To breed chinchillas you need kfh or sp. Chinchilla breeding as a business: is it profitable to produce luxurious fur? Feasibility study for opening a chinchilla farm

Chinchilla is the only fur animal that was not even taken to breed in the USSR, since these animals did not reach the collective farm level. It will not work collectively to breed or engage in chinchilla breeding. Such a business can only be private, and only a good owner can breed these animals, who will take the matter with all responsibility, and will give himself completely and completely.

Something about chinchillas

Chinchilla is a gentle animal that does not smell, does not require a huge territory for breeding. All he needs is good care and regular feeding. Many chinchilla farmers talk about a special formula for success, thanks to which this business will become profitable: selection, quality feed, genetics, microclimate, regular and proper feeding, as well as a piece of their soul.

The birthplace of chinchillas, beautiful animals with valuable fur and tasty meat, is South America. The natural habitats of chinchillas are the north of Chile, Argentina, Peru, the Andes. Until recently, intensive (one might say, industrial) hunting was carried out on these fluffies, which caused a sharp decrease in the number of the family.



On the photo of a chinchilla

Habitat conditions - rocky dry mountain areas, and preference is given to the northern slopes. Their shelter is the hollows of stones, rocky crevices, if there are none, the animals dig holes. Rodents have perfectly adapted to mountain life, as they live even at an altitude of 5 thousand meters above sea level. seas.
Chinchillas are monogamous and live in colonies. The average life expectancy of fluffies is about twenty years. The main way of life is nocturnal.

Wild chinchillas feed on typical plants, but they can also feed on lichens, shrubs, mosses, cacti, tree bark, or insects.

Chinchilla fur is considered royal. It even has its own history: having appeared in Europe (the rodent was brought from Spain), only the highest nobility began to wear it. Moreover, the amount of fur on the uniform that officials were allowed to wear was determined by their status and rank. And princes under the age of 18 were even forbidden to wear it.

The mass extermination of chinchillas (how else to call such a hunt!) began at the beginning of the 19th century. But after the introduction of the animal into the Red International Book, hunting for chinchillas is prohibited. Thanks to this law, chinchilla fur has become even more expensive, so poachers still continue to exterminate rodents.

How to recognize an animal

The chinchilla, in size and shape, is very reminiscent of a squirrel: the same curved spine, long hind legs and short front legs. She moves in almost the same way as a squirrel - by jumping.

The head of the animal is triangular in shape, the neck is short, so it is almost invisible. But the ears are clearly visible - they are large and almost naked. In nature, animals most often have black eyes, but on chinchilla farms and at home, almost all chinchillas kept have red eyes.

A feature of rodents is sharp, constantly growing teeth (they have 24 of them). They require regular grinding, so roughage is simply necessary for animals. When growing chinchillas, many farmers forget about this fact, which leads to the formation of growths on the teeth (hooks) that injure the cheeks and tongue of rodents. If this happened in the wild, the animals die, and if on a farm, then they have to be treated for a long time.

Is chinchilla breeding a profitable business?

The relevance of this business consists of the following indicators:

  • Low cost of fur (it will take no more than a hundred rubles to grow one male, and its cost by 2-3 months can be 3,000 - 12,000 rubles).
  • You can run a business without experience in breeding chinchillas - it's simple.
  • You can save on cages for growing chinchillas - make them yourself.
  • Availability of sales of chinchilla fur - fur salons and so on.
  • Well, the final key point is low competition in the field of chinchilla breeding.

At home, it is difficult to organize a profitable business selling chinchilla skins or meat. It is impossible to keep more than 3-4 individuals in an apartment or even a private house. In such conditions, the female most often gives the minimum offspring - one baby.
The area that is needed for keeping chinchillas in industrial breeding is from 50 sq. m. This is a cellular animal. But since the cells can be placed in tiers (2-3 rows up), then 80 chinchillas can be placed per 10 square meters. m.

Thanks to such small areas, chinchillas can be quickly isolated in case of a dangerous situation, for example, some kind of epidemic. These animals are not vaccinated. The only vaccination given to chinchillas is against ringworm.

Where to begin

If you already have a desire to start breeding chinchillas, organize a small farm - up to 50 individuals. It will need no more than 25-30 square meters. m. Provide the animals with conditions as close as possible to natural:

  • air humidity - not less than 55% and not more than 60%;
  • temperature - the lower maximum is 13 degrees Celsius, the upper one is about 20 degrees Celsius;
  • no direct sunlight (in nature they live on the north side) - otherwise the fur of animals will lose its value;
  • make drinkers, cages, feeders;
  • each cage must contain sand - the animals clean their fur coats with it.

The minimum height of a standard cage is from 45-50 centimeters, if the cages are made a little lower, the chinchillas will be injured, spoiling the fur. For cells, a galvanized mesh of 1.5x2 centimeters is used. Minimum cage dimensions: length - 0.8 m, height - 0.5 m, width - 0.6 m.

Drinking bowls and feeders should be in front of the cage so that it is convenient to add water and feed the chinchillas.

Retractable trays are necessarily installed under each cage, which are filled with tyrsa or special fillers - to maintain cleanliness.
When breeding chinchillas at home, they need to make a spacious cage. It is installed so that the animals do not feel drafts, and also away from heating devices. These rodents do not like either hypothermia or overheating: the result of overheating is the death of animals, a draft - respiratory diseases.
Rodents are active at night, so placing cages in bedrooms is not recommended. The cage should have a lot of shelves, steep slopes, passages - chinchillas lead an active lifestyle. Be sure to equip your chinchilla home cage with a drinker, hay feeder and feeder. Although rodents like to live in shelters, it is not necessary to put houses in cages.

If it is planned to keep individuals of both sexes in a cage, then the replanting of males is done extremely carefully: at first they are kept side by side, but in separate cages - they must get used to each other. Females, such cases are known, can kill males. If the rodents are accustomed to each other - settle them in one cage.

Care, feeding

Growing chinchillas is not an easy task. From the furnishing of the place of residence of the animals until the day they are sold, it will take a lot of time, during which you will have to put in a lot of effort. In particular:

  1. Decide on a diet

What to feed a chinchilla? It's not as difficult as it might seem. Chinchilla food should consist of two parts:

  • the first 50% of all feed is dry grass, hay, and hay is a must. It is served with a hay feeder, as the dust from it can spoil the fur of chinchillas. Dry grass is nettle, dandelion, clover and plantain. Other herbs are also possible, as long as they are not poisonous, but it is also necessary to give such food.
  • the second 50% of feeds are dried fruits, special feeds and tree bark, and if you give dried fruits to a chinchilla, then only well-dried ones.

In general, an adult animal eats no more than 30 g of different food per day. Think well about the issue of feeding rodents, because the better to feed chinchillas (higher quality), the more expensive their fur will become.


Photo feeding domestic chinchillas with granulated food

  1. Keep chinchillas clean

A chinchilla should always be clean, in fact, like her cage. If they talk about bathing rodents, they mean cleaning the wool with sand (they don’t need water!). The chinchilla bathes on its own. If there are several animals in the cage, then they will really cope with such a task on their own. But when you keep only one rodent, he will need your help: combing and cutting matted fur (tangles).

Coarse-grained river sand for chinchillas is unsuitable - finely dispersed sand is needed (zeolite is best - it does not cut the villi). Breeding and keeping the animal clean means:

  • change into shavings in a cage - weekly;
  • fry the sand, after passing it through a sieve - every month;
  • carry out processing (disinfection of the cell) - once every six months.


Photo chinchilla and chinchillas

And in order for the fur of the animal to be really beautiful (commodity), try to hold the chinchilla in your hands less: if you take a rodent, then take it by the ear or by the tail.
Chinchillas living at home - in apartments, need regular walks. These animals are extremely mobile, therefore, when breeding, they will not survive the constant presence in the cage. Try to let them out into the room every day (at least for half an hour). At the same time, keep an eye on them: that's why they are rodents to gnaw on everything - furniture, clothes, shoes and even electrical wires.

When do chinchillas reach puberty?

Chinchillas that are 5 months old are considered sexually mature. But the fertilization of females is carried out only at the age of 10 months. The number of fertilizations per year is no more than three. After each lambing, the female gives birth to one to three cubs.

Actually, the breeding and maintenance of rodents is based on 3 elephants - fertility, fur quality, survival. It is the quality of the fur that determines the state of health of the chinchilla: the better it is, the healthier the animal itself. And the quality of the fur, as a result, depends on what the chinchilla was fed, that is, on its diet.
Experienced farmers have a saying: if you want to know what kind of diet a chinchilla had, look at its back (fur). A real specialist, just by looking at the “casing”, will immediately tell what kind of diet the chinchilla had and whether the feeding technology was followed.

When does fur mature?

The “ripeness” of chinchilla fur is judged by several parameters. Moreover, in the female and in the male, the period of fur maturity occurs at different times:

  • in a female - at the age of 6.5 to 7 months, with a weight of 470 grams;
  • in a male - at the age of 7.5 to 9 months, with a weight of 500 grams.

But the length of females and males, in which the "fur has matured", is almost the same - from 19 to 27 centimeters.
To select a pair for further breeding of animals, the birth rates of chinchilla parents are taken into account. If they are at a sufficiently high level (for one lamb - more than 2-3 cubs), then they can be used for further breeding, because the productivity of individuals is transmitted genetically.

As you can see, keeping chinchillas both at home and on farms is not too troublesome. Cotton and oil are called white and black gold, while the fur of small chinchillas, many specialist farmers are sure of this, may well become “gray gold”.

Even a person far from animal husbandry can start breeding chinchillas for commercial purposes. These animals do not require special care, they do not need specific food or special housing conditions. They are quite unpretentious and prolific. This allows you not to worry about the lack of start-up capital and the impressive costs that can be incurred during the breeding process.

Most often, chinchillas are bred to sell their fur. This business option is the most profitable. He is able to quickly recoup the costs and lead the businessman to a sustainable profit.

But there are other ways to build a "chinchilla" empire. The most humane would be breeding animals for the purpose of selling them. Chinchillas produce offspring and can be sold to pet stores and individuals. This income will not be as big as selling fur, but you will not have to kill animals.

The meat of these animals is also very famous. It is dietary and should be on the menu of people with tuberculosis and sclerosis. To understand whether it is profitable or not to breed chinchillas, you need to highlight the features of this business, calculate the approximate costs and demand.

Features of running a "chinchilla" business

This type of business gets a positive color due to the fact that animals live for about 20 years, if properly cared for. During this period, they are able to give an impressive offspring. After birth, small individuals feed on mother's milk and only after 7 - 10 days they can be fed with food. Additional power is not required.

The features of the "chinchilla" business include:

  1. Animals do not have seasonal molting, their fur is always in excellent condition. It will not interrupt trading.
  2. Nutrition does not require large investments: dry food can be diluted with grass according to the season.
  3. Breeding does not require special knowledge, the main thing is to feed the animal during the time, clean the cages, etc.
  4. The animal lives only in a room in which there should be comfortable conditions: warm, dry, it is also important to clean it on time. If there are drafts in the room, then you need to quickly eliminate them.
  5. The presence of a separate cage for each animal whose age has reached 3 months;
  6. For breeding cultivation, only the best animal is left, the rest at 7 - 8 months are considered as a potential commodity.
  7. Mating must occur between individuals that are not related by kinship.
  8. The chinchilla family, which will be as prolific as possible, looks like: 4 females and 1 male.
  9. Usually, males that do not take part in "family" mating are killed first.
  10. Every year, a female chinchilla can become pregnant 3 times. On average, one offspring brings 5 ​​animals. The pregnancy itself lasts approximately 110 days.
  11. An adult individual eats about 6 kg of grass and 12 kg of feed per year.
  12. New types of food are introduced into the diet gradually, because. Animals may develop allergies.

Particular attention is paid to disinfection. In order for the chinchilla fur to have a decent appearance, it needs to be regularly looked after:

  • daily cleaning after feeding;
  • shavings are changed once a week. If there are too many waste products of the animal, then you can change it earlier;
  • sand is changed once a month;
  • once every six months, a complete disinfection of the premises and the cells themselves takes place. Animals should not be around at this time.

If you follow these simple rules, a business built on growing chinchillas will be successful.

It is noteworthy that you need to catch an animal only by the ear or tail.

Then you need to take care of the cells and their arrangement. Sawdust is purchased in advance so that it can be changed in time. Food also needs to be purchased with a margin, especially if a large number of chinchillas are expected. After that, you should decide who will serve the animals. This may be the business owner himself, or maybe a hired worker. Statistics show that on average one person can serve 500 individuals per week.

The most important aspect in the entire algorithm is the legislative design of activities. If you neglect the law, you can get an impressive fine, and the animals can be confiscated. The price of consumables and feed do not rise sharply. But chinchilla furs are getting more expensive from year to year. This has a positive effect on the profitability of the venture.

This business has no seasonality. Chinchilla fur and meat are always in excellent condition.

One of the basic conditions for keeping healthy individuals is to maintain cleanliness and order in the room where the chinchillas will be located. The air temperature should be between 18 - 20 degrees Celsius. If it rises to 30 degrees, then the condition of the animals can deteriorate sharply and they will have a stroke.

Humidity should be no more than 60%. The cage should be metal and not too small. It should contain a house made of plywood or wood. Also in the cage should be bathing sand in a separate container, bedding and drinking bowls. It is not necessary to purchase expensive products for disinfection. You can simply wash the "housing" of the chinchilla with water and laundry soap.

How to make a menu and take proper care

Chinchillas can be attributed to the "green" gourmets. They love green branches and leaves. But they will not give up on hay, fruits and vegetables. Most often, the animal is fed with special food. The vitamins contained there contribute to maintaining their health and attractive appearance.

To avoid problems with your teeth, you need to periodically grind them. For this, a salt stone will do. You need to carefully select food for feeding chinchillas. It must be natural. It is good when a large percentage of the content in it will be hay, oats and wheat.

You can also prepare food yourself. To do this, you need to prepare the following ingredients: dry grass, oats, wheat, barley, milk powder and bone meal. Self-preparation will eliminate the ingress of nitrates and harmful additives into the feed. Feed should be introduced gradually, in small portions. So you can identify allergies in an animal and replace the components in food.

Chinchillas don't eat much, so it's best to choose a quality product. After feeding, food should always be removed so that the animal does not overeat and is not poisoned by a product spoiled due to the time factor.

Approximate costs

To outline the expected financial result, you need to calculate the costs. The main item can be attributed to the cost of buying animals. It is necessary to acquire individuals of reproductive age, healthy and complete in everything. The cost can go up to $100 per pair. To get a good profit, it is recommended to purchase about 20 families. This is the main source of expenses, in the future it will not be necessary to spend money like this.

The next item of expenditure will be the purchase of cages. You should choose durable models that should stand stably. In third place is food. It will be even cheaper if you make your own hay and prepare the mixture. It happens that the animal can get sick. Then the costs increase by the amount of treatment and the call to the veterinarian. Usually chinchillas are not painful, so this situation is most likely force majeure, rather than a permanent expense item.

All expenses together will not result in a huge amount, but they will not be too small either. When compared with the possible profit, then such costs seem minimal.

And what is the profit?

The profitability of a business largely depends on the livestock. If you buy from 10 to 20 families, then you can get an income in the range of 10 - 15 thousand dollars. Every year, the female guarantees 2 - 3 offspring, in which there can be 2 - 6 cubs. These results can be used to calculate the final result.

Chinchilla fur is many times more expensive than, for example, a rabbit. If you breed enough animals, you can sell skins for a whole coat or fur coat. The profit from this will be approximately 50 - 100 thousand dollars. Those individuals that become superfluous can be sold in the form of a meat carcass. If a "defective" offspring appears, then it can be sold as a pet. The profit from this will be negligible, but it is still better than nothing.

If you take into account these factors, then in a year you can earn an impressive profit, which will allow you to expand the chinchilla farm. Due to the fact that costs are practically stable and do not grow too fast, one can hope for a stable profit. A feature of the business, which speaks of its prospects, is that furs are only getting more expensive. This trend is observed even in times of crisis.

Secrets of a successful business and sales conditions

The main secret of a successful business for a novice owner of a chinchilla farm is a responsible approach to raising pets. It is necessary to feed and clean the cages in a timely manner, monitor their health and maintain the breeding pattern.

One of the nuances is that chinchillas are closed animals. They do not like society and loud noises can be intimidating. That is why you should try to avoid their excessive contact with people. Animals react fearfully even to their own kind. They should contact within their family. Chinchillas do not tolerate separation well. If you separate the "family" individuals, they can get bored, get sick and even die.

You also need to exclude the presence of ammonia in the air. It is destructive to these animals. On large chinchilla farms, this is very difficult to do. Inhaling ammonia, pets can reproduce poorly, their appetite and spatial orientation decrease.

If we are talking about a large accumulation of chinchillas, then you need to be prepared for their frequent diseases. Epidemics within large groups spread very quickly, which can significantly increase the cost of keeping animals. If the number is limited to 10-15 families, then we can hope for a favorable environment within the chinchilla "collective".

It is very difficult to make a chinchilla skin. This is done only by hand, industrial methods are not subject to here. It is absolutely impossible for inexperienced beginners to take on this, because there is a high probability that it will break. This duty is assigned to professionals who have extensive experience in dressing skins. It follows from this that part of the funds will have to be given to the intermediary, which will affect the final financial result.

Distribution channels may vary. In the era of innovative computer technologies, trade has long moved to Internet platforms. This business will be no exception. Meat, skins or live chinchillas can be sold in your own online store or displayed on well-known trading sites.

If the business is gaining global momentum, then it would be useful to order advertising. The following options can be used:

  • leaflets;
  • information in the press or on the radio;
  • Internet advertising.

Often the owners of chinchilla farms take part in fairs and exhibitions. This is one of the key points in business development. At these events, you can find useful connections, negotiate the purchase of new individuals or sell your product. You can also join a chinchilla breeding club. This will give status and prestige, make the seller a professional in the eyes of the buyer.

It also happens that businessmen work closely with fur factories. They sell their product directly, which benefits two parties:

  • the owner does not waste time looking for distribution channels;
  • fur factory receives high-quality fur at the best price.

But not everyone is lucky to establish such contacts and it takes years to establish links between the farm and the market.

When selling goods, you should always focus on price fluctuations in the fur market.

Benefits of breeding chinchillas

The main advantages of breeding these animals include:

  1. No unpleasant odor. These are very clean animals, they keep themselves clean.
  2. The fur is always flawless due to the lack of shedding. In the room, particles of chinchilla hair will also not soar, which is also a big plus when cleaning.
  3. The impressive value of the skin.
  4. Ease of animal care.
  5. Intolerance to food.

This business has no seasonality, it is relevant all year round. Also an advantage is moderate competition in this segment.

Is there a benefit?

It is definitely difficult to answer this question. It all depends on the skills of the owner and the chinchillas themselves, which should initially be marketable. If you follow the breeding rules, then this idea has every chance of turning into a gold mine. Due to the fact that chinchilla fur is very valuable and has a significant value, its sale will pay off all expenses and make a profit.

Animal meat also brings additional income. Belonging to the dietary menu makes it exceptional. The costs can hardly be called a penny, but comparing them with the final income, they do not seem so significant. The main item of expenditure will be the purchase of the chinchillas themselves. If we are talking about the acquisition of rare species, then you will need to pay extra.

Such a business does not take much time and can be used as an additional source of income. Often people of retirement age do it, because it brings not only a stable income, but also pleasure.

This article discusses the breeding of chinchillas as a business. Is it profitable or not to organize fur farming of these fur-bearing animals? Natural chinchilla fur is in great demand among Russian buyers, but on the other hand, many people love to keep chinchillas as pets. We tell you how much financial investment will be required, what profit these fluffy animals can bring, and what difficulties breeders will have to face.

Chinchillas are rodents known for their quality fur. South America is the birthplace of these animals, but even before the 20th century, a significant part of these animals was exterminated precisely for commercial purposes and the species was on the verge of extinction.

Modern domesticated individuals are somewhat different from their wild ancestors.

Chinchillas live in monogamous families. The life expectancy of these animals is very significant - up to 20 years, despite the fact that they retain the ability to breed up to 15 years. An adult chinchilla weighs between 400 and 600 grams.

Currently, you can buy a chinchilla at any pet store. However, if you plan to engage in the economic breeding of these animals, it is better to purchase the first individuals from professional breeders. How finicky are these animals and how profitable will your own chinchilla farm be?

Chinchillas are unpretentious and prolific, and their maintenance is inexpensive.

Benefits of breeding chinchillas

  1. These animals are very unpretentious. Breeding and keeping is inexpensive and easy to organize.
  2. Chinchillas are fertile - they breed up to 3 times a year until the age of 15 years.
  3. Such fluffy animals can eat special food, as well as hay, alfalfa, corn, peas, lentils, soybeans, fresh carrots, zucchini, nuts, seeds. In general, chinchillas are unpretentious in food, and they eat quite a bit, unlike other rodents. It will take no more than 3-4 thousand rubles a month to feed even a large livestock.
  4. Chinchillas are more accurate than other rodents, keeping them in special display cases will completely solve the cleaning problem. Placement requires little space - a 50x70 cage is enough. In addition, cages with animals can be stacked vertically on top of each other, greatly saving space.
  5. Low competition in the industry with a fairly high demand.
  6. Profitability. Regardless of whether chinchillas are bred for their fur or for the sake of selling individuals as pets, they bring a good income.

Negative feedback about chinchilla fur farming is usually associated with the humane side of the issue.. Most often, these rodents are bred for the sake of fur, which causes outrage among animal rights activists. If this side of the issue does not bother you, there are no serious drawbacks to breeding chinchillas. Pay attention to the video at the end of the article - it will create a more complete picture of the breeding of these fur-bearing animals.

Russian experience of chinchilla fur farming

There are several fairly large fur farms on the Russian market, for example, Retas chinchilla farms. There are farms for growing these animals in the Vladimir region, in the Krasnodar Territory, in the Moscow region, in Neftekamsk and other regions of Russia. However, in general, the market remains uncaptured, and even an inexperienced breeder can find his own niche in it.

What is the purpose of breeding chinchillas?

If you are interested in the fur farming of these furry rodents, first of all you need to understand for what purpose you will grow them. There are two options:

  1. Sale of chinchillas as pets.
  2. Sale of chinchilla fur.

These two options involve different forms of farm organization, completely different development strategies and, of course, different profits. Consider the features and ways of developing each direction of breeding.

It is better to buy individuals from professional breeders or from well-known farms.

Purchase of the first animals for breeding

Where to buy chinchillas for breeding? The price for one animal usually starts from 5 thousand rubles, but can vary greatly depending on the farm and breeder. It is better to buy individuals from professional breeders or from well-known farms. Study the offers on the Internet, find addresses, read reviews about a particular farm before deciding to buy.

First you need to buy from 2 to 10 chinchillas, preferably in families. Find out from the sellers all the data about the purchased animals. Some animals are accompanied by a pedigree - a document indicating the date of birth, breed, color, birth weight and even the number of puppies in the litter. Such paper will give an idea of ​​how the animal and its children will develop. However, in practice, most chinchillas do not have any documents.

What to look for when buying

There are several signs that you should definitely pay attention to when buying a chinchilla:

  1. The coat of the animal should be shiny and well-groomed, uniform throughout the body.
  2. Tearing, nasal discharge indicate that the animal is not healthy.
  3. The nose and ears should not peel off.
  4. Chinchilla is cheerful and active. Lethargy is a sign of illness.
  5. There are no signs of eating disorders.

Another important question is At what age should you buy a cub? The age of purchase depends on the purpose of the buyer. If the goal is animal breeding, it is better to wait until the age of 6-8 months. If you just buy a pet, then you can pick it up earlier - in 2.5-3 months. Note that the mother feeds the puppies up to 2 months, so it is not worth weaning them from her ahead of time.

Raising animals for sale

Consider breeding chinchillas at home for beginners. Practice shows that up to 20 individuals can be kept quite comfortably at home. This option is suitable for those who want to grow fur-bearing animals only for sale.

After purchasing several adults (6-8 months), it is necessary to organize their comfortable and proper placement. Usually chinchillas live in vertically installed cages or special "showcases". Please note that moving is stressful for the animals, so after bringing them home, carefully transplant them into cages and try to disturb them as little as possible. It will take about a week to adjust.

The purchase age of 6-8 months is due to the fact that puberty in chinchillas occurs at about 7 months. That is, if your goal is to raise animals for sale, it is logical to acquire individuals that are already ready for reproduction.

Chinchillas are very prolific animals. It is believed that they can breed up to three times a year (usually 1-2 in practice). In each litter, from 1 to 5 puppies are born, but 1 is much more often than 5. The grown animals are transferred to buyers 2.5-3 months after birth.

The most effective option to implement the sale of chinchillas is to sell puppies via the Internet.

How much can you earn selling chinchillas

When grown for sale, the most important thing is to qualitatively organize the sale of chinchillas. The most effective option to do this is to sell puppies via the Internet. Get pages on the most popular social networks (for trade, these are Vkontakte and Instagram), regularly post photos and information about animals there. Accompany publications with a set of hashtags and a geolocation mark. This way you can find more buyers.

It is advisable to select owners for animals immediately after birth. Some breeders even offer "booking" of animals. Provide your customers with all the necessary information on caring for chinchillas, keep in touch with them, ask them to send photos of grown animals. So you will form a reputation as a conscientious breeder who is not indifferent to the fate of animals.

The price of one chinchilla starts from 5 thousand rubles and can reach up to 30-40 thousand rubles. By selling 10-20 chinchillas a year, you can achieve an income of 100 to 500 thousand rubles, and the cost of raising animals is only a few thousand rubles a month.

Sales of chinchillas in Moscow are currently more profitable- here you can offer higher prices, and the demand for rodents is very high. In the regions, the fashion for chinchillas is not so strong, and the purchasing power of the population is much lower.

Raising chinchillas for fur

Fur trade on chinchillas requires a completely different approach to organization. Is it possible to organize a "fur" business on chinchillas?

Every year, the Chinchilla Club Chinchilla Farm pleases its partners and new customers with New Year's prices. And this year is no exception. If you want to increase your livestock or just start your journey in breeding chinchillas, then this offer is especially for you. Until January 15, 2020, a pair of breeding chinchillas at a festive price - 9,000 rubles! (This promotion does not apply to )

Chinchilla breeding

Male chinchillas reach puberty 7 - 9 months, females a little earlier 4 - 7 months. A female is able to bring up to 3 litters per year, on average 2 - 3 puppies per litter (up to 7 cases are known).

Chinchilla breeding

Happens more often at night. The fact of mating can be determined by the presence of tufts of wool in the cell, a waxy flagellum of small size 2-3 cm. In the future, the fact of fertilization can be considered as the female gaining body weight, an average of 100 grams every two weeks. From the age of 2 months, the female's nipples swell and the belly becomes rounded, which begins to sag just before the birth. Pregnant individuals are changed to more fortified and easily digestible.

Before 10 - 14 days, the shelter (nesting box) is filled with a litter of sawdust, hay or straw. A couple of days before the birth of the young, chinchillas block access to the bathing room for 10 - 15 days.

With polygamous breeding (several females, one male), the male is blocked from access to the whelping female, after 5-7 days after the birth of the young. With monogamous (paired) content, the male remains in the cage along with the young.

With the approach of childbirth, the female is inactive and may not accept or refuse food. Before and during childbirth, the room should not be noisy; it is undesirable to take and disturb the female.

Childbirth often occurs in the morning. The duration of labor can last from several minutes to hours, outside intervention is not required. If childbirth is complicated, the female is given a glucose solution 2-4 times a day or a piece of refined sugar.

Day old young animals are able to move. Pass the procedure of weighing, sex determination (see photo). The normal weight of a one-day-old puppy is from 30 to 70 grams.

Older individuals bring more, up to 6 puppies.

A day after giving birth, the female begins a new hunt, and as a rule, the male covers it in the first days after giving birth. During the year, the female brings 3 litters, but it is desirable to limit the third mating, since the body of females wears out a lot.

The milkiness of the female manifests itself a few hours after birth, puppies from the first minutes of life dissolve the mammary glands. In rare cases, females experience delays in the appearance of milk up to 3 days. Close attention should be paid to the young born, if the puppies are inactive, sit hunched over, with their tail down - the first sign of a lack of female milk production. In this case, the young are removed and placed with another female with young, with a slight difference in the age of the puppies, or they are transferred to artificial feeding. You can feed young animals with goat's milk or infant formula for feeding babies. At first, puppies are fed once every two hours, then the interval is increased.

The period of feeding (lactation) lasts up to 60 days, in fact, it is from this age that chinchillas can be separated from producers. Many chinchilla breeders separate young from three months, which is also acceptable.

The development of young animals proceeds quite quickly, a monthly chinchilla is 3 times higher than at birth, body weight reaches 115 g. , at 2 months - 202 gr. , at 3 months 275 gr., by 9 months 450 - 480 gr.

Plant the young in separate cells, several pieces, dividing by gender.

Determining the sex of chinchillas

Consider the difference between male and female. Outwardly opposite individuals may not differ, although more often adult females are larger than male peers. It is possible to find out more specifically by looking at the genitals of chinchillas. The female does not have a distance between the urethra and the anus, it is there that the entrance to the vagina is located, the male, on the contrary, has a significant distance between the penis and the anus.

Chinchillas are a beautiful species of exotic rodents from the Andes Mountains that are valued for their exquisite fur and as fluffy pets. However, before starting chinchilla breeding as a business, there are several aspects to consider when raising chinchillas at home. However, it is very .

Beneficial or not

Passion for chinchillas is one of the most important factors for creating a profitable farm. Breeding chinchillas at home should be enjoyable for you. And you will get it without delay if you enjoy working with animals at home.

Color varieties

The most common variety of chinchilla color is the standard (gray), which is also the color of wild rodents. It is important to know that the standard color covers 25 thousand hairs of this color.

In recent decades, chinchilla breeders have been able to create new color varieties of chinchillas through selective breeding. Some of these masculine color variations such as white, beige, afro purple and diamond blue. Blue Diamond is the latest recessive color mutation created by a dedicated chinchilla breeder. It is very rare, but also highly prized.

Chinchilla colors

Breeding chinchillas is both in high demand. But recently, the international fur market has also shown more interest in colorful chinchilla pelts.

Choosing chinchillas for the farm

If you are planning to start a chinchilla farm from scratch, it is recommended that you purchase high quality animals from a specialized breeder. When purchased, the rodent can weigh >550g. Its fur must have standard XXD or XD tones and its coat density must be high. Moreover, the white band must be clearly defined. Last but not least, you should avoid fur with brownish undertones in favor of bluish tones. Also, for a large-scale economy, you can make.

Housing Requirements

Before starting a chinchilla farm, one must make sure that there is a suitable space that meets their environmental requirements. This space should be: dry, naturally lit by north facing windows (if possible). In winter, the room will need heating (constant 15-17°C for breeding families and 12-15°C). In summer, the temperature inside the farm should not exceed 26-27 ° C, because temperatures above 30 ° C are lethal for animals.

It is recommended to separate chinchilla breeding families from young ones. It is good to have no more than 300 animals housed in one room. In addition, to avoid the formation of ammonia, it is worth installing a fan 30 cm above the floor, capable of circulating five times the volume of the room.

Formation of families

When forming new families of chinchillas, you need to select the best ones for breeding purposes, and you must also avoid inbreeding. Be aware that if you include animals with undesirable traits in breeding families, their traits may be passed on to offspring.

Families of chinchillas can contain from 4 females and one male, up to 10 females + one male. An alternative family of 6 females + one male.

Chinchillas breed all year round, and females typically give birth to an average of 3 babies per year. If the female does not produce offspring, she must be moved to another family. Immediately after giving birth, females are not allowed to do a regular dust bath. In addition, three days after birth, access to males should be closed. After 50 days, young chinchillas can be moved to a separate cage.


Rearing of young animals

Small chinchillas must be moved to separate cages in specially designated rooms. The dimensions of the cages for chinchillas are 40x40x40 cm. After 8 months, the young growth matures and is ready for breeding purposes. By this time they should be >550g.

Feeding

Chinchillas are fed a special type of vegetable pellets. In addition, the animals must have a constant supply of hay, alfalfa, etc. If they are constantly fed these chewing supplements, the risk of chinchillas chewing their fur will be greatly reduced. It is also recommended to feed them a mixture of cereals once or twice a week.

Feed, hay, dust and bedding must be purchased regularly. Cheap food cannot be nutritionally balanced for chinchillas and will cause health and reproductive problems. Cheap dust damages wool, and cheap equipment can be dangerous. If the animals are not in good condition, they will not be sold. Or the price for them will be much less. This does not mean that the cost of a chinchilla business cannot be reduced. This must be done wisely and not at the expense of animal welfare.

Breeding methods

First you need to determine the type of propagation method in order to acquire the proper equipment.

Chinchillas can be bred in pairs, trios, runs and colonies:

  • Pair breeding requires one cage, plus additional cages for separating males while females are pregnant or nursing. More cages are needed to wean the kits when they are old enough and to raise the animals for show or breeding.
  • Trio-nesting places of 3 chinchillas (two females and one male) in one cage.
  • Breeding in colonies - several males and one female.
  • Running breeding involves 3 or more cages that are side by side and connected in the back by a tunnel that opens into each cage. This is called launch. Females are placed in cages and males are allowed to travel across the run to visit any of them. As with pairs, each of these methods requires additional male cages and weaning kits.

Spare cages are also needed for injured or sick animals. It is a good rule of thumb to have one cage for every chinchilla, regardless of the breeding methods you use. It should be remembered that any cage used for breeding must be well ventilated and be safe. This increases the cost of each cell.

Expenses

Breeding chinchillas as a business requires certain expenses. The first thing to consider before starting breeding is the cost of creating.

For the farm you need to purchase:

  • trolleys;
  • accessories such as feeders,
  • feed, hay;
  • materials and equipment for dusting and watering.

These items, as well as cells, can cost tens of thousands of rubles. And that doesn't include buying chinchillas or veterinary bills. The breeder should always buy quality pedigreed animals.

It is important to know that chinchillas purchased from pet stores should not be used for breeding. Because there is no way to know if they have any genetic problems. Moreover, it is often cheaper to buy an animal of breeding quality from a reputable breeder.

On average, a chinchilla for breeding costs between $10 and $50. Depending on its color, quality and display. If you start with one pair of quality chinchillas and the necessary supplies, it can cost $100 and up.

Show

Show attendance is the only way to know that your breeding program is producing quality animals. A good age to show is 8 to 18 months. It is difficult to know after 8, 10 or 12 weeks if the animal is of good quality. The show gives the breeder the opportunity to compare their animals with other breeders' chinchillas. Show attendance can be quite costly due to entry fees and hotel bills. However, the show is worth it.



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