Chinchillas. Yulia Vladimirovna Rychkova

Until relatively recently, chinchillas were considered a valuable fur breed and were grown exclusively for consumer purposes. In the world market, the demand for chinchilla skins was so great (despite high prices) that this led to the almost complete destruction of animals in their natural habitats. The threat of extinction of chinchillas as a species was especially acute in the late XIX - early XX century. It was this circumstance that served as the reason for breeding rodents in captivity. It is most widespread in a number of countries in North America, Western Europe, South Africa and Australia. In Russia, chinchilla breeding began only in the second half of the last century.

However, over time, people began to pay more and more attention not only to the beauty of chinchilla fur, but also to their friendly and cheerful disposition. Currently, many are the happy owners of these animals - mischievous, intelligent, agile and affectionate. However, chinchilla breeders really do not like to call themselves owners and treat their pets as full members of their families.

In addition to the fact that chinchillas are quite beautiful, relatively unpretentious, they quickly get used to new living conditions, they are easy to care for. It is these circumstances that have played an important role in the growing popularity of these cute rodents every year. Chinchillas are one of the most popular pets these days.

The book "Chinchillas" contains complete information about this interesting species, which is necessary for a novice chinchilla breeder. This manual will acquaint you with the pedigree of chinchillas and with the peculiarities of their character, will allow you to organize their maintenance in the best possible way, teach you how to take care of them as efficiently as possible, and draw up a special menu that meets the needs of animals in different periods of their lives. You will receive useful tips on breeding, caring for puppies, as well as the treatment and prevention of certain diseases. In addition, the book provides information about the rules for conducting breeding work with chinchillas and ways to record the vital signs of their growth and development.

1
From the history of breeding chinchillas
People have been breeding chinchillas for several centuries, and by now these rodents have become one of the most popular and beloved. pets.

Chinchilla is a small rodent that has gained notoriety for itself due to its thick and very beautiful fur. At the beginning of the last century, products made from it were considered a sign of belonging to high society, and there was no such woman who would not dream of having an exquisite chinchilla coat or coat in her wardrobe. But they were expensive, and only very wealthy people could buy them: it took about 160 skins to make a fur coat, and the cost of one at that time was about 20 dollars. This circumstance led to the fact that by the middle of the 20th century the animals were on the verge of extinction.
According to researchers, the name of the animal - "chinchilla" - comes from the name of the South American tribe of Chinchyl Indians, destroyed by the powerful Incas. There is practically no information about this tribe, except that its members wore clothes made from chinchilla fur, yarn was spun from wool, products from which were very light and warm.
Much more information is available about the small furry animal. The first mention of chinchillas was found in the work "History of the State of the Incas", the author of which is Hexilas de la Vega, a writer and historian, a representative of one of the most noble families of the Incas. From a book written shortly after the appearance of Europeans on the South American continent, one can learn that the Incas appreciated the qualities of the fur of this animal, from which “during the time of the Inca kings and many years later (so even I found)” they made yarn to "to diversify the colors of the clothes they wore...". The author also reports that the fur of the chinchilla "has a light brown color, the color of ash, the hair is soft and delicate." It was highly valued, so chinchilla skins were considered an expensive gift.

It is also known that South American Indians hunted animals not only because of their beautiful fur. They used chinchilla meat for tuberculosis.

Despite the fact that rodents were considered very valuable prey, hunting for them was regulated. In addition, the Incas elevated products from chinchilla skins to the rank of royal, which could only be worn by representatives of the nobility, in order to limit the hunting for them. But as the demand for such a valuable material grew, the Incas (the first!) Began to breed chinchillas. Therefore, before the advent of Europeans on the mainland, rodents were fairly common in western South America.

However, with the advent of the Spanish conquerors, a direct threat of extinction loomed over the animals: the Europeans really liked the amazingly beautiful chinchilla fur. And since rodents were practically not afraid of people, from that moment their mass extermination began. Animals were caught by the thousands, and every year this number increased.

Exotic rodents were brought to Europe from Peru at the end of the 19th century. They ended up in Russia much later - in 1960.

Chinchilla skins were used to make fur coats, coats and collars, they were used to decorate evening dresses and much more. The demand for fur was so great that they began to catch the animals by the millions. This led to the fact that at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century, chinchillas practically disappeared from their natural ranges, and every year they became less and less. The governments of the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Peru and Chile, where chinchillas were mined, worried about this circumstance, tried to stop the mass extermination. They imposed restrictions on the capture of chinchillas and increased tariffs on their export. However, this decision did not give the expected results, but, on the contrary, led to the flourishing of the illegal trade in chinchilla fur. Even the law on their protection introduced in 1825 did not help. Therefore, the number of chinchillas living in natural conditions fell rapidly, and by the middle of the twentieth century, these rodents had disappeared from most of their range in South America.

However, the hunt for them did not stop, as the demand for fur was still very large, although it was becoming more and more difficult to get it. Soon there was a threat of complete extinction of the species. In 1910, the governments of countries where chinchillas were mined signed an agreement banning the capture of rodents and the sale of their skins. However, this agreement also did not help, and the animals continued to be exterminated.

It was necessary to find a way out of the situation. In 1919, the engineer of the Chilean copper ore company Anaconda Copper, M.F. Chapman, obtained permission to catch chinchillas in order to develop a technology for their breeding. Together with the hired Indians, he captured 12 animals and tried to teach them to live in captivity.

For 3 years, Chapman worked on the acclimatization of rodents to new, unusual habitat conditions for them on the plain. As a result died only one animal, and four males and seven females were transported to California, where in 1926 a special research laboratory for the study of chinchillas was opened.

On a farm located near Los Angeles, special living conditions were created for the animals, as close as possible to natural ones. The animals brought by Chapman became the source material for the mass breeding of cellular fur chinchillas. It was Chapman who first developed the technology for this process.

As a result of artificial breeding after the 1920s, the number of chinchillas began to gradually increase, first annually by 35%, and then by 60%.

After the death of M.F. Chapman, his son, R. Chapman, who founded his own chinchilla breeding farm in 1942, continued the business.

A decade later, most of the developed countries of Europe, Asia and Australia took up breeding chinchillas. Technologies and equipment were improved, experimental work was carried out to improve the microclimate necessary for rodents and improve the quality of fur, which could not but affect its value. For example, in 1930-1950, the price of one skin was already a thousand dollars.

In Russia, chinchilla breeding began only in the 1960s. For this, 100 chinchillas were specially brought from abroad. Part of the batch was given to the Research Institute of Rabbit Breeding and Fur Breeding near Moscow, where Soviet scientists did a lot of work. Unfortunately, many animals died and the research program was curtailed.

Chinchilla fur is valued not only for its beauty, but also for its extraordinary softness, lightness and strength. Thanks to all these features, it is among the top three most expensive and prestigious.

The second part of the batch of chinchillas ended up in the Kirov All-Union Research Institute of Hunting and Fur Breeding. Here, the researchers turned out to be more caring, the chinchillas took root perfectly in their new conditions and soon began to multiply.

The work was so successful that a few years later, after numerous experiments aimed at acclimatizing animals, scientists released the first releases of animals into the wild. They were held in the mountainous regions of the country: in the valley of the Western Pamir Range, in the high desert of the Eastern Pamir and regions of the Lesser Caucasus. Unfortunately, it was not possible to get accurate information about whether the animals took root or not, since it