insest.

It was widely thought the male kits had to be 3 months old to impregnate a female ... But ... it's been proven they have the ability to do so successfully, at the tender age of 10 weeks. 

The female does not have the ability to get pregnant until she is 3 1/2 months old, but as with the male ... the ability to do so and the health to do so and the safely are far apart.

I will not put a male in breeding until he is at least 9 months old, preferrably 1 year and I will not put a female into a breeding situation until she is a year old or older (18 months for ebonies, violets and sapphires) ... These are my personal preferences.   In addition to age, I like to make sure the male is 500+ grams and the female 600 to 700+ grams. 

BTY ... a "breeding situation" is anytime you put a male and a female together ... even just for playtime ... regardless of age or family members.

I had one lady e-mail me because she could not understand how one of her female chins got pregnant ... the only time they were allowed to be together was at play time ... they did play ... just not the way she thought. 
 Fact: It only takes about 10 to 15 seconds for a male chin to impregnant a female chin.    
Now how long was it before they came out from under the chair? 

The same lady let it happen a second time ... apparently the first time information did not sink in ... she assured me she watched them closely when they were playing together ... and could not understand ... it had to be magic!
     She just did not watch them close enough.    
   The first time is ignorance, the second time was stupidity on her part.

Good Luck!
Jo Ann