| To Past, Present & Future Breeders ... |
Chinchilla breeders are multiplying like rabbits. This is not good, because many of them are
taking the plunge, without first, testing the waters.
The chinchilla buyer walks into our homes/breeding areas and thinks or says, "Oh, this must
be wonderful to have so many. You are so lucky!" And, of course, we are proud of our hard
work and proceed to tell them what a pleasure they are and how easy it is to take care of
them. We make it look so easy.
Without realizing it, you may have just planted the seed for a new breeder ... when you plant a
seed, there is the responsibility of watering, fertilizing and tending to it, in order for it to grow
into what it should be. To them, you made it look so easy and simple ... how hard could it
be? And before they leave, they are already thinking/planning about letting their little ones
have kits of their own. If you do not tell them otherwise ... they are thinking, "You get two
chinchillas, one male and one female and you put them together and they have all these sweet,
furry little chinchillas ... simple!"
What we need to tell them is, "Whoa! Slow down there! Not so simple!" There is a huge
responsibility that goes with being a breeder ... not only to the chins, but to everyone you allow
to have one of your chinchillas. If we fail to inform them about all the heartaches that go with
breeding, we are blowing a bubble that will eventually pop. But ... telling them the down sides
would be depressing and they seem so happy with their new kit ... they probably won't go into
breeding anyway. So, we've probably just got a new breeder-to-be on the road to at least one
certain tragedy, if we are not willing to, or can not, be there when they need us. It's better to be
truthfully depressing to someone, than to cause them depression and heartache because we
painted a rose with no thorns.
What is a breeder? Anyone who puts a male and female together is a potential breeder.
Of course they are not necessarily a good breeder. Anyone can place two animals of the same
species and of opposite sex together and allow them to produce offspring. It is the offspring
they produce that determines what kind of breeder they are ... IF they paired them with
knowledge ... not just dumb luck. To be a good breeder, you have to consistently be able to
produce high quality animals. There are always chinchillas that are born that do not meet the
high standards of a breeder/show chinchilla, even from the best pairings, but this should not
occur on a regular basis.
When we, as established breeders, allow one of our chinchillas be adopted to become a
breeding partner with someone else's chinchilla, it is our responsibility to see that the person
has the needed support and knowledge on how to properly pair chinchillas for breeding. If we
do not know how to teach this, or do not have the time, or dedication, then we do not need to
be breeding ourselves. Our responsibility, as a breeder, does not end until the last
chinchilla we breed takes it's last breath. Chinchillas can live to be over 20 years
old, some even in their 30s, so, to be a breeder, it is a life-time commitment.
How many of you started breeding, only to find this rose had thorns? Somewhere down the
line, when the first thorn pricked your heart, was when you found your first dead kit or
momma chin, or one suddenly died, for who knows what reason. You wondered, "Why didn't
someone warn you of this?" As responsible breeders, it is our duty to make sure
everyone is aware of all the aspects of breeding, not just the rewarding ones. I was
just as guilty as the next breeder of not telling people about the down side of breeding, because
I thought it happened so rarely. Of course, I'd forgotten most people buy their first chin and
some even start breeding on a whim, not a plan, therefore they are not as prepared as I was
when I started. But it only takes one time to be jerked back to reality.
I had studied all I could find about chinchillas for over a year and a half, before I bought my
second and third chinchillas. Did you catch that? "My second and third chinchilla" ... but not
my first chinchilla. Why? Because my first chinchilla was killed by an employee or customer
before I could take it home. I watched it grow from the day she was born (in the pet store)
until she was 8 weeks old, only to see her die without being able to bring her home with me.
Then, was when I decided to learn all I could before I even thought about getting another one.
Then, is when I knew how important it was/is for any chin owner to know how to care for
their little one. Then was when I knew chinchillas have no place in pet stores.
We got our first females almost two years after Misty died in the pet store. We got two
females, then, a month after we got the girls, came our 4th and 5th chins ... mates for the 2nd
and 3rd chins ... a year later, they were paired off. I put a standard female with a white
mosaic male and the other standard female with a black velvet. That was right, but it was
also, dumb luck. With all the studying I had done I had to have learned enough to be a good
breeder! How dumb could I get? Learning the basics of how to care for a chinchilla was only
a drop in the bucket towards learning how to breed them ... I would eventually find this out.
It is not just putting the correct colors together, or even knowing the health background of your
chinchillas. Both of which are a must and very important in breeding!
You also need to know about the fur quality (length, fullness, guard hairs, veiling and hue as
well as color). An understanding of the bone structure/build of a chinchilla is important. At
least a basic understanding of genetics is important. Knowing the background history of each
chin is a must!
Allot of new breeders have no idea of the seriousness of proper breeding and the
consequences of improper breeding. Many will use the excuse "but this is just one pair" ...
well, the "just one pair" can produce a whole line of chinchillas with problems that will cause
even the best to tumble down. Example: You put a Grand Champion with a chinchilla with
medical problems in their background. What do you produce? Many kits that have a "Grand
Champion" in their background, but are ticking time bombs because they, and all their future
kits, also have a bad medical history.
It is our responsibility, as breeders, to keep up with the kits that leave us and to teach those
that get the kits from us proper care and breeding, if they choose to breed.
The second half of our responsibility/reason in keeping up with the chins, is to know IF one
develops a genetically rooted medical problem, you know to remove the parents from
breeding (if it happens more than once). You do not continue to breed a chinchilla with a
known bad medical background.
If you don't care about the future chinchillas, you best think of the name that will follow them
... it will be your name ... not as the breeder of "one of" the parents, but as in "this kit comes
from the _________ line of chinchillas."
Our responsibility does NOT stop when someone leaves with their new chin.
taking the plunge, without first, testing the waters.
The chinchilla buyer walks into our homes/breeding areas and thinks or says, "Oh, this must
be wonderful to have so many. You are so lucky!" And, of course, we are proud of our hard
work and proceed to tell them what a pleasure they are and how easy it is to take care of
them. We make it look so easy.
Without realizing it, you may have just planted the seed for a new breeder ... when you plant a
seed, there is the responsibility of watering, fertilizing and tending to it, in order for it to grow
into what it should be. To them, you made it look so easy and simple ... how hard could it
be? And before they leave, they are already thinking/planning about letting their little ones
have kits of their own. If you do not tell them otherwise ... they are thinking, "You get two
chinchillas, one male and one female and you put them together and they have all these sweet,
furry little chinchillas ... simple!"
What we need to tell them is, "Whoa! Slow down there! Not so simple!" There is a huge
responsibility that goes with being a breeder ... not only to the chins, but to everyone you allow
to have one of your chinchillas. If we fail to inform them about all the heartaches that go with
breeding, we are blowing a bubble that will eventually pop. But ... telling them the down sides
would be depressing and they seem so happy with their new kit ... they probably won't go into
breeding anyway. So, we've probably just got a new breeder-to-be on the road to at least one
certain tragedy, if we are not willing to, or can not, be there when they need us. It's better to be
truthfully depressing to someone, than to cause them depression and heartache because we
painted a rose with no thorns.
What is a breeder? Anyone who puts a male and female together is a potential breeder.
Of course they are not necessarily a good breeder. Anyone can place two animals of the same
species and of opposite sex together and allow them to produce offspring. It is the offspring
they produce that determines what kind of breeder they are ... IF they paired them with
knowledge ... not just dumb luck. To be a good breeder, you have to consistently be able to
produce high quality animals. There are always chinchillas that are born that do not meet the
high standards of a breeder/show chinchilla, even from the best pairings, but this should not
occur on a regular basis.
When we, as established breeders, allow one of our chinchillas be adopted to become a
breeding partner with someone else's chinchilla, it is our responsibility to see that the person
has the needed support and knowledge on how to properly pair chinchillas for breeding. If we
do not know how to teach this, or do not have the time, or dedication, then we do not need to
be breeding ourselves. Our responsibility, as a breeder, does not end until the last
chinchilla we breed takes it's last breath. Chinchillas can live to be over 20 years
old, some even in their 30s, so, to be a breeder, it is a life-time commitment.
How many of you started breeding, only to find this rose had thorns? Somewhere down the
line, when the first thorn pricked your heart, was when you found your first dead kit or
momma chin, or one suddenly died, for who knows what reason. You wondered, "Why didn't
someone warn you of this?" As responsible breeders, it is our duty to make sure
everyone is aware of all the aspects of breeding, not just the rewarding ones. I was
just as guilty as the next breeder of not telling people about the down side of breeding, because
I thought it happened so rarely. Of course, I'd forgotten most people buy their first chin and
some even start breeding on a whim, not a plan, therefore they are not as prepared as I was
when I started. But it only takes one time to be jerked back to reality.
I had studied all I could find about chinchillas for over a year and a half, before I bought my
second and third chinchillas. Did you catch that? "My second and third chinchilla" ... but not
my first chinchilla. Why? Because my first chinchilla was killed by an employee or customer
before I could take it home. I watched it grow from the day she was born (in the pet store)
until she was 8 weeks old, only to see her die without being able to bring her home with me.
Then, was when I decided to learn all I could before I even thought about getting another one.
Then, is when I knew how important it was/is for any chin owner to know how to care for
their little one. Then was when I knew chinchillas have no place in pet stores.
We got our first females almost two years after Misty died in the pet store. We got two
females, then, a month after we got the girls, came our 4th and 5th chins ... mates for the 2nd
and 3rd chins ... a year later, they were paired off. I put a standard female with a white
mosaic male and the other standard female with a black velvet. That was right, but it was
also, dumb luck. With all the studying I had done I had to have learned enough to be a good
breeder! How dumb could I get? Learning the basics of how to care for a chinchilla was only
a drop in the bucket towards learning how to breed them ... I would eventually find this out.
It is not just putting the correct colors together, or even knowing the health background of your
chinchillas. Both of which are a must and very important in breeding!
You also need to know about the fur quality (length, fullness, guard hairs, veiling and hue as
well as color). An understanding of the bone structure/build of a chinchilla is important. At
least a basic understanding of genetics is important. Knowing the background history of each
chin is a must!
Allot of new breeders have no idea of the seriousness of proper breeding and the
consequences of improper breeding. Many will use the excuse "but this is just one pair" ...
well, the "just one pair" can produce a whole line of chinchillas with problems that will cause
even the best to tumble down. Example: You put a Grand Champion with a chinchilla with
medical problems in their background. What do you produce? Many kits that have a "Grand
Champion" in their background, but are ticking time bombs because they, and all their future
kits, also have a bad medical history.
It is our responsibility, as breeders, to keep up with the kits that leave us and to teach those
that get the kits from us proper care and breeding, if they choose to breed.
The second half of our responsibility/reason in keeping up with the chins, is to know IF one
develops a genetically rooted medical problem, you know to remove the parents from
breeding (if it happens more than once). You do not continue to breed a chinchilla with a
known bad medical background.
If you don't care about the future chinchillas, you best think of the name that will follow them
... it will be your name ... not as the breeder of "one of" the parents, but as in "this kit comes
from the _________ line of chinchillas."
Our responsibility does NOT stop when someone leaves with their new chin.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |