Breeding

ajwolford · 01-20-2004, 12:56 PM

Hello--I finally found my female her name is genie and for some reason I can't attach her picture! Anyway I was wondering if anyone could tell me a little more about the breeding. Are there seasons for breeding? If not I think we will be pregnant soon, I brought Genie home on saturday and it was all I could do to keep her and Chilly apart for 20 minutes, they have been busy ever since

and when they aren't they are loving on each other or sleeping together. So please tell me if this is normal and if there is any indication of pregnancy other than the plug cause I will never find that. Thanks[/b]

Candycane · 01-20-2004, 01:26 PM

Ok, well. Just for future reference, you should always quarantine new chins for at least 4 weeks. This means having them in a seperate room and washing every time you go from chin to chin. This prevents the spreading of any illness that either chin might have.

However, it's a little late for that now so here goes...

Generally, females go into heat about every 28-35 days. "Breeding season" usually starts around the end of October into late spring (around May) but females can give birth between June and September as well.

Females will also go into heat immediately after giving birth and once the kits are about 5 weeks (once she starts weaning them).

As for pregnancy, there are several ways to tell if a chin is pregnant. The gestation period is about 111 days. The female will really only start to put on a lot of weight in the last half of the pregnancy...that IMHO is the best way to tell that they are pregnant. Start weighing her weekly and keep track of the weight. She will start eating, drinking and sleeping more. She also may get irritable at which point, you may need to remove her mate for his safety. In preparation for the birth, make sure that you have a baby safe cage. The wire spacing should be no more than 1/2"X1/2". You will also need an extra cage for Chilly because he will need to be removed shortly before the birth (or immediately after) to prevent him from mating with Genie again. This is called breedback.

Here are several links on breeding. I barely scratched the surface.

http://www.twitch-chinchillas.com/breeding.html
http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/5...nbreeding.html

Here is a gestation calendar so that you have an idea when she is due.
http://chinchilla-exchange.hypermart.net/Gestation.html

Feel free to ask as many questions as you like. There are many experienced breeders here that are willing to help.

clearjade · 01-20-2004, 01:42 PM

If you have her picture saved on your harddrive, click on the Post Reply button and on the next page you will see a reply box. Below the reply box, there's a section called 'Add an Attachment'. Click on the 'Browse...' button to select the picture file and click 'Ok' then click on 'Add Attachment' (the button below the 'Browse...' button) and as long as your file is under 40kb, it will be attached to your message.

Hope this helps with posting her picture!

pamm013 · 01-20-2004, 03:05 PM

when my very first baby was born.. I had no idea at firs that she was pregnant.. then she started getting bigger... and like Candy said.. she got irratible... she beat the daylights outta her mate....
one good indication.. (and I dont know if they do this all the time or just sometimes) is the male hiccups afterward... Charlie had the hiccups after him and Livvie mated.. and I just counted 111 days from that.. 110 days later I had a baby chinchilla..

outbackchin · 01-20-2004, 03:24 PM

Congrats on finding your new girl!
As for pregnancy, I agree with everything candice has said above. Our females get very irritable during their first month of pregnancy. we weigh ours before they are pregnant and then weigh them consistently, especially if we start to notice weight gain. They will sleep on their sides, tire much more easily and have mood swings. Our boys always end up being pillows as the girls get closer to their due date. It is very important to have baby safe cages and I would highly recommend being ready for any situation that might arise during/after birth. We have a baby emergency kit ready to go....just in case we need to hand feed any of the babies and have a heating pad in case the litter is large. being over prepared is better than being under prepared. the more you know, the more at ease you will feel. congrats again and I hope you have babies soon....it truely is an amazing experience.

outbackchin's husband · 01-20-2004, 09:24 PM

How old is genie and how much does she weigh? Many breeders say not to put a female into breeding until she is 9 months old at at least 600 grams. We like to wait until they are at least 1 year old to ensure that she is fully grown.

Another thing to be aware of is checking the mail for a fur ring and removing it. A fur ring is a gathering of fur underneath a male's sheath (foreskin) around his penis. This can become very tight and a danger to his health. It is common in younger inexperienced males.

There really are many things you should know before breeding, and I highly recommend searching the internet for as much information as you can about chinchilla breeding. There are tons of good websites out there. Good luck!

kingsborochins · 01-21-2004, 07:32 AM

I agree. Make sure you do lots of research before breeding chinchillas. Just putting male and females together isn't highly recommended unless you know what you are doing.. Also, do you have places for babies to go or are you going to be keeping them?

ajwolford · 01-21-2004, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingsborochins

I agree. Make sure you do lots of research before breeding chinchillas. Just putting male and females together isn't highly recommended unless you know what you are doing.. Also, do you have places for babies to go or are you going to be keeping them?

It has been all I can do to read all the websites about breeding!!! The only problem is everyone says sominthing a little different so I am going to read them all and then play it by ear. Genie is only 7 months but she is 636 grams so hopefully that is large enough. I guess the only thing I have to go off of is the fact Chilly started churping the other day when they were mating. after that they have cooled off a lot and are just enjoying each other. Thanks for all the help.

ajwolford · 01-21-2004, 08:02 AM

Sorry,
I have 1 cage that they are in now that is baby safe and it is 1 level with a ramp and shelf we also put in 2 hammocks, we are getting a new cage that is 4 levels and each one is a ramped level; no drop offs and 2 of the levels section off if we want to seprate chilly in the same cage.

Candycane · 01-21-2004, 10:41 AM

Aj, I would seperate them until you know that her pelvic opening is large enough to breed.

I didn't realize she is so young. Yes, that is a good size for that age but you have to make sure that her opening is large enough to pass kits. There is a "Rule of Thumb" such that if the female's pelvic bones are as wide as a normal adults thumb, she should be fine. I'm not sure exactly where to feel...but I'm sure that someone else will. In the meantime, I would seperate them in hopes that she isn't pregnant already. Wait for a few months, make sure that her opening is large enough and then try again. If she is pregnant, and she doesn't meet the rule of thumb, I would start looking for a vet and emergency vet who are both capable of doing a c-section because you may need it.