Chinchillas and Breed Backing
Posted by Jennifer Snyder on Tue, Aug 11, 2009 @ 08:44 AM
Breed backing refers to breeding a female chinchilla immediately after she gives birth. Females are fertile after delivery and for the next 72 hours, and any males will attempt to mate them if they are not separated into different cages. Breed backing is generally discouraged as it proves to have potential health risks for the female chinchilla and the potential risks for the kits. There are several reasons why breed backing is discouraged:
1. The new mother may be unable to produce the necessary nutrients for her recently born kit and the forming kits. If the mother is still nursing kits during this point in her pregnancy she may become run down as her body works to provide for the needs of all of her kits.
2. Overall wear and tear to the mother. Having 2 sets of babies in a row is a lot of work! Imagine nursing your newborn baby while new babies are consuming energy as they grow. Defiantly not pleasant.
3. The new born kit may be injured during the “chase”. Every played pacman? Remember the chase scene between Mrs Pacman and Pacman? In that screen they end with a pretty heart. In a breed backing scene it ends with a fussy female annoyed that the male jumped on her right after giving birth. There is hair flying, annoyance and undue stress to the new mother. Nothing like starting motherhood with your man not letting up. During this next mating, newborn kits could possibly be injured.
For these reasons and many others breed backing is not encouraged. Now it seems like common sense right? No breed backing no problem. Babies are born=mother and kit should be separated from the other males and their mate. Unfortunately it is not always this easy. It is often very difficult to tell if your female chinchilla is pregnant. It is unadvisable to feel around for kits, as this could cause a whole slew of problems ranging from bad to worse including stress during pregnancy, premature birth, damage to the fetus, and damage to the mother. So what else is there? Well the mother may lay on her side, look more full (like a cat when pregnant), become more irritable with you and her mate, tear fur from her sides (to expose nipples for nursing), have enlarged nipples (on a chinchilla difficult to see, especially if she has already had kits in the past). You might possibly detect a mating plug right after the mating has occurred, but in short it is terribly difficult to be 100% sure.
The average length of pregnancy is 111 days however some chinchillas will deliver early and others will go a bit later. Here is an interesting chart on chinchilla fetus development. The majority of chinchillas will birth their babies during the early morning hours but they can deliver any time of day. This means you may be at work, come home, think you separated them quickly enough, but indeed be too late. If you think your chinchilla may be pregnant it is best to separate them before babies are born. If you are unable to do so, don’t fret. Though it is unadvisable, chinchillas are typically strong and healthy and your chinchilla will more than likely be just fine. This has happened to me before, though I prefer to wait several months between breeding. I avoid the situation, but again sometimes it is very difficult to tell. If you suspect your chinchilla may have become pregnant again, the only thing to do is wait and see. Chinchillas are healthy enough that this typically is not a serious dilemma, but a situation that should be avoided. If others have tips on avoiding breed backing, your feedback would be greatly appreciated as we strive to give the most up-to-date information regarding proper chinchilla care and breeding.