Author: Jo Ann
of Luv'N Chins
Pros and Cons of Breeding ... Before and After
Breeding is one of the most normal, natural things that can happen between a male and a female chinchilla ..... BUT ... all must be prepared for it ... plan ahead ... for you, your male chin and your female chin. Good health for all is a must, yes, even for you. (You may end up having to bottle feed the kit(s) ... a 24 hour-a-day schedule for several weeks - - - not an easy task.)
It is wonderful to see these tiny little fur-balls playing and jumping around the cage within minutes of being born. But the health of your female(s) and male(s) must be considered or you may not have him, her, or the kits. Pregnancy, delivery, nursing and raising kits can be rough, even deadly to her. There are many things that may go wrong. Make sure she is healthy before putting her into breeding ... she will usually loose weight while nursing. 700 grams is usually considered a good weight for a female in breeding. Be sure to have her checked by a vet for heart murmurs ... a heart problem at this time could prove to be too much for her.
Examples of some of the things that can go wrong:
(1) A small female bred by a larger male may conceive kits that are much too big for her to deliver. In nature, as a general rule, female chinchillas are the same or larger in size than male chinchillas ... when breeding, stick to this rule!
(2) The separation of the sac containing the fetus from the wall of the uterus will kill the kit and possibly cause a miscarriage, or even worse, remain inside and cause an infection inside her. Sometimes it can be "absorbed" by the female, but, if not it can cause major problems. Two of these are infection of the female organs or blocking of the horn, possibly keeping future kits from being born.
(3) Pregnant or nursing moms are more prone to infections, but can not be given as strong an antibiotic that may affect or kill the kits as she would normally be able to receive, were she not pregnant or nursing. Keep her home, water, and food especially clean during this time.
(4) Breach birth (when the kit is trying to deliver in any position other than head first) has killed many a mom and/or kit.
(5) Nursing ... if the milk does not 'come in' for the kits they can starve. Anything other than the natural milk developed by the mom is never as good as mom's milk ... in taste and/or nutrition. Bottle feeding is better than nothing, but often ends in tragedy. If you are a breeder, hope you have another nursing mom that is weaning her kits or has a kit within a week of the same age as the new kit(s). In other situations, you may have to alternate them for feedings.
(6) When nursing two or more kits, there is always the chance that they will fight over the same teat. This is a fight for survival that can end in the death of all if damage is done to even one of the teats.
(7) When a female delivers more than two kits, she does not always have enough milk and will abandon the smallest or weakest. Or even worse, the siblings may attack and kill the weaker one.
(8) Make sure she is mature enough to properly develop kits of her own. Some breeders will start breeding the females at 8 to 10 months of age, but I prefer a year old or older, just to be safe. If she is not full grown herself, developing and nursing kits will rob her body of the calcium and nutrients she needs for her own body. If she can not develop enough for herself and her kits, all will suffer.
(9) Male kits are fertile as early as 10 to 12 weeks of age ... remove male kits from mom by this time ... you do not want in-breeding! Female kits as young as 3 months old have been known to be fertile ... remove her from the same cage that dad and/or brother is in. Chinchillas do not know the difference between family and non family when it comes to breeding.
(10) A female chinchilla has two birth sacs and can get pregnant in one or both. If she gets pregnant in one, but not the other, she can get pregnant in the other one during her next cycle. This is dangerous ... once kits start coming, they will usually all come ... the second ones being very premature and usually do not survive.
(11) Sometimes if a female is already pregnant the male will "beat-up on her" ... if you find your female with bite marks and loss of fur on her back ... separate them, most likely she is already pregnant. Further abuse can cause her to loose her kit(s).
(12) In nature, female chins usually have only one litter per year ... this worked both for and against them. For them by keeping them healthy and strong ... against them by the reduction of the population my man.
The mating ritual could leave the male in much worse physical and/or mental condition than he is in now.
(1) When in season females will/can fight the male and/or terrorize him. When in season, usually, he is at her mercy. Females can often be merciless.
(2) Males can develop fur rings around their penis during mating season ... check him often, and remove it immediately. Major problems can occur from this: Pain, infection, and death.
(3) Separation of the male from the female to prevent breed-back (a new pregnancy of the mom while she is still nursing) is necessary. Some males become depressed when this happens. Not good for chins to do.
(4) Sometimes separation for a period of time will also cause problems when the male is re-introduced to the female. It is best to let them have play time together under CLOSE supervision and to keep the cage close enough that they continue to keep each other's scents, but not close enough to mate again ... usually 3 to 5 inches apart is best.
(5) Some males will become jealous of the kits and even try to hurt them, while other chin daddies are good to their kits and enjoy giving mom a break while he plays with them. This should be done under close supervision only.
Breed for quality! Whether you are a pet owner or a breeder! Quality is the future of the chinchilla's existence or non existence, as the case may be. When choosing a mate for your chin you must consider the good and the bad qualities of both, and of their ancestors. As chins can 'throw' colors other than their own, but have them in their background, they can also 'pass down' the bad, as well as the good qualities ... this is the total make up of all chins, not just the color. A healthy future for the generations of chins starts with good breeding practices now.
The smaller the chin, the more it is randomly you breed with other mutants with out consideration of what may be produced, or the breeding of chinchillas together with the same bad traits will usually only give you a higher percentage of the chance of the bad traits showing up in the kits. Example: If you breed two chins with off colors or weak fur, you will usually get the same in the kits. But, if one chin has beautiful color in the fur, but the fur is "weak", if you breed it with a chin that has thick, stand up fur with no breaks, you have a much better chance of getting kits with great fur and beautiful color.
Always breed to improve!
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