Sunday, February 6, 2011

Teaspoon the Chin

This is Teaspoon my Black Chinchilla


I raised him from a squirt and he is a very intelligent little critter.
They eat these little guys in South America and their fur is prized because it is as soft as silk.

They come in various colors and you never will know what color you may get if they breed.

He eats a spoonful of alfalfa a day and I also give him a carrot and apple for water intake and vitamin C.

Chins do not need much care but they do not like to get wet. Once he gets used to you he will run around your body and sit in your hand. They are very friendly and clean.

The babies are born ready to go go go with teeth and scamper around, which means you need a cage with very small holes or they will climb through.
They nurse like kittens and Mama's keep Papa's away since Papa's could kill the babies.
When you hold them they get nice and warm and sleep on their backs with their mouths open, like real babies. Sooooo cute! :)

It takes about 1000 of these little guys to make one fur coat. A litter born to a cage is usually 2-4 kits.

The chin farms use two electrodes to kill them.
One end they insert into the mouth and the other into the other end.

Horrible end to this sweet squirrely rabbit.

I had a baby which had a twisted intestine and when I took it to the vet she put it down and asked me if I wanted it for the fur. It was a nice champagne color.
Even a small piece like that is expensive. This black baby cost me 300 dollars but it is rare to find and he is living with me for quite a few years now. When my husband comes downstairs Teaspoon chirps good morning to him and he likes that.
Of course I said no to the body. How can you skin a pet????

The chin farms raise them in separate cages so as to keep the fur intact.

My kids are grown but the chin is still here. I would give it to another child if I knew they would not abuse it. They are quite entertaining, cost little to maintain and do not smell like rabbits do.

:)



7 comments:

George said...

Teaspoon is very cute. Thanks for the information about Chinchilas.

A Lady's Life said...

Thanks George

Baron's Life said...

A very nice Chin

Akelamalu said...

Aw how sweet!

A Lady's Life said...

Thanks Guys

Gattina said...

I put on my blog that I would rather go naked then wear a fur coat, even if they are only breed for this. Disgusting how they are killed, I mean there are certainly other means if it has to be done absolutely. They are so cute ! We had a guinea pig which was so intelligent !

A Lady's Life said...

I know.Gattina. I can't imagine killing and skinning my little guy let alone 1000 of them for one coat.
But if you can see that one little guy like this is worth 300 dollars, imagine what 300 dollars times 1000 makes and this doesn't include the processing and sewing of the coat.
Thats some expensive coat.