Hopefully you wont experience the negatives - but it is better to be prepared for them and have a realistic outlook, and therefore be  more able to deal with problems should they arise.

For birthing,  the cage should be shallow - maximum of 18 inches high - with no shelves.  The base of the cage should be covered with newspapers so that the kits can move around easier once born.  Some breeders do not agree with newspaper being put in a cage, believing the ink to cause problems for the kits  and use Hessian backed carpet tiles instead which can be disposed off after use (foam packed could be poisonous if chewed).

Sandbaths should have already been removed and you may have emptied the hay rack.  The cage should be free from drafts and not too cold  - but being too warm also creates difficulties for the mother.  The father should be removed as the female comes into season immediately upon giving birth and a breed back will occur unless the male is removed.

In cold rooms a heating unit should be in place under the cage for three days before the due date to ensure that if the kits are born early they are not chilled by a cool room whilst they are  drying off.

 

Birthing  generally takes place first thing in the morning  - but this is not a hard and fast rule and most of mine have tended to have their kits in the afternoon - or just following their exercise run of an evening. They like to be different!

The kits are born fully furred and within minutes are trying to move around the cage.  They are born wet and the fur is stuck to the body.  The eyes are generally closed at this point but open in most cases within minutes - if they have not opened within a few hours then it may be necessary for you to manually test the eyelid.

Mothers milk does not come down for feeding for up to 12 hours after she gives birth - and the milk production is stimulated by the kits attempting to feed. It is produced in line with the demands that the kits put upon on - so if there is a problem with kits and you do any work with them - you MUST, if it is possible for her to mother then,  put them back in with mother  as soon as possible to try and make her stimulate milk production.

The mother will clean the umbilical cord and then groom the kit over cleaning away blood and other foetal tissue that may remain, she will also eat the afterbirths as they are delivered.  

Mums use there teeth when birthing and cleaning and during this process, occasionally wounds can occur.  Generally these do heal quickly and easily so long as there is no infection. 

There will be one afterbirth for each kit - they may be delivered after each kit or all together at the end.  If al the afterbirths have not been produced within 2 hours on birthing being complete it may be necessary for the female to go to the vets for the removal of one that remains, though this is rare.

 

A litter is generally single or twin kits, though quads and triplets do occur often.  When there are more than 2 kits it is necessary to keep a very close eye on the weights of the kits constantly  as bullying may occur and the smallest kit may not be able to feed.  If in any litter one or two kits are significantly larger then it may be necessary to rotate feed by removing the larger kits for brief periods to give the smaller ones time to feed or give some supplementary feeding.

Add an additional water bottle to the cage with 50% water and 50% cranberry juice (the natural juice sort, not the ones with added sugar or additives), this aids in milk flow and can help to avoid mastitis.  Also feed the mum a couple of raisins to increase her energy levels and help act as laxatives to clear her system of any bloody matter that she has eaten.

Hopefully there will be nothing for you to do or worry about other than let them dry off and then weigh them and take photos!  Generally a healthy kit is born from 40-60g, though kits as small as 30g can generally survive easily.  Bigger kits may also be born - but the larger kits can cause problems for the mother.

Kits develop very fast, within days they will be climbing the walls of the cage, nibbling on mums pellets and hay and acting as normal miniature chinchillas.

They should remain with mum for a minimum of 6 weeks, and at this age only be removed in instances of medical need as they are still taking occasional milk - 8 to 10 weeks is the normally recommended time period to wean them. 

NOTE:  Under no circumstances should kits be separated from a mother directly for sale at this age - 12 weeks is the MINIMUM AGE at which to rehome.  The 4 week period is to assist the kit in becoming used to not being with its mum and to keep a check on its health and development following the separation.

At this age as well, males and females should be separated as it is possible in rare cases for fertilisation to take place.

And kits can be rehomed from 12 weeks old so long as they have continued to gain weight once being separated from their mother. 

The following YouTube video of a chinchilla giving birth was filmed by 4everchins. The Chinchilla (called YumYum) gave birth to triplets 23 Feb 2009

Reviving kits that appear dead at birth (See Reviving Kits)

Weight Loss in Kits first few days

When born the kits tend to lose 5-10g over the next couple of days then start to gain weight.  In this time keep a close eye on heir behaviour to ensure that they are receiving milk, despite losing weight in this time they should still have curled up tails, full stomachs and be very  active.   The kit should also be content to suckle and then sit and feed, if it is running around the cage hunched up or with its tail flat out behind it, then it may not be receiving enough milk. 

 If any of these signs are missing or the weight lose is higher or continues then try a bit of supplementary  feeding.   If there is a large weight difference between kits then you may try removing the bigger kits for short while to allow the smaller ones time to feed.

 

Premature Kits

Quite often kits that are born over 7 days early will not survive, however you can increase their chances.

Premature kits are often small, look very thin and wiry, don't fluff up very well once dry and often the eyes remain shut even after a few hours. They also tend to be unable to stand and stagger around a lot for hours - in healthy kit the staggering normally gives way to running within an hour or two

If the kits are born small then it may be necessary to add a heat lamp beneath the cage to keep them warm and active - this can be done with a bought  lamp or by placing a small electric light bulb into an old metal chocolate or biscuit tin beneath the cage.

 

Sometimes kits aren't always born alive.  

Especially in larger litters it is quite common for one or more kits to be born dead or to die within hours of birth.  Often if there is something wrong with a kit internally the mother will sense it and ignore it - even thought she may clean and work with kits born before and afterwards.  As hard and as heartless as this may seem to us - it is often for the best.  Its hard to lose a kit  within hours of it being born - but it is far worse to lose it a week, fortnight or month later when you have already become so attached.

Some kits can actually be born mummified, this is where the kit has not fully developed but is still born at the same time as the live kits - this can be due to a dual term pregnancy.

Click here to see a picture of a mummified kit

Occasionally chins can have a late term miscarriage, and go through the whole birthing process and produce a severely underdeveloped kit.  I can thankfully say I have not yet had this experience myself, the following picture if you choose to view it was provide by Jayne of Pixie Chinchillas.  This kit was miscarried at what was believed to be 8 weeks into the pregnancy

Click to view a miscarried fetus

When a kit is born dead, the mother will quite often start to eat it.,  This is a normal and natural process in that she is trying to clean up all evidence of the birth process as a way to avoid attracting predators.  If you do find a dead or half eaten kit in a cage then remove it from her.  She does not need to eat the corpse to recycle the vitamins as you may hear from some sources, and in fact is more likely to have intestine problems from eating it than not.  If you do find the mother eating a corpse give her some raisins to help act as laxatives.

Click here to view a half eaten kit corpse