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Breeding chinchillas as a business. Breeding chinchillas at home is a highly profitable and profitable business How much does chinchilla meat cost

The article provides detailed step-by-step instructions for opening a small mini-farm for breeding chinchillas. Also, current information is given on the sale of chinchilla products, the choice of breeding animals and the necessary equipment.

The chinchilla business primarily involves the production of highly valuable and unique fur, which is many times more expensive than the well-known mink, arctic fox, sable and rabbit furs.

Due to the fact that chinchilla breeding as an industry has just begun to develop in the CIS countries and Russia, the demand for high-quality breeding material greatly exceeds supply. And high demand and lack of supply is the key to the success of any business.

What is the relevance of the business idea for breeding chinchillas?

Complete lack of competition and these are not empty words. It is a well-known fact that 90% of all fur ateliers and large stores sell imported chinchilla fur products.
Broad market prospects, because every fur salon that respects its image simply cannot imagine the absence of chinchilla fur coats on store shelves.
Extremely high profitability of production, expressed in the low cost of production and the receipt of excess profits from its sale. For example, several tens of rubles are spent on growing one male chinchilla, and the final cost of such animals at 2 months of age varies from 3 to 15 thousand rubles.
Chinchilla business can be done by anyone. After all, it does not require expensive equipment, special education, or large investments. All that is needed is a small room, the presence of cage batteries and good breeding material.

Where to begin?

Let's start with the organizational and legal forms of doing business, or more precisely, with their complete absence at the initial, two-year stage of development. The fact is that the model of doing business with chinchillas proposed below implies a gradual increase in the production of both fur and sold breeding stock. The purpose of this approach is to minimize capital investments and all kinds of risks, as well as gaining practical experience in chinchilla breeding.

That is, the owner of a mini-farm it is not necessary to register as an individual entrepreneur or a peasant farm. It is enough to formalize a similar type of activity as a private household plot (personal subsidiary plot). And, as you know, regardless of the volume of production, private household plots are not taxed at all. With only one amendment: the owner of a private household plot is not such if he owns or leases more than 2 hectares of agricultural land.

When the chinchilla farm reaches or approaches a given level of production, its owner must:

The first is to register your business as an individual entrepreneur. This is the easiest and easiest way to legalize business activities, which in the future will allow you to avoid all kinds of paperwork when selling fur raw materials.
The second is to choose a special taxation regime - ESHN. An enterprise on a single agricultural tax has a number of tax benefits: refusal to pay income tax, property tax and VAT. The tax rate is only 6% and is calculated according to the formula: income - expenses * 6%. If in the previous period of time (10 years), any years were unprofitable, then the data from these periods can be entered in the current calculation of the taxable base. As a result, the final amount of the tax is significantly reduced or even will be equal to zero.

The OKVED code for a chinchilla farm is 01.25.2. It implies the breeding of any fur-bearing animals on a farm.

IMPORTANT: For breeding chinchillas and selling products, additional permits and licenses are not required.

The Moneymaker Factory recommends keeping tax records using the My Business online accounting, this will save money, since with its help you can keep records on your own without accepting a full-time accountant.

Organization of production

Required equipment

To complete a chinchilla farm and reach its full performance, you need the following equipment:

	Name of equipment	Purpose of equipment	Cost in rub. for 1 piece	Required number of pcs.	Total cost in rubles

		Rational feeding
		Rational drinking
		Maintaining exercise
		Heating mini-farm
		Cooling mini-farm
Total: 290,920 rubles.

The lighting of the chinchilla farm is carried out with conventional incandescent lamps: 1 lamp with a power of 60 W per 10 m² of floor. Heating in winter is better to use electric, as electrical appliances are able to lower the level of humidity. In addition to heating, the room for chinchillas, in the warm season, also needs to be cooled. For this purpose, conventional household air conditioners are excellent.

Cells

Chinchilla is an animal whose value is determined by the quality of the fur. Accordingly, the cages where the animals are kept are subject to high requirements:

The first is the landing area, which should not be less than 0.3 m² per individual.
The second is a feed and water supply system based on hopper feeders and automatic drinkers.
The third is the obligatory presence of a sand bath in each cage to keep the chinchilla's fur clean.
Fourth - strictly sustained dimensions of the cells in height. Otherwise, the animals may be injured.

As a result, six rows of cells can be placed in one 18m² uterine block, three rows on each side, forming two common cell batteries.

The floor and walls of the cage are made of ordinary galvanized mesh, with a section of 1.5x2cm. In front of the wall, feeders and drinkers are installed, as well as a door for unhindered access to the cage. A small metal shelf is mounted to the back of the wall at a height of 20-25 cm, a width of 10-15 cm, where chinchillas spend most of their time.

For the period when the female is whelping, a nesting wooden box is placed in the cage. To maintain sanitation at the proper level, a tray is placed under each cage, filled with sawdust and cleaned at least once a week. The height of the cage should not be more than 40-45 cm.

Note. It is unacceptable to use any elements of a cage made of wood. After all, chinchillas belong to the mouse family and in a matter of days are able to gnaw through any wooden structures.

Selection and preparation of premises

Despite the fact that chinchillas in their natural habitat are able to survive and reproduce at an external air temperature of +-40 ° C, the room for their maintenance must meet strict standards:

The air temperature is in the range of 18-20°C.
Relative air humidity - 55-60%.
The absence of drafts and an increase in air temperature above the indicated limits.
Direct sunlight is undesirable.
To comply with sanitary standards and to avoid stressful situations, the farm premises should be located separately from other buildings.

There are no other special requirements for the premises for chinchillas. From which it follows that any building can be equipped under a chinchilla farm, the main thing is that it has appropriate thermal insulation. For the construction of a new premises, the entrepreneur does not require significant investments. For example, a block for 100 chinchilla breeding stock occupies only 18m² in area, and can be built from any wall materials: brick, blocks, wood, composite building materials.

Purchase and selection of breeding stock

Quality chinchilla breeding stock is a key factor in successful chinchilla breeding. Such animals, especially males, are expensive, but they invariably pay for themselves, as they retain their reproductive functions for 15-18 years.

To understand how important it is to acquire good breeding material, let's look at history. In 1954, the first auction for the sale of chinchilla fur was held in New York, which shocked the key players in this industry. More than half of the skins were not in demand due to poor quality and non-standard fur color. As a result, the market collapsed, prices fell sharply, and only in Canada about 4.5 thousand farms declared themselves bankrupt. But at that time, only a pair of chinchillas cost fabulous money, from 3 to 5 thousand dollars.

It is impossible to describe all the characteristics of the choice of thoroughbred animals in this article. Firstly, there are about 12 mutations in the standard color of chinchillas alone. Plus, 10 combinative forms are added to them. But the best and most demanded of them is the standard color and the so-called "black velvet".

In order not to make a mistake with the choice of chinchillas for a tribe, it is better to contact breeders who contain at least 500-600 breeding stock. It is in such farms that systematic work is carried out to improve the gene pool of animals.

Feeding and breeding chinchillas

However, in feeding chinchillas, some nuances must be taken into account:

Due to the lack of direct sunlight, chinchillas are prone to beriberi and suffer from a lack of group D vitamins in the body. Therefore, animals must be given dried fruits, vegetables, dried herbs, vitamin hay, fish and meat and bone meal.
In order to avoid contamination of the fur, all roughage: branches, brooms and hay, are given in strictly limited quantities, placing them in bunker feeders.
Since the front incisors grow all the time in chinchillas, small logs of trees that do not contain tannins in the wood are placed in the cells to grind them down.
In chinchilla breeding there are no clear norms for feeding, because the weight of different types of adult chinchillas ranges from 300 to 800 grams. Therefore, feeding rates are calculated based on the live weight of a particular age group of animals.

Chinchillas as a business are absolutely not subject to the crisis of overproduction, at least another 40-50 years, and all because of the characteristics of reproduction. The fact is that a female chinchilla is able to bring no more than 3 litters per year, 1-4 puppies in each. Sexual maturity of the male and female occurs at the age of 3-5 months, but it is better not to let them in mating until the age of 10 months.

Adult chinchillas are kept in cages both in pairs (monogamous) and in small families (polygamous). Monogamous content justifies itself when serious breeding work is carried out. That is, each pair of chinchillas living separately in a cage has high pedigree and productive qualities, giving no less valuable offspring. In other cases, polygamous keeping of chinchillas is practiced, where for 4-5 females there is one highly productive male.

Note. In the case of aggressive behavior of the female towards the male during pregnancy or whelping, it is better to put the latter in another cage or put a mesh partition between them.

Organization and development of a chinchilla mini-farm

Business ideas with little investment, such as chinchilla breeding, require a slow and systematic development. Therefore, it is better to start with a small mother block for 108 chinchilla places. For this purpose, a standard 3x6m room is excellent, in which two three-tiered rows of cell batteries are installed. In the future, in one battery there will be a breeding stock - 40 females and 10 males, in another battery - young animals grown for skin or live sale.

In order to initially rid yourself of all sorts of risks, including the purchase of an illiquid breeding herd, the mass death of animals, etc., it is better to purchase only 12 animals - 10 females and 2 males. It is this number of chinchillas that is quite enough to form a breeding core and bring it up to 50 individuals.

If one calendar year is taken into account, then 10 females and 2 males can give up to 70-80 young animals, half of which will be females. Thus, by breeding selection and culling, by the end of the second year of operation of the mini-farm, it is possible to bring the breeding stock to 50 chinchillas without any problems, and most importantly, without high costs.

At the same time, the entrepreneur, who has been increasing the number of chinchillas all this time, will not be left behind. The fact is that now the situation in domestic chinchilla breeding is very similar to the situation in the USA and Canada for the period of the 20-50s of the last century. When the market for live chinchillas repeatedly prevailed over the market for fur raw materials. And doing all these two years to increase the breeding stock, you can sell up to 100 individuals "culling", recouping not only all costs, but also making excellent money on it.

As a result, when such a mini-farm reaches full production capacity, its owner will receive up to 300 heads of young chinchillas per year. But what to do with them, read on.

Sales of finished products

As mentioned above, the chinchilla breeding market is more biased towards the sale of live goods than fur and fur products. Therefore, here the sale of products can be divided into several areas:

Sale of culled animals. This method is suitable for any chinchilla farm, regardless of the volume of production. Since in the course of breeding work, "culling" is a common occurrence. The main customers are pet stores, bird markets or exotic animal lovers. However, the word "culling" should not be understood as sick and weak chinchillas. Culled animals are those animals that, for various reasons, unsuitable for breeding or obtaining quality fur.
Realization of breeding animals. Breeding chinchillas are much more expensive than culled ones, and two directions of production are divided here: either the farm owner sells surplus breeding material, or purposefully grows breeding chinchillas for subsequent sale. The main clients are novice chinchilla breeders or farms experiencing an acute shortage of breeding material.
Fur Implementation. This level can be reached with a mini-farm productivity of at least 300-350 male chinchillas per year. Since the skins of males are mainly used for the production of fur products from chinchillas, the skins of females are also used, but this is already a secondary and cheaper raw material. The main clients are large fur ateliers in million-plus cities.
Sale of fur at large auctions. The fact is that until now, large fur auctions are in dire need of chinchilla fur. For example, for the period 2010-2012, the need for chinchilla fur at the Copenhagen auction was 500 thousand skins, while the auction could only offer 300 thousand skins. But to reach this level, it is required to produce at least 5 thousand skins per year of the highest quality.

Feasibility study for opening a chinchilla farm

Capital investments:

Construction of the uterine block or its re-equipment: 50 thousand rubles.
Purchase of fully equipped cages for 108 chinchillas: 236 thousand rubles.
Breeding young: 120 thousand rubles.
Additional equipment (baths, drinkers, heaters, air conditioning): 54 thousand rubles.
Total: 460 000 rubles.

Revenue calculation:

Production of chinchillas per year: 300 pcs.
The average price for a chinchilla or skin: 5000 rubles.
Revenue for the year: 1,500,000 rubles.

Cost calculation and general expenses:

Feed consumption for 10 polygamous families (4:1): 300 kg of feed - 6000 rubles.
Feed consumption per 300 livestock units up to 6 months of age: 900 kg of feed - 18,000 rubles.
Electricity consumption per year: 9 thousand kW / h - 18,000 rubles.
The cost of one skin or chinchilla: 140 rubles.
In total, the production of 300 young chinchillas requires: 42,000 rubles.

Profit calculation:

Profit = 1,500,000 rubles. - 42,000 rubles. = 1,458,000 rubles.

Profitability from household from 300%. In cooperation with us you will always have a guaranteed sale. Business is not subject to any crises.

Earn your million on breeding chinchillas - it's real!

Elite nurseries from the USA, Germany, Poland, Ukraine and other countries offer to become the owner of cute furry animals for home, as well as breeding and amateur breeding. The farms sell wholesale chinchillas of all ages and colors. A furry animal, if desired, can be not only a cute pet, but also a source of good income.

reproduction

We offer young animals at the age of 2 - 4 months, as well as adult mated pairs, ready to organize mini-farms. One young family of chinchillas can bring up to 3 litters and up to 15 puppies per year. The cost of a two-month-old animal (the most suitable age for weaning from the mother) varies from 2,500 to 50,000 rubles, depending on gender and color. The female chinchilla, getting older, brings more puppies in 1 litter. A mother under the age of 1.5 years gives birth to 1-3 cubs in a litter, from 1.5 to 6 years 2-5 puppies are born.

Chinchillas eat well with budgetary food, which can always be bought in any quantity on our farm. To ensure the longevity and health of your pet, you need to follow a few simple rules of care. For each chinchilla, we attach detailed instructions for keeping, as well as a pedigree of origin. In addition, each of our clients receives balanced food for the first month of keeping and sand for bathing the animals. On our farm, you can buy chinchillas in bulk, as well as order a cage for a couple or breeding animals at low prices.

Prices for breeding chinchillas

About 400 fur animals are kept on our farm, their number is constantly growing, thanks to the effective operation of the partnership program for the sale of young animals and our own increase in the number of animals. There are always puppies, young chinchillas, adult animals, planted couples and polygamous families of any color. Orders are accepted for families of any configuration and color. You can buy chinchillas for breeding at the following prices, subject to the conclusion of a sales contract.

Chinchilla "Grey standard": age 6-10 months.

Pair (male and female of reproductive age) - 13,000 rubles;
From 3 to 5 pairs - 13,000 rubles per pair (with the possibility of delivery within the Moscow Ring Road);
From 5 to 10 pairs - 13,000 rubles per pair (with free delivery within the Moscow Ring Road);
About 10 to 20 pairs - 13,000 rubles per pair (delivery up to 300 km from the Moscow Ring Road);
From 20 to 30 pairs - 12,000 rubles per pair (delivery up to 600 km from the Moscow Ring Road);
From 30 to 50 pairs - 12,000 rubles per pair (delivery up to 1,000 km from the Moscow Ring Road);
Over 50 pairs - the cost is 12,000 rubles per pair (delivery up to 2,000 km from the Moscow Ring Road).

A colored pair of chinchillas, depending on the color, costs from 15,000 rubles.

You can buy a family of chinchillas or several pairs depending on the breed with a discount of 10% to 50%.

Transport services

Pick up or drop off within the Moscow Ring Road: 1000 rubles for 1-5 animals, 1500 rubles for 5-10 animals.
Pick up or drop off outside the Moscow Ring Road: up to 100 km - 30 rubles / 1 km;

from 100 to 500 km - 25 rubles / 1 km,

from 500 to 800 km - 20 rubles / 1 km.

* The distance from the Moscow Ring Road and back is taken into account.

Special affiliate program

Our farm has a special partnership program for the redemption of young chinchillas, subject to the purchase of 5 pairs for the organization of a breeding farm. Young animals are bought at the age of 4 months at a price of 1000 - 3000 thousand rubles, depending on the sex and color of the cubs. The program is valid only if an agreement is concluded between the parties at the time of sale. A special affiliate program allows you to buy chinchillas in bulk, while providing a start-up business with a constant source of sales.

Terms of sale

The only condition for the purchase of animals is the physical integrity of the chinchilla: the presence of 4 paws, 2 ears, a tail, all fingers, and the absence of damage to the fur. The breeder is insured against the appearance of these defects until the chinchilla reaches sexual maturity (2-4 months). As a rule, conflicts arise precisely from 4 months between animals of both the same sex and different ones. Before reaching this age, in 99% of cases, cubs can be kept both with their parents and separately from the family. When weaned from the mother, cubs from one litter are placed in a cage separate from other puppies.

By joining our affiliate program, you get:

Constant information support on the conditions of detention, treatment of diseases and breeding issues.
Individual prices with up to 30% discount on balanced food, bathing sand, treats, accessories and other pet products.
Stable income and guaranteed sales, secured by a bilateral agreement.
Confidence in buying a healthy animal. Our farm is constantly working on the breeding quality of chinchillas.

Cost and Profit Calculation Example

We present the calculation of the maximum cost of maintaining 1 family of 2 breeding chinchillas of the Gray Standard breed:

Balanced food 22-24 kg - 450 rubles.

Feeding with natural feed is possible: hay 3-5 kg 50 rubles.

With self-harvesting of hay - zero costs.

Top dressing (hercules, milk powder) 1 kg. - 100 rubles
Vitamin complex (liquid) 50 ml / l - 100 rubles.
Treats (raisins, rose hips, dried apples, etc.) 2 kg - 50 rubles.

Do-it-yourself production costs zero.

Mineral stone for teeth 4pcs. - 200 rub.

It is possible to use other materials - zero costs.

Sand for bathing fur animals 3-5 kg. - 300 rubles

Do-it-yourself costs are minimal.

Toys for rodents (wooden bars, branches, etc.) 3 kg - 50 rubles.

With self-production - zero costs.

Total: Commercial costs for the maintenance of chinchillas: 1300 rubles.

If desired, the cost of maintaining chinchillas is reduced to: 650 rubles.

Minimum annual profit calculation:

One pair of breeding animals brings 2-3 litters a year on average 8 puppies - 3300 rubles. for one animal.

In general, for offspring per year - 26,400 rubles.

Total: Net profit when keeping one pair of breeding chinchillas of the Gray Standard breed is 25,750 rubles.

The profitability of breeding chinchillas, everyone evaluates for himself!

Breeding chinchillas is a very interesting activity, which, with the right approach, calculation and well-established marketing, can bring considerable profit. After all, animal skins can be profitably sold or you can sew a fur coat, a fur collar, a hat yourself. How much time, money and effort you need to spend in Russia in order for the cultivation of chinchillas to start making a profit - this is the subject of today's conversation. We will also find out how much a chinchilla skin costs in our country and where to contact for the sale of goods. But first things first.

Breeding chinchillas in Russia is a very promising business and a very decent business that can be based on the cultivation and sale of the animals themselves, as well as the sale of skins for a fur coat. How much is a breeding animal for sale? The price can vary within 100 USD. However, today we will talk about the sale of chinchilla skins, business features and risks.

To begin with, all beginners need to draw up a small business plan, which will include the main organizational, legal, and business expenses. It outlines the prospect of doing business, describes the sale of the final product.

Fur characteristic

In addition to dietary meat, chinchilla is very valuable due to its fluffy skin. They can make a fur coat, hats, fur products and much more. This direction, among others, is the most profitable and promising in our country. Fur is valuable due to the presence of a huge number of hairs (on average, there are about 25 thousand hairs per 1 cm2) and incredible beauty and silkiness. However, you can combine several lines of business and simultaneously sell meat, donate skins and sell live animals.

How much does a chinchilla skin cost? This is a very important question for those new to chinchilla breeding. Much in the pricing policy depends on the quality of the skins and the appearance of the product. But on average, the price of a finished product varies from 250 to 300 USD. The cost of the highest quality skins can increase several times on the market.

Business Benefits

Financial benefit. With a small investment of capital, you get a net income in a short time;
Availability. Absolutely anyone who has a small space and a great desire to start their own business from scratch can engage in this type of business. This does not require special in-depth knowledge, the presence of a veterinary education, a lot of money. You need to have desire and strength;
Simplicity. In fact, it is not very difficult to start breeding chinchillas and organize the work properly.

It is not difficult to make an approximate calculation of the future business, and for this you do not need financial education. The first thing you should pay attention to is that it is quite possible to breed chinchillas in an apartment or a private house. The thing is that these animals do not have an unpleasant odor, due to their lack of sweat glands. Therefore, they can be safely grown in an apartment without fear that a bad aroma will come from them. In addition, they are very friendly, unlike, for example, muskrats, which constantly bite. Chinchillas are very cute and kind creatures that can even bite their own claws! Cages for animals are a separate topic, but they can be made by yourself, or purchased in special zoological stores.

Conditions of detention

Chinchillas have some characteristic features on which their breeding depends. This is:

Compliance with the temperature regime, which varies from 15 to 20 degrees. It is very important to prevent a decrease in performance, as well as an increase in it more than 25 degrees. This can lead to the death of the animal. Therefore, if hot days are possible in your climate zone, it is better to immediately equip the room with air conditioning;
Location. Try not to put cages with chinchillas near the window, because. animals do not like sunlight. Also avoid any players with loud music or other sound;
Cages should be roomy, but not high, so that the animal could not break. There must be at least one square meter of cage territory per individual;
Sawdust is laid inside the cage, which must be changed at least once a week. In addition, in each cage there should be a bather with special ash, a feeder and a drinker;
Animals eat hay, tree branches, grasses, granulated feed, grains, nuts and much more;
Chinchilla is nocturnal. So she eats at night. As well as fulfilling all other needs, it is worth paying special attention to this. And do not place cages near children, as well as feed before nightfall.

Expenses

In order to start a chinchilla business, you must:

Buy 3-4 females and one male. It is desirable that these animals are from different families.
Set cells. About 10-15 animals can freely fit on an area of 2 square meters. To save space, you can install cages on top of each other. You can save on the purchase of equipment for keeping chinchillas, and do everything yourself. It's not hard.
Buy food. Approximately, one healthy individual consumes about 1 kg of granular feed per month. Here you can also save money and prepare dry food for the winter. It can be hay, twigs of trees and bushes, wild rose, hawthorn, etc.

Profit

One female per year, on average, can bring about 5-9 puppies. Her childbearing period, with proper feeding and maintenance, can last up to 15 years. Accordingly, a family of 4 females and a male can bring up to 30 young animals for fattening per year. They can be grown for later reproduction or left on the skin. A one-room apartment can fit about 2-3 families.

As you can see, breeding chinchillas is a very profitable and profitable business. Keeping animals is not troublesome and simple, they do no harm, do not have an unpleasant smell, do not scream, eat well and breed well. In order to start a business, you should not immediately buy 2-3 families and spend a lot of money. We advise you to purchase 2-3 individuals and watch them for a couple of months, get used to their way of life, follow the breeding process. And only if everything suits you, and you like the animals, it is worth starting their mass breeding.

If you are very interested in this type of activity, and you want to expand its scope, then we advise you to open a small farm. What might be required for this?

First of all, this is a room. Its dimensions should be relative to the number of animals that you are going to breed there. Ensure that the room is always dry and clean. For hot days, it is better to put air conditioning.

Secondly, you will need to legalize your activities. To do this, you will need to open a business and pay taxes to the treasury every month.

Thirdly, it will require spending some amount on the purchase of breeding animals for breeding and feed.

And fourth is the staff. For starters, you may need just one assistant to monitor the behavior of the animals, clean their cages, feed them, etc.

Implementation Issues

So you have already equipped a large room with cages, bought animals, mated, got the first young, which has grown to a year. What's next? Where can the product be sold?

Here is a list of possible buyers:

Farmers at the fur market. These can be already experienced business executives, novice buyers, as well as those involved in the resale of goods, intermediaries. It won't be hard to find them. You will need to carry out advertising work, exhibit samples of your products on all kinds of thematic sites and portals. Sell, as we have said, you can live individuals, skins, meat;
All kinds of pet stores, zoos, exhibition centers, nurseries that need a live animal;
Ordinary residents of cities and villages who buy animals for their homes;
Factories for tailoring fur products;
All kinds of catering establishments for the sale of meat (restaurants, cafes, canteens, etc.).

As you can see, chinchilla breeding is not a very troublesome and promising business, if everything is calculated correctly. Do what you love and expand the scale of production.

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 farm: 4500 rubles. for a skin, 450,000 rubles. for 100 pieces.

Profitable sale of young animals up to 300,000 rubles. for 100 pieces.

, which are known to have the most valuable fur of all the animals that inhabit our planet.

The advantages of these animals are that they are 2-3 times smaller than rabbits in size, they are herbivores - they eat everything the same as rabbits, but much less (20 times, 35 grams each): vegetables, grains, herbs, hay, leaves, branches, seeds, etc. Chinchillas do not shed seasonally, and unlike other animals, they are odorless. Chinchillas do not need any vaccinations as they are all raised in captivity. Sexual maturity is reached at 6-7 months. At the same time, their main advantage is simple maintenance and breeding.

They usually say about chinchillas: “You feed like a rabbit - you sell like a sable!”

Whether to get chinchillas just for the soul or seriously engage in their breeding - everyone decides for himself. But in any case, the pleasure of communicating with these cute animals will be guaranteed to you.

First of all, do not confuse a chinchilla with a chinchilla rabbit. Chinchilla rabbits were bred specifically as an inexpensive substitute for the real chinchilla; their fur is similar to chinchilla only in appearance. They appeared because chinchilla breeding as a business for several centuries has not covered the need for chinchilla fur.

Chinchilla fur is unparalleled, but relatively short-lived, and the skin is very thin and delicate. Even the wives of oligarchs and superstars do not wear chinchilla products every day. A chinchilla coat or hat cannot be passed on from generation to generation, like a sable or beaver. So there is no end to the demand for chinchillas. The forecast for Russia gives stable high demand for 40 (!) years ahead. Among other products, there are probably no analogues to this indicator.

A little about chinchillas

There are two types of chinchillas: the long-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera) and the large short-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla brevicaudata). Both are the size of a small rabbit or a large rat; the quality of the fur is equivalent.

Animals come from South America, from the Andes. They are unpretentious to feed: rodents, they eat rabbit feed and hay. They live in polygamous families - one male for 4 females. Social animals, at least two families must see each other and visit each other. Chinchillas are peaceful, never fight. Live up to 20 years.

These animals breed very poorly for rodents: in captivity, the female gives 1-2 litters of 1-2 cubs per year. Very demanding on climatic factors and water quality. It can only be kept indoors without drafts and scorching sunlight, but the air must be fresh, not stale.

The temperature of the content is 18-24 degrees Celsius. The maximum allowable water hardness is 12 German degrees, but already at 8 the animals feel bad and stop breeding. Chlorine, impurities of industrial pollution, organics in water are unacceptable. In fact, the water must be tap artesian or spring.

Air humidity is allowed no more than 68-70% average and 85% short-term. Better to keep it at 60%. Dampness, condensate will nullify all the efforts of the chinchilla grower.

Chinchillas have toilet skills and are easy to care for. Having given enough dry food and water, you can leave for a few days. But chinchillas do not tolerate anxiety and visits from strangers.

Chinchilla

Chinchilla fur is unique in structure. Animals with such fur had to go a long way of evolution in the specific conditions of the Andean highlands.

From one hair follicle, a chinchilla grows 60-80 fluffs (it is difficult to call them hairs, let alone an awn) with a thickness of less than 15 microns (thinner than 0.015 mm). Human hair is 4-10 times thicker. Fur density - more than 20 thousand per 1 sq. see Natural color - bluish-gray.

Chinchilla business

The first Spanish conquistadors tried to breed chinchillas. But, it would seem, a fantastically profitable business: breeding shishillas, did not become massive. There are several reasons.

Firstly, although chinchillas are social animals, their communities are rather closed. It is impossible to organize a large commodity chinchilla farm: the animals will feel there like a Bushman snatched from their native Kalahari and abandoned in a gassed metropolis teeming with people. With the mass breeding of any animals, it is impossible to ensure the complete absence of ammonia in the air, and for chinchillas it is detrimental.

Secondly, chinchillas are sickly animals, and with their mass accumulation, any epizootic develops rapidly.

Thirdly, industrial methods for processing chinchilla skins have not yet been found. The skin of the animal is so thin and tender that it is torn to meat under the fingers. You can take a chinchilla only by the ear or by the tail. But only individual furriers, virtuosos, can make chinchilla skins, and almost all of them have their own secrets.

Therefore, large-scale commercial breeding of chinchillas turns out to be too risky, given the size of the initial costs, and the benefit of the chinchilla business is based on the high price of finished products. On a large scale, it is more profitable to breed a chinchilla rabbit and trade in a substitute for a natural chinchilla.

Is home chinchilla farming profitable?

But is it profitable to breed chinchillas at home? Are there entire profitable industries based on individual production?

At first glance, the prospects are tempting: intermediaries willingly take dressed chinchilla skin for $ 1,000 or more per piece with its standard color. Skins with color variations are sold individually, often from auctions. The price of a finished chinchilla coat at $300,000 is not considered excessive.

But the technology for making chinchilla in Russia is unknown. The animal is taken for slaughter at 20,000 - 60,000 rubles. with a standard color, and chinchilla nurseries offer them from 2000 rubles. But keeping more than 10 families in an air-conditioned apartment is unlikely to succeed.

Families cannot be broken up; excess males go to the slaughter. At the above rate of reproduction, we will get 10 - 40 marketable animals per year. This is at best 2,400,000 rubles. per year or 200,000 per month, with a minimum initial investment of 800,000. We do not consider current expenses, they are negligible.

As you can see, the business plan for breeding chinchillas, according to the final results, looks more modest than “rabbit” or “nutria”, with promising prospects at first glance. World practice confirms the calculations - until now, despite the strict laws of the countries of original habitat, chinchilla poaching is widely practiced, which is why the natural population of chinchillas is endangered.

Suppose the calculations did not cool the enthusiast, and he also dreams of unraveling the secrets of making chinchillas, getting rich on this and becoming famous. What does it take, besides money to buy animals, to start a chinchilla business?

First of all, a solid experience as a rabbit breeder. In “zero” owners, even chinchillas, pets, rarely survive. Everything else is not so difficult.

The accommodation rate is 10 families (male + 4 females) per 20 sq. m. Aviaries - one-story. Chinchillas are not rabbits, they will not tolerate trampling over their heads and garbage from above. Conditions of detention - as described above.

Enclosures - with mesh walls so that the animals can see each other, rub their noses and tickle each other with their mustaches. You don’t have to worry too much about strength - chinchillas are quiet, homebodies and neat.

The floor of the aviary should be covered with gravel or pebbles. Be sure to arrange a sand bath - chinchillas, like sparrows, love to swim in the sand. Put a small flat bowl for toilet needs. If the animals ignore it, put a little of “the same” there when cleaning and leave it like that. As a rule, after this, chinchillas begin to walk as intended.

Daily care comes down to cleaning, brushing and feeding. Feed - rabbit feed, hay; in season - top dressing with greens, in winter - with carrots, cabbage. Do not neglect dry food: chinchillas, like all rodents, need to grind their teeth. Food can be given for the future, chinchillas are not gluttons. Chinchillas need little water, but it is better to change it more often to fresh water, so that it remains at the bottom in the drinking bowl for the next change.

Once a week, you need to wash the gravel and sift the bathing sand, and change the sand that is too contaminated. Once a month - completely change the sand. Once every six months - to transplant the family for a while to another enclosure and arrange a general cleaning in their home with disinfection and calcination of gravel.