WHAT CHINS TO START OUT WITH

What quality chins should be used to start up a chinchilla breeding group? This is indeed quite a valid question that can easily be answered. the prime consideration is, of course, the financial resources available. From a breeder's point of view it can be stated quite categorically that one must always start out with the highest quality of breeding chins affordable and NEVER with inferior ones.

What is a good quality chin and what is an inferior one?

In this question i must equate quality chins with fur quality-what is acceptable and desirable to the fur industry. The pet chinchilla field is too recent to have well-established quality standards. There is no real point (in my opinion) in starting out with breeding stock that produces progeny essentially useless to the industry, although owners of pet stock may be satisfied with merely friendly chins in good health and attractive in appearance. Since my experience is with raising chins for fur, that is the background that i must use to judge chinchilla quality.

It is incorrect for a beginner to believe that he absolutely must start out with the most expensive, highest quality material. If he has indeed sufficien funds for that i would not discourage him, but this does NOT protect him against losses. The term "highest quality" chins refers to those that are the end product of a selective linebreeding process.

The best chinchilla breeders are invariably those who build up their stock from a group of mixed quality breeding chins.