Follow Up To What % Standards Thread?

[CHINCHILDREN]

so those who have a good number of standards but breed mutations too. do you:
1. breed for pure standards?
2. use your standards mostly to improve on mutations and/or breed carriers?

[Megan.]

I use my standards to breed back into my mutations to improve them.

However, I would like to get a trio of some NICE pure standards together to produce nothing but pure standards(To sell, and use in my own breeding program).

[DS Chinchillas]

I use my standards to breed with my color mutations to improve them, although come November I am hoping to have several more standards that I plan on using for both herd improvement as well as breeding standard to standard :)

[Chingal]

I only use standards to produce Higher quality mutations as I feel I can probly purchase a higher quality standard from a top rancher or the show table than I could produce and since greys do not selll that well on a hobby end it just makes more sense for me to buy a top of the line one when I need it than breed bunches of them that I cannot place in homes.

[CHINCHILDREN]

I only use standards to produce Higher quality mutations as I feel I can probly purchase a higher quality standard from a top rancher or the show table than I could produce and since greys do not selll that well on a hobby end it just makes more sense for me to buy a top of the line one when I need it than breed bunches of them that I cannot place in homes.

that is kind of what i was thinking which brought me to wonder if having over 30% herd improvement standards when i am not breeding for standard per se, is too many.
what percentage of your herd is standard trin (if you don't mind my askingn...)

[Chingal]

Not sure on a percentage I have 47 chins in breeding ( most have a standard parent) so I ONLY have 4 standards in my herd.. And While I whole heartedly agree standards are imperativve to a quality herd I do not believe that every genration Must have a standard parent. Now if my chins were doing poorly in the shows I may have to reevaluate it but they are not so I am not concerned at this point. I tend to add a standard gene to my lines every other generation.

[crazy4chins]

I have some standard to standard matings ,but very few mute to mute matings.
I am happy with how my standards have done at shows.
I don't worry about what % of what I have in breeding I breed to improve the offspring, so usually that means at least one standard parent to me.
Have you tried to find a top quality female lately?
Most herds average less then 50% female so if you take the 20% of the standard females for herd improvement . a portion will be used in their own herd. so that leaves only a small % of females available. then How many of those will have the characteristics that you need in your herd?
The demand is much higher then the supply. especially with the number of people breeding top quality standards declining each year.
Where are you going to find your herd improvement standards in 10 years?
Most of the females that I put into breeding are born here.
I like to know many things about the females that go into breeding here ,are they good mothers,do they produce enough milk to feed their kits ect.
I am happy with the results of mating this way, as well as the show results.

[Chingal]

Well in 10 years there will STILL be ranchers around that have way more experience than me and Also there will be breeders like you who focus on more intricate things in breeding than say someone small like me.
As for finding quality females Yes it is getting tougher but I have been able to get my hands on what I need ( even though I pay alot too for what I get).
This year I have focused on many issues with my chinchillas as well we all have our own opinions and own qualities in our herds that we excel at and where we need work. Knowing what you need in your herd is more important than knowing what color you want in your herd in my opinion. I have seen a few times that one breeders herd improvement may not be herd improvement to another person. Whether it be standard grey black ,white .. I choose my chin pairs based on what qualities each pairing has in the hope to get better offspring not by color. If a white chin has a better shot of giving me better fur and blocky than what I have in that particular chinchilla and still keep my color, why go pay a ton of $ for a standard to get a bunch of kits I cannot place? It would be different if I was pelting but I am not so I have to be extremely careful to not only breed for showing and quality but also breeding for animals that I can place in homes. ?

[karynnd]

Trinity,

I really like what you've said. You have a lot of good animals and tons of experience, so I appreciate you passing your wisdom down (so to speak) to a relatively new breeder, like myself. :hearts:

Karyn

[crazy4chins]

What everyone has in there own herd is there own choice.
I only have a slightly larger herd then Trin.You can have a small herd and still produce top quality standards and mutations. Many breeders who always compete for top awards at shows year after year have less then 50 females in breeding. one of the top breeders in the area has less then 35 females in breeding at all times. He has won many top awards including GSC,RSC, with his standards,blacks,whites and beiges. He has also won many breeders awards. It takes two chins to produce a top animal. Quantity doesn't have to be necessary for quality.