Author: Jamie Huggins
Lowcountry Chinchillas
Chinchilla Breeding-Counting the Costs
I have been a chinchilla breeder for many years. When I was starting out I didn't know where to go to get good information about what goes into breeding and how to begin. I had many surprises and made lots of mistakes! There are a lot more breeders around now than when I got started and many more on the way so I decided to write a series of articles for anyone who is thinking of breeding or who may just be starting out. This article is a brief overview of what goes into chinchilla breeding. I hope to make your chinchilla breeding journey a little easier than mine was!
Before writing this article I sent out questionnaires to breeders of various sizes to get their input on basic aspects of chinchilla breeding. Thank you to everyone who responded. I'll be using their answers as well as my own experiences to give you a behind the scenes look at chinchilla breeding. It's not as easy as it might seem. In fact, chinchilla breeding is a real job with set hours and major expenses. The start up costs and monthly bills can far outweigh the money made by selling babies.
Let's start at the very beginning-your breeding facility. A successful chinchilla breeder needs a well-planned atmosphere to keep a healthy herd that breeds well. If your chinchilla room isn't well ventilated and kept at the right temperature your chinchillas will not be healthy. If chinchillas do not get a regular amount of light each day in proper intervals they will not breed. Here is a list of suggested items for a successful chinchilla room:
Chin proof room for when chinchillas escape, and they will!
Air conditioner and heater (Most climates)
Fans to circulate the air
Thermometer to monitor the temperature
Lots of natural light or Vita-light bulbs
Air purifier to reduce hair and dust
Dehumidifier (Some climates)
Spare cages, water bottles, feed dishes
Quarantine room for new animals
Shop vac
Scale, measuring in grams
Backup generator or plan for power outages
Backup caretaker for emergencies
As you can see a lot goes into a well-equipped chinchilla environment. Most of these are self-explanatory. I do want to stress the important for the last two things on the list. We live in South Carolina, which is hurricane territory. We also have some terrible summer storms. You don't ever want to feel the helplessness of loosing power during 99-degree heat and having no way to cool your animals. It is very important to have a back up source for this sort of occasion.
Having a backup caretaker is very important. There will be times when you are called away for an emergency or detained out of town and will need someone to see to your animals. I strongly suggest making a very detailed daily feeding and cleaning schedule and posting it in your chinchilla room. It should be written so that anyone could walk in off the street and know how to care for your animals in your absence. This sheet has saved us more times than you can imagine! It may also be useful to hide a spare key so that anyone you recruit for this job can gain access to your facility.
So now that you have the chinchilla room set up, its time for the animals. Your first decision is how many chinchillas to get. This is a personal choice that should be based on your chinchilla knowledge. If you have never had chinchillas before its best to start with a pair or two; however, if you have chinchilla experience you might want to start with a bit more. 10 to 20 would be a good starting number. Find a chinchilla breeder with lots of experience. Its important to visit their herd and see their animals. If you are unable to visit your breeder ask for references. There are some things you should consider when choosing good breeding stock. Obviously you will want healthy animals. Be sure their eyes are clear and their teeth look healthy. You'll want nice sized chinchillas with good fur quality and coloring. You'll also want to know the history of the animals you are buying. Be sure there is no history of illness or malocclusion in your chinchilla's family tree. Spend time with the chinchillas you are thinking of buying. The temperament of the parents will play a big role in the temperament of the babies. If the parent is overly nervous or has bad habits, the babies have a good chance of doing the same. Take your time and choose your herd for quality, not for who can give you the best deal. As Ivy Thomson says, "Spend extra money to get the best possible colors, temperament, and quality of chins. It will be worth it to you later."
Now that the animals are all settled in, the work begins. Chinchillas like stability so its best to create a maintenance schedule and then stick to it. Every breeder does things in his or her own way but this is an average breeder schedule:
Feeding and watering the chinchillas once everyday.
Dusting the chinchillas at least once a week.
Cleaning all of the cages and washing water bottles every week.
Disinfecting and deep cleaning once a month.
The time it takes to do this will vary depending on the number of animals you have. According to the questionnaires, the average amount of time spent was about 1 hour a day to feed and give fresh water and 6-10 hours to clean cages each week. This is for a herd of about 30-50 animals. So as you can see this is a time consuming job. You must also take into account the occasional sick chinchilla or baby that needs hand feeding.
Like anything else chinchilla breeding has its ups and downs. I think that almost every person who answered the questioner said that the babies were the best part of chinchilla breeding. As Serena of Chinchilla Park Place said, "Babies of course! I love raising the kits! I also love having so many chinchillas with different personalities. I love taking care of them, and their companionship." There is no way to describe the feeling of witnessing the miracle of birth. No matter how many babies we had it was always so exciting to find new life in the cage one morning. Sadly, not all babies make it. Every chinchilla breeder will eventually loose a kit. Sometimes it will be a stillborn baby, other times it will be a premature baby that only lives a few days, but I think the hardest of all is the runt that can't nurse and has to be hand fed and still can't pull through. It just rips your heart out to loose a baby after you have done everything in your power to try and keep it alive. I don't think you can ever be fully prepared emotionally. We lost a lot of babies over the years for different reasons and it never got easier to accept.
A chinchilla breeder has to be prepared for anything. With a herd of animals in your care things will eventually go wrong and an animal will get sick or hurt. You must have a vet picked out before a problem arises. If you have someone in your area that is experienced in chinchillas that is wonderful, but chances are you won't. Call around and ask who in your area will see chinchillas, then schedule an appointment to speak with them. Take a chinchilla with you to see how the vet interacts with it. The first vet we went to was afraid to hold our chinchilla. How can he treat an animal he won't touch? It is OK to have a vet who doesn't know everything on chinchillas as long as he or she is willing to study and learn more about them. There are some wonderful books out that can help your vet in treating your chinchilla. Visit http://www.cachins.org for their book as well as other good references for your vet.
There is a lot that goes into breeding chinchillas and I hope that this article has given you a glimpse of what goes into owning a chinchilla herd. Being a chinchilla breeder is a lot of fun but it is real work as well and can be quite costly. Its not a decision to be taken lightly.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to answer our questionaire
Ivy Thomson
Chinchilla Park Place
Crystal Chinchillas
Dawnna's Chocolate Chinchillas
Chinchilla Villa BC
Lynn Titlow
Leah
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