Step One1. Do your homework. You should be researching Chinchillas, their origins, their diet, anatomy, care. You should read about breeding, the risks, costs, and requirements. We suggest joining ECBC or MCBA ( Empress Chinchilla Breeders Cooperative or Mutation Chinchilla Breeder Association ) to read the monthly news letters and learn about upcoming shows in your area.
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Step Two2. Go to a few shows. Get to know some breeders and pick their brains. Before you even purchase a breeding animal you should learn from those with experience in the field.
You also should take the opportunity at the show to learn about Fur Density, clarity, confirmation, color, etc. Below is a link with many terms that will be used to judge a Chinchilla. |
Step Three3. If you're still interested in breeding you'll need cages.
The most common set up used by breeders is breeding runs. They have 3 or more cages connected by a tunnel ( run). The cages contain the females, and a male is placed in the run. There are holes for the male to enter the cages to eat/ drink/ and breed with the females, but the females wear a breeding collar to keep them from fitting into a run. This is for the safety of all the chins. Another option is colony cages. 2-5 females and 1 male in a larger cage. |
Step Four |
Step Five |
& Step Six |
4. To get started on your herd you should purchase your first couple of animals from a show so you can see what place they took and ask other breeders to show you what each animal lacks, and how they will compliment each other.
If this is not possible, you should visit a local breeder and ask them to help teach you. You can then purchase animals from them. |
5. Once you set your pairs, colonies, or runs up, you can begin your herd. From here it's all about maintaining good husbandry and waiting for your kits to arrive. After your kits are born you should be holding most if not all kits back to grow out and show.
By doing this you are learning if you made the right pairings and improved. You should always strive to improve and produce a better animal than what you started with, but it's also common to produce same or pet-quality kits too. |
6. After you show your first show string of animals, you can decide who is going into breeding, who is going to a pet home, and if you're ready to bring fresh bloodlines in as well as other quality animals to improve were yours may be lacking.
Breeding from here will be a constant repeat of step 4, 5, and 6. Your goal should always be to improve. Once you start producing strong, quality animals you may even start selling breeding animals to other breeders! |