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ryoneeneeds a,l diversion from
contends . Bill, Norman of
vi I le. "That's one reason
raising chinchillas three
go. I went into them as a
but I do expect them to pay
ay
that he is retired, he has
'me to devote to the care of
imals, and he has learned
bit about them.
chinchilla is a small fur y
that originated in the An es'
le. Although its ave age
is only 20 opnoes it' looks
because of its tick fur. A tuft
rows from just one root. The
Ila has a large head, pointed ,
d a broad, furry tail, whichis
ngest part of its body and is
o its balance. When handled
ans, the animal should be
up by the tail.
thinks the chinchilla
nds for now
resembles the squirrel because off;
the way it hops around. Having no
claws, it probably cannot climb.
However, its paws are protected by
a hard covering that resembles a
human fingernail. The chinchilla
has sharp teeth, but it will not bite
unless irritated. The only sound it
makes is a squawking noise to alert
its companions ,to danger.
The average life -span for a
chinchilla is ten years.
A female can give birth as often as
three times a year, and an average
litter consists of three babies. No
hest is prepared. The baby is fully -
furred at birth, and in half an hour,
will be running around the pen.
Unlike most animals, the male
chinchilla will help in the care of the
babies:
A young chinchilla is weaned at an
age of 45 to 60 days, and its pelt
becomes prime in nine months to
one year. When a pelt is prime, the
retiring, Bill Norman of Holmesville needed a hobby to keep him busy, so
ened his basement to a couple of chinchillas, and now looks after about 75.
reatures are very gentle, clean, and have few diseases, Their fur makes
iful fur coats, wraps, etc. (photo by Elaine Townshend) •
underneath :fur of 'a Standard gray
chinchilla is black tothe skin, and
the 'skin shows a pinkish white
colour.
After the first prime season, the
chinchilla passes througha moulting
stage similar to that of a hen. Its fur
will become mature again in ap-
proximately nine months.
After skinning the pelt is
mounted on a drying board for two
days. Then it is shipped to the
National Chinchilla Breeders
-Association in Toronto, which
freezes it until a sale is held. The
quality of the pelts is difficult to
grade. The clearness of colour,
bar contrast, the density, size an
shape are all considered. Howeve ,
a good pelt could sell for $30 to $35.
On the other hand, a live breeding
male of quality could cost as much
as $200. Bill advises anyone con-
templating a venture into the
chinchilla business to contact
someone, who is already involved,
for reliable information.
He feels chinchilla ranching is still
in its infancy. The markets are
growing along with the demand, and
the animals are showing a higher
quality. The- colours range from
black to white, and even , blonde
shades have been developed.
One rancher near London spent
ten years trying to cross -breed a
pure white pelt. When he finally;
achieved the shade he wanted, he
did not have enough pelts for a coat.
When this happens, the new pelts are
used for fur -trimmed jewelry and
knick-knacks.
Bill knows of at least six fellows
raising chinchillas in the Clinton and
Goderich area. The Targe ranchers
house as many as five hundred
animals in barns or sheds, but most
small breeders, like Bill, keep them
in their basements. He quickly
explains that the chinchillas have
little or no odour.
He started with 12 Standard
chinchillas and now has seventy-
five; thus far, he has pelted only a
few. He bought twelve wire cages
and built the rest.
The bottom of each cage is `.
covered with wood shavings, which
-.are replaced once A'week. At the
t
front ()Leach pen is a wire feedboxand if it didn't bath regularly, itsfur
and attached to the outside is a baby would become matted. After being
bottle containing water. A tube runs _ handled by a human, a chinchilla
from the bottle through the mesh will bathe even more vigorously.
into the cage.
An enclosed alley runs along the
back of each row of cages. A male
has access to all the pens in a row
"At 'dusting' and feeding time,
everybody's ,going!" Bill grins.
"Otherwise they sleep during the
day."
through a 4" by 5" hole. However,
the females wear a wire collar that night," his wife, Charlotte, chips in,
prevents them from leaving their as she recalls being wakened on
own pens. Thus a particularly good several nights by the sound of rat -
male is allowed to run with two to 10 tling cages.
Although the feed for the chin. In January, Bill recorded the birth
of his largest litter —four. One of the
chilies is expensive, they don't eat
babies became weak, and although
much. A mature animal eats only he fed it with an eye -dropper in an
attempt to save its life, the young
chinchilla died.
As a rule, however, chinchillas are
easy to raise because they are not
susceptible to disease. The chin-
chilla business can be a profitable
one, but it also makes a good hobby.
"Some people think it's crazy/'
Bill admits, "and they can't un-
derstand why I want to be bothered
having them around. But everyone
needs to have something else to
think about."
females.
one tablespoon of prepared pellets
per day. Occasionally they receive a
"treat", which is a mixture of seeds,
hay and orange rinds.
Cleanliness plays an important
role in the care of the chinchillas.
Every day at feeding time, Bill puts
a gallon glass jar half filled with fine
white sand into each cage. The
chinchilla climbs into the [ar and
rolls in the sand, flipping so fast that
the revolutions can hardly be
detected. Its skin is extremely oily,
By Elainee
Townshend
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APPLY
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CONST. SUPERINTENDENT
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We'll show you how.
$4.00 registration
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Call Free
1-800-261-05.73
YE counter weight,
PEOPLE WHO CARE ►
I. ead:ny All C,nntl,an
weqnl ConI, oI O!yanu01:0:•
St. George's
Anglican Church
16 Nelson St. W.
Goderich, Ontario
Monday: 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday: 9:30 a.m.
Wesley Willis
United Church
Victoria 8 King Sts,
Clinton, Ontario
Tuesday: 7:30 p.m.
Talk with our FBDB
Management Services
Officer
programs may suit your needs
w;th the appropriate offices.
"For Your Area Call W.J.
Reynolds at 271.5650
(Stratford) or write to:
Federal Business
Development Bank, 1036
Ontario Street, Stratford,
.. Ontario. NSA 6Z3"
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