The Rural Voice, 1999-07, Page 24HURON COUNTY PORK
PRODUCERS
ANNUAL BBQ
July 24
Clinton Arena
For tickets call all any pork
producer director or contact
Rosa Small ^
519-529-3240
LESLIE HAWKEN
&SON
Custom Manufacturing
LIVESTOCK & FARM EQUIPMENT
• Cattle Panels
• Headgates & Chutes
• Portable Loading Chutes
• Gate -Mounted Grain Feeders
• Feed Panels
• Self Locking Feed Mangers
Big Bale \ agon
Round Bale Feeder
Calf Creeps
For the best quality and service
Call
Jim Hawken
Rural Route Three
Nlarkdale 519-986-2507
20 THE RURAL VOICE
a rancher is in providing a rodent -
proof facility.
If you have a sound modern
building that has had other livestock
in it you need to disinfect it, he says.
Golem divides his barn into two
rooms, one for the breeding animals
and one for growing animals. The
growing area is kept at a winter
temperature of 50-55 degree
fahrenheit with more air movement
to promote good fur growth. The
breeding room is kept slightly
warmer, at 60 to 65 degrees in
winter, for the sake of the newborns.
Next to
the build-
ing, caging
is a large
part of the
initial
investment
but the
cages have
a long life-
span be-
cause the
animals are
so dry there
is no corr-
osion as with other animals. That
means good second-hand equipment
is often available. Golem has cages
that he bought used that could be 30
years old and they are probably as
serviceable as when they were made,
he says.
There are different designs for
breeding versus growing cages. The
breeding cages hold one female each
and are connected by a tunnel
through which the breeding male can
service up to 10 females. The females
wear a collar so they can't get out
through the tunnel but the male can
get inG.
rowing cages have a cylinder
in the back of the cage that
holds a sand bath. Because of
their fine fur, chinchillas need to
"sand" themselves to clean their fur.
Until recently this sand was imported
from Florida but Golem was able to
develop a. local source for the fine
silica sand. Now he wholesales it to a
dealer network in Ontario and hopes
to expand sales across Canada and
into the U.S.
In acquiring breeding stock,
Golem advises buying from an
established operator who can not
only provide the animals but the
Gollem: Club helps new
ranchers with information
advice you'll require in the first
couple of years.
"You'll need to learn to identify
the qualities of the animal for
breeding purposes. You'll need to be
taught ranch management techniques,
as well as housing needs."
Golem belongs to the Georgian
Bay Chinchilla Club which brings
ranchers together to trade experience
and advice and helps ranchers new to
the business. The club includes
members from Georgian Bay to
Huron County and even supports 4-H
clubs for young chinchilla
enthusiasts.
There are also chinchillas
competitions from the local club
show to national and international
levels, both for live animals and
pelts. Going to these you can see how
your animals stack up against the
best in the business, he says.
"It's fun. You can get off the
ranch and participate and really set
some benchmarks on how to improve
you genetics or where do you stand
in terms of the industry."
The genetic turnaround is faster
than with larger animals, so the
results of improving your stock, not
only in the quality of your animals
but in the bottom line, he says.
Golem finds chinchillas fit in well
with the patterns of work on the rest
of his operation. Littering time is
naturally March through May. These
months are also prime pelting months
so the work in the barn can be
heavier at that time than the rest of
the year but the workload is lighter
by the time haying season arrives.
The workload with selecting breeders
becomes greater again in the fall
when outside work slackens off.
The day-to-day work is light.
While some people feed only once a
day, Golem likes to feed twice daily
to keep the feed fresh and spend
more time with the animals. As well
as a spoonful of pellets he gives them
a handful of hay from his own farm.
The hay is kept in the loft of the barn,
protected from mice and rats that
could spread disease.
Chinchillas or kept on a litter of
shredded newsprint (with no ink
because it would damage the fur) or
wood shavings. Chinchillas are
probably the only form of livestock
where the cost of bedding is about as
much as the cost of feed, Golem says