First I would like to start by saying these are my opinions and the way I do things. Other breeders may use other practices that work best for them.
Second this has been a very rewarding experience for me. Every new birth is like the first time. It is always exciting and never ceases to amaze me. For me, with each new baby, it is always love at first sight.
Introducing Mates or Buddies:
To introduce a potential mating pair or potential cage buddies place them in cages side by side for a week. You can switch cages during this time to get them used to each other's smell. After a week, supervise them together in an area like a half bathroom. If they are not aggressive with each other you can try putting them in a freshly cleaned cage with clean cage accessories. It is important that the cage does not have their old smells so they do not become territorial of the cage.
When I introduce 2 mates I use a breeder cage and put a divider in the middle of the cage. When I am ready to try them together in a cage I will clean a cage of an already mated pair and take them out, put the new pair in that cage and put the already mated pair in the new pair's freshly cleaned cage old cage (without the divider of course). That may sound silly, but I have tried putting a new pair in their old cage and eventhough it was clean, they didn't get along. Then I put them in a cage they both had never been in and they got along fine. That's why it is important to wipe down the cage accessories also, so the cage is completely neutral to both chins.
Another method is called the "smoosh method" where you take a small carrier just big enough for 2 chins to sit in and place them in the cage (supervised) for a full day. This puts them in survival mode. Then place them in a freshly cleaned cage together and see how they act. Some breeders will place a small carrier in the cage and if one of the chins acts aggressive, that one goes in the smaller cage. Do not deprive them of food or water during this time. You can attach a small water bottle to the carrier to keep them hydrated.
Most chins are pretty laid back and usually after the introductory period they get along great, but sometimes 2 chinchillas are just not compatible and will not get along no matter what you do. They all have their own unique personalities.
1. It's easier to cage 2 siblings of the same sex together or 2 babies of the same sex that were weaned together.
2. A male chin will always be interested in a new female no matter what his age.
3. You can have 2 males together in a cage as long as there are no females close by. You can also house 2 females together.
Females can be territorial and aggressive towards males. If you have a new male that has never bred it is best to put him with a docile female to get his confidence up. I usually mate my pairs for life, but I have had to switch mates before and have not had any trouble. The older a female gets, the less likely she is to accept a new mate. I do not use breeding runs or collars so it is important to do the introductory period and monitor them afterwards. A dust bath is also a good bonding tool.
Breeding
When selecting a male and female to pair together do not pair 2 animals with the same weakness together. For example if you have a male that has gorgeous color, good size and blocky build, but his fur is not dense do not pair him with a female who has weak fur also. Pair him with a female that has really dense fur so the mating will complement each other and have a better chance of producing babies that are a better quality than the parents. For breeding I look for a big blocky build with a wide neck. You do not want to breed a pie shaped animal with a skinny neck. I also look for plush, dense fur, a short nose and short ears. I like a big broad head too and of course a good pedigree.
I put each of my males and females into breeding pairs in a 24" x 18" x 36" cage that includes an extra large pine house and wheel for exercise. Eventually I am going to enlarge the cages to 5 feet wide to give them plenty of extra space to run and jump.
Females
The estrus cycle of a female is every 28 days and the heat period is 2 days. So, every month for 2 days she could get pregnant. Mating seems to be more successful during late winter and early spring. Then it slows down late summer to early fall when the days get shorter. Even in a controlled environment the chinchillas seem to sense the change and will mate according to the season. Normally you can not see an opening in the females vagina, but when they come into heat you will be able to see a slight opening. Mating can go on all night so much so that twice I have had to remove 2 different females from their cage for a day because of exhaustion so always keep a close eye on them. Most breeding information will tell you to watch for a mating plug that is white to flesh colored and about 1/2 inch long to confirm a successful mating, but I have found a mating plug only once and it was stuck to the females bottom. It is almost about the diameter of a pencil and very waxy and sticky. You also may see little tuffs of hair in the cage. After a male and female have bonded it can take several weeks to a year before they successfully mate. I have had a chinchilla get pregnant the first day she was in with a male and I have had it take a full year.
Gestation
It can be hard to tell if a female is pregnant the first 3 months. When you think they are pregnant it is best not to handle them, if possible, during this time. When you do be extremely careful. Do not try to feel around for the babies because that could injure them or cause her to abort the babies. Many females will have mood swings during pregnancy; some grouchy, some more laid back. Females are pregnant about 111 days so if you see your breeding pair mating you can mark you calendar to give you an idea of when the babies will be born. I also weigh my female chins once a month. The first month they do not hardly gain any weight. After about 30 days you should start to see a steady weight gain. By the time she reaches 60 days into her pregnancy she will have gained around 50 grams. She will continue to gain weight until the end of her pregnancy. A weight gain of 150 to 200 grams could mean a multiple litter. Chinchillas can have 1 to 3 litters a year with usually 1 to 3 babies, but can have as many as 6. Most of my females have 1 to 2 babies, sometimes 3 and I have only had quads once. When the female reaches about 90 days their nipples will get redder and longer. Normally you can hardly find them, but by the time she delivers they will be almost as long as her hair. They have 6 nipples; 3 on each side. If you start under her armpit and move straight down you should be able to locate them. Also blowing into the fur gently in that area can help you to locate them. You will notice that she is gaining weight and her stomach is getting bigger and firmer. First time mothers usually have 1 baby and smaller in size so it can be harder to tell that they are pregnant, but with large litters you will see that even the sides of her belly start to protrude making it obvious.
Labor and Delivery
If you have a wheel or house in the cage remove them. Babies can get injured on the wheel or squished in or under the house. Place a small bottle or can in the cage if you leave the male in so the babies don't get trampled when the male and female mate.
Most babies will be born early in the morning, but it can happen any time of the day. When the mother is in labor I usually see her over in a corner of the cage being quiet and still. They will sometimes hunch up when they have a contraction. She may bend down to check the progress of the delivery. (Many times the male will hover over them and stay close to the female. I have 1 male that grooms his female's face when she is in labor and places both arms around her as if to comfort her. When she has the babies and goes to get a drink of water he tucks the babies under him to keep them warm). I do not bother the female during labor and delivery.
When the female is getting close to delivering the baby you may see her rear up onto her hind legs and start cleaning her vagina, which will be open. Often she will be cleaning up the birth fluid. Her face, vaginal area, and the cage floor may be damp. After a while you will see the female sitting up on her hind legs and it will be evident that she is starting to push the baby out. After the head of the baby is out the female may lean forward and clean away the birth sac from the face of the baby to make sure he or she is able to breathe. She will then continue to push and pulls the baby out with her mouth. There is usually a little bit of blood on her face, mouth and the pine shavings. If she is having multiple babies the baby that is already born will be left wet and alone until she is completely done so it is important that the room does not get too cold or drafty. It can take up to 45 minutes in between each delivery. After all of the babies are born the mother will tuck them underneath her to dry and nurse. The mother will deliver an after birth for each baby she delivers. Sometimes the mom will eat the after birth and it is high in protein. I have read that the after birth is a good supply of nutrients for her especially with her nursing. I have also read that you shouldn't let them eat the after birth because it could cause a blockage, but my chinchillas have never had a problem. I did have an instance where the after birth did not come out until the next day when the male tried to mate with the female. I have also read to give the female a couple of raisins after she is done delivering to keep her from getting a blockage. It is also good to give the female 1 or 2 raisins after delivery to help the mother's milk to come in.
2 Uterine Horns:
female chinchillas have 2 uterine horns and it is possible for them to be pregnant in one horn and then get pregnant 2 to 4 weeks later in the other horn. This can result in having 1 or 2 larger babies and 1 or 2 a little bit smaller or noticeably smaller. The smaller babies are premature. When the female has contractions for the first pregnancy she will deliver all babies from both horns. Sometimes these premature babies will not have their eyes open yet or may have underdeveloped fur growth. If these babies live past the 3rd day they will usually make it. You may have to hand feed them.
BABIES
It is very important to weigh newborns every day to make sure they are gaining weight. That way if for some reason the mothers milk does not come in you will know and can supplement feeding with goats milk.
Baby chinchilas are born fully furred with their eyes open, complete with teeth and toneails. They immediately start trying to get up after birth and in an hour are dry, checking out the cage and trying to nurse. Sometimes babies will not nurse right away because they may already have a supply of food still in them. The mother will clean her babies making them squeak loudly and tuck them under her to encourage them to nurse. If the mother has very dense fur you can carefully trim away the hair around each nipple, but it is usually not necessary. After the babies start nuring the hair usually thins out around each nipple anyway. Check the babies everyday. Feel their tummy to make sure it is full. Babies have no depth perception and no fear of heights so do not have them in a cage higher than 18". They like to climb to the top and jump off. They must be in a breeder cage with smaller openings. A pet cage's openings are too large and the babies can easily squeeze out. I let mom and babies take a dust bath together 1 week after they are born. When a baby is first born their tail lays flat on the ground, but after 1/2 a day the tail starts to kink up and by the time they are 2 days old their tails are curled up in the air. A baby with their tail up in the air is a healthy baby that is nursing well. Babies usually weigh 30 to 60 grams when born. Anything under 25 grams will not normally make it. It is good to weigh your babies every day. They should gain 5 to 10 grams a week the first 2 weeks. (They may not gain the first couple of days until mom's milk comes in.) Once a baby reaches 5 weeks they usually settle into a pattern of eating, sleeping, running around, jumping and climbing.
Hand Feeding Babies
You can purchase goats milk in the dairy section of the grocery. Shake the milk thoroughly and fill ice cube trays with the goats milk. This way you can thaw a cube to room temperature as needed without having to worry about it spoiling before you use it all. You can use an eye dropper and holding the baby gently around the middle place a drop of the goats milk on the outside of their lip and let them lick it off. Never stick the dropper in their mouth and squeeze, this can fill up their lungs with milk suffocating them. Patiently feed one drop at a time until they will no longer lap it up. Eventually they will eat from the dropper from inside the cage and after that from a bottle. You may also have to do this if mom has a large litter. Mom can also drink the goats milk and it will help her milk to come in. Goats milk is very digestible and is higher in fat so the babies do well on it.
Foster Feeding
Another method some breeders use when a mom has a large litter and not enough milk is using a foster mother for nursing. You would use a mother that has a single baby that is doing well and is about 3 to 4 weeks old, wean it early and rub that baby and the smallest baby from the larger litter together all over so they will smell the same. You can also rub the baby on the foster mom or rub a few damp shavings from the foster mom's cage onto the baby. You can also wean the original baby 12 hours earlier so the mother will have more milk accumulated to nurse the adoptive baby with and the foster mom will be missing having a baby.
Babies Eyes
You can use a drop of natural tears to try to gently open the babies eyes if they are born close. It is important not to get the baby all wet around the eyes or anywhere on them. It the babies eyes get a little crusty I use terramycin from Tractor Supply and put a tiny amount on the eyes 1 to 2 times a day until they are clear. If they do not clear up in a week you may need to take them to a vet who will most likely prescribe 1 drop of baytril a day to get rid of any infection. I use this as a last resort because it seems to ruin their appetite. If I do have to use it I give them yogurt with probiotics 4 hours after the drops to keep good bacteria in their digestive systems.
Litter size
I like them to have no more than 2 babies at a time because the babies get plenty of milk and they can each have their own side to nurse on so there is no fighting. When mom has 1 baby that baby grows and chubs out quickly, with 2 babies they still do pretty good, with 3 there may be 1 that is smaller that you have to watch to make sure they are getting enough milk and not getting shoved away by their bigger siblings. You may even have to give the smaller baby some alone time with mom to make sure they are getting enough milk. With quads I have had to let them nurse in sets of 2 and switch them every 4 hours or they would continually fight. (I have heard of a chinchilla mom having 6 babies and nursing them all herself!) Babies can easily injure each other with their teeth. Many breeders file a babies nails and clip the end of their teeth at birth so they don't hurt each other or mom when nursing. If a baby does get a bite mark I would treat it with a small amount of neosporin until it heals up. Many times you will find they are only nursing from the same 2 nipples. If this happens go ahead and trim the hair away around each nipple. If they still fight you will have to start rotating them, taking out the babies that are bullying the littlest one for an hour every 3 hours, letting the littlest have alone time with mom. Don't wait longer than 2 to 3 days because they may get too weak to nurse and will just lay next to mom. You must rotate during the day and night for the first 3 weeks.
I remove the wheel after the babies are born and this goes into the fathers cage. I let my pregnant females still use the wheel and have never had any problem, but the babies could be injured easily by the wheel.
Breedback
The female is in heat for 3 days after she gives birth. If you do not remove the male for these 3 days she can become pregnant again and will be nursing a litter and have another litter growing inside her. Use common sense and compassion. If this is the mom's first baby and she only had one then I would have no problem letting her do a Breedback as long as she is doing well and the baby is too. You will want to put a pint size glass bottle in the cage so the baby can crawl into it and be protected when the male and female are mating. If the mother had a large litter then I would not do a Breedback and even after the babies are weaned I would give mom a break to recoup before she goes back into breeding. If the baby born is small or unsteady then I would remove dad and let baby have alone time with mom in a quiet environment so the baby can nurse and bond with the mother.
Most of the time dad is like a second mom to the babies so if I do remove him I put him in a cage right next to the mom and babies cage. Then after the 3 days I put dad back in. Sometimes mom is very protective and does not want dad in the cage and he will have to remain in the cage next to them so he does not get injured by the female. Sometimes the dad may be aggressive with the babies and will have to be removed. If this is the case do not put him in the cage next to the mom and babies. Also a male knows if the babies are not his and may try to kill the babies so if you know the female is pregnant by a different male I would remove the male before she delivers. When you reintroduce the male and female you would start at the beginning by putting them in a cage side by side.
Hair Rings on Males
This is something you need to keep an eye on especially when a male is in breeding. Most mature males will keep themselves clean, but a younger male or even an older male may get a hair ring around the penis that they can not remove themselves. A hair ring is fur that gets wrapped around the penis. It can be several hairs intertwined and very strong. If left untreated it can result in infection and death. You can hold the male on his back on a towel and gently, with a little bit of petroleum jelly, pull down the foreskin of the penis and gently pull the penis from the sheath. The penis will extend out about an inch so make sure you extend it out gently to the base to check for a hair ring. Most of the time you can gently pull or roll the hair ring off of the penis. Sometimes you may have to very very carefully use cuticle scissors to cut the hair ring off. If that is the case I would have another person hold the male securely, have good lighting and a magnifier. If there is any marks you can use a little neosporin to clear it up. It is very important to check for hair rings on males, especially during breeding. Some males will not mate even if the hair ring is only one tiny strand. If you notice the penis on a male dragging down or he is picking at himself, check for a hair ring.
Many breeders use breeding runs and collars. I do not use this method. This is where a breeder has 1 male in a wire tunnel behind several cages that contain females and the male has access to each cage through the tunnel. Each cage has a shut off to the tunnel to keep the male out when needed. Each female wears a metal collar so she can not fit through the opening to the tunnel and can not get back into the other females'cages. This method allows you to use 1 top quality male to mate to several females, reducing your costs and increasing your amount of babies, while using less space. You start by letting the male run up and down the tunnel for 10 days to 2 weeks so the females get used to him. With a new male he should have his own cage for about a week so he doesn't get lost or confused in the tunnel and can come back to his cage to drink or eat. Then open the cage of the most docile female to start with to build the males confidence. Then every 1 or 2 days open up a new jump hole to another females cage. Open the jump holes early in the morning when they are least active. Once the male is confident and doing well in the tunnel you can use his cage for a new female. When he is hungry he will use one of the females' cages to eat and drink from.
Collars on Females
You need to pay close attention to females wearing breeding collars. Again I do not use these. If the collar is too loose they can get their feet and mouth stuck in it. If it is too tight it will cut into their neck as they grow. If this happens remove the collar and apply neosporin until it heals up.
If you have an aggressive female and she has a collar on she can not follow the male back into the tunnel, thus keeping him out of harms way. There have been cases where a baby has gotten into the tunnel to another females cage and been killed. Also if you have an aggressive male he can get away with bad behavior toward the females because they can't follow him so you still need to keep a close eye on all of the chinchillas. To avoid mishaps, after you know a female is pregnant or will deliver soon, you can close off the opening to the tunnel so the babies can not climb into it.
Weaning
I wean the babies at 6 weeks and 200 grams. They are eating dry food by 3 to 4 weeks and if you leave the babies in with mom longer than 6 weeks the chances of mom getting fed up with nursing and grumpy with the babies increases. She may even nip them or worse. I wean the babies with other chinchilla babies of the same age and sex from other litters. This makes the transition of leaving mom easier and they have playmates. Sometimes if the baby comes from a single litter they will be a little scared at first of the other babies, but will warm up to them in a couple of days. Just make sure they have a ferre trail tunnel or something to hide in so they feel safe. If you have a large litter of the same sex you can place a divider in mom's cage so they can still see, smell and touch noses with mom, but not nurse. This is nice to do for about a week to make the transition easier for the babies. After you wean the babies, monitor them for another 6 weeks to make sure they are eating, drinking and continuing to gain weight. Remember they are babies and need to be treated as such. They can have play time, but will need frequent breaks and naps just like a human baby. Be patient and kind, chinchillas have a long memory. I hold the babies every day and continue to hold them every day after weaning. The babies will still have to get used to their new owner's voice and smell, but it will make taming them much easier. After that they will be ready to go to their new home of the person that you have thoroughly educated on chinchilla care. If you come across a person that you do not feel comfortable giving or selling your chinchilla baby to, don't. Also remember their tiny rib cages are fragile so they are not suitable for a younger or high energy child. Every customer I have sold to has always been excited and ready to spoil their new baby!
