NWI Chinchillas & Critters

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Wolcott, IN
NWI Chinchillas & Critters

Here at NWI Chins, we breed / show pedigreed chinchillas. We also sell cages, accessories, and more!
(15)

10/19/2024

Just woke up from my stay at the bougie Hotel Sprinter... and now onto the chin show!
..the things we do for these furballs 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️😆🤣

10/09/2024

Today’s your last chance if you want to get a furball on our route to New York! We will be to the Toledo, OH area around 4-430 pm on Thursday (tomorrow), getting maybe as far as Erie, PA tomorrow evening.. and onto Syracuse, NY by no later than noon on Friday. Lots of furballs available that can hitch a ride for a low fee… even some still on sale!! Best way to reach me right now would be to text (preferred) or call - 219-789-0026

10/08/2024

Finish Drawing The Chinchilla 🖍️ 🖊️ 🎨

10/05/2024

We're getting a bit of a late start for this weekly (ish) sale, but here we go! This is the second week of our "When We Win, You Win Sale"... here's 8 new furballs on sale! This sale runs through 9 pm EST on the 11th!

09/27/2024

Since we had such a great show weekend... we want to share it with you, by putting some furballs on sale!

When we win... you win! An unbiased individual is randomly selecting 8 furballs per week to go on sale... for one week! These furballs are on sale from today, until 9 pm EST on Wednesday October 2nd (that following Thursday morning, 8 more will go on sale...and you get the idea).

The posted pics are of the furballs that are on sale. Please check out our website to read about their wonderful personalities and likes / dislikes. As always, we do have more furballs available on our website, and we're always adding more to the website as time allows.

We are located in Wolcott, Indiana (30 minutes north of Lafayette, IN). However... we are heading to Syracuse, NY... and will be arriving there on October 11th (heading there in the couple days prior). If anyone needs transport for one of these furballs, we can meet *along our route* for a reasonable fee. Please reach out for more info. Either message us or text me at 219-789-0026.

09/23/2024

Just got sent these adorable pics of Fuzz Solo from his foster home in South Bend! He can be adopted out directly from his foster home if anyone local to the area is interested!

09/23/2024

We are finally home and have the chins all settled back into their cages. We had a great weekend at the MCBA NY/NE show in Union City, PA. We took 12 chinchillas with us. Our notable awards -

Section Champion Angora female
Reserve Section Champion Ebony female
Pink White Phase Champion female
—and—
Section Champion Violet female, who went on to become Champion Female of Show, and further to become Grand Show Champion(!!)

We also came come with three 1sts and five 2nds. We took with us a handful of first generation project chins that we wanted to get comments on, so we were perfectly happy with the placings we got, and the comments will help to pair them for an even better second gen!

Thanks to Paul for judging and Paul & Hope for hosting the show, and to Hope for letting us park our van at her place overnight. And of course, congrats to everyone who showed!

09/21/2024

Pssst…We have some exciting news to share when we get home; but for now, we’ll leave you with this for a teaser…😇

09/20/2024

Heading to the NY/NE show!

09/05/2024

Nature vs. nurture -- a real life example

See this cutie? His mother passed away when he was 3 weeks old. Yes, super sad, I agree... but also this points to an interesting lesson (that I think many people get wrong).

Let's back up a sec. Because his mom died, from 3 weeks on, I hand-fed him and his brother, until they weaned, about a week ago (at 8.5 weeks old). If you haven't seen this boy on our website, you're welcome to go read about him (he's on this page -- https://www.nwichinchillas.com/available-chinchillas-1 ), though the point here is not that he's available, but rather, that he's super energetic and really not that interested in people, or especially, that he's not interested in cuddling (ewww *stares in disgust*). Read that again. Ok, now let me repeat. This boy was hand-fed... as in, around the clock... for 5 weeks of his life... and he *doesn't* care for people and is super energetic aka *not cuddly* in the slightest.

WAIT

So... why is it that when potential customers reach out to me, the first thing the grand majority ask is -- "do you handle all your chinchillas??" Yes. A bunch, in fact, even when I'm not handfeeding them (which, I'm not, for 99.9999% of babies born here), they get handled and loved on (whether they like it or not).

Here's the thing -- many people seem to be under the impression that the more you handle the chins, the friendlier they are, and the cuddlier they are. And to some extent, that very well may be true. Sort of. For sure, if you *never* handle them, they're *never* going to get used to you handling them... so they're not likely going to warm up to you handling them and become comfortable with it. But... on the flip side... they may only ever warm up so much, even with consistent handling, if it's just not something that they enjoy. Nurture has a role to play... but so does nature.

We can try to mold and shape these little furballs the best we can with our handling, our enrichment, and the way we treat them, but at the end of the day, nature comes through and shows us that they still will have their own personalities and their own likes and dislikes. This boy is only 2.5 months old -- he's still very young. Could he still calm down and have a more chill personality? Sure (maybe in a couple years). But I personally don't ever see him being cuddly with how bouncy he is right now. That's just who he is, and there's nothing wrong with that.

I think there's times when people ask if we handle our chins (especially the active, bouncy ones), we reply, "yes," and people wonder if we really do, or if we're just saying that. I think this type of furball is proof that sometimes it just really doesn't matter.

09/04/2024

White mosaic vs. white ebony -- what does it mean? and why it's important to label!

I had a genetics discussion with someone about this the other day that kind of prompted this post. There's actually a lot of other colors that exist in co-dominance with white (white violet, white sapphire, and so on), but this post is going to be a real quick lesson on white mosaic / white ebony, since those two often look alike and I have lines of both, so if you follow this page... you probably often see chins listed as one or the other.

A white mosaic is just a "regular" white. In fact, the word "mosaic" is just a descriptive term. I think most chin-people would agree that a "white" or a "mosaic" is any chinchilla with white as the base color. It could be *just* a white (with no other mutation added), or it could be white co-existing with another color, such as a white ebony or a white violet (in which case, the markings would be, respectively, ebony or violet in color).

A white ebony is a white chinchilla that also has / carries / expresses (one of the above) the ebony gene. So, this can mean a couple things. It could mean that one of the parents is an ebony, or maybe a white ebony. It could even be that one of the parents carried ebony (in that case, I would personally list the chin as a possible ebony carrier).

Now... phenotypically (how they look), white mosaics and white ebonies can be indistinguishable from one another. I know, I know, you're saying, "but Ashley, often the white ebonies that you post are more silvery than the white mosaics..." yeah yeah. If I post mosaics that are more silvery, I tend to change their descriptive label to "silver mosaic" as opposed to "white mosaic" (see what I did there?). I think often people *do* think of white ebonies as more silver... and they definitely can be, but they're not always. I've had white ebonies born almost sold black with a white tail tip, and by adulthood turn almost solid white. I've had white ebonies start out white and get grayer and look almost standard. I've had regular mosaics (with no ebony) that are so grey, you'd almost think they're a standard if it wasn't for the white end of their tail. And THAT is why it is so important, IMO, for us breeders to label our chinchillas. If they're going to a pet home, ok, it probably doesn't make much difference as long as the home likes what the chin looks like... but for someone breeding, it's next to impossible to look at a white chinchilla and magically just *know* "hey, that chin has ebony"... and this is important for breeders, as not everyone wants ebony in their lines!

I've added some photos of some chins we've had here over the years. The photos are about half and half white mosaics and white ebonies. Some of the fun ones are white mosaics, some are white ebonies... one of the *really white* ones is a white ebony.... one of the really silvery ones is a regular mosaic (no ebony). So you just never know. Have fun guessing! (That's why we label 😁)

09/03/2024

Well, we haven't had one of these available in forever... and he's *not* a problem child to boot (two for two!). In fact, this little brown velvet male is SUPER sweet! He's not even 3 months old yet and he is very calm, and will just chill with you when you're handling and petting him. He basically just melts into a furry brown velvet puddle in your hands as you love on him. I mean... who doesn't want that?

More info on this cutie on this page:
https://www.nwichinchillas.com/available-chins-2

09/03/2024

So, our big Labor Day sale is over, I hope everyone got all the furballs they wanted!

We got some other stuff accomplished over the weekend as well! I got a handful of new fleece tubes and fleece hanging houses added to our Etsy shop! Check them out!

Fleece tubes -- https://nwichinchillarescue.etsy.com/listing/739913193/hanging-fleece-tube-for-chinchilla
Fleece hanging houses -- https://nwichinchillarescue.etsy.com/listing/740724601/hanging-fleece-house-for-chinchilla
Fleece hanging houses as part of a hammock shelf -- https://nwichinchillarescue.etsy.com/listing/740492029/hanging-fleece-house-10-shelf-with-hole

09/01/2024

Couple more cuties have been added to the website (nwichinchillas.com) for the Labor Day Sale! Don't miss your chance to get from 10% OFF, up to 30% OFF some of these amazing furballs! Sale runs through end of day on the 2nd!

08/31/2024

Meet Dee. Dee is one of our retired breeders and she has opinions! They always say, the pretty ones know they're pretty, and theyhave that pretty girl attitude... and Dee is no exception! Dee is PRETTY AND SHE KNOWS IT!!!

Would you like to reach for Dee and pick her up? Oh, well you can try... she will just bark at you. Now, she is all bark and no spray (I'm looking at you, Mavis....), so no waterworks with this one... well... sort of. Dee nervous-dribbles (just a littttle... it won't be in your face though, I promise!). So, don't scare her, and you'll be fine!

You will have to ignore the barking in order to pick her up, because there's no denying, this pretty girl *will* bark at you and express her displeasure at you reaching towards her. How DARE you?!? Her space / cage / area is her *kingdom,* dontcha know?? Here's the thing though -- get her into your arms, and she is cool as a cucumber! She chills with you and you can pet her and love on her and she is happy as a darn clam. She's actually super sweet... just ignore the barking.

More info on this sweet girl, and of course, she is part of our Labor Day special... on this page:
https://www.nwichinchillas.com/available-chins-3

08/30/2024

I know you've all been dying for a sale, and I can tell I've been behind on sales... cause I'm out of cage space😆... so, here we go!

Check out the reduced prices on our website -- nwichinchillas.com -- on the Available Chins pages, pages 1-3, soon page 4 too... I *am* still listing chins (can only go so fast... the website is being difficult)... message on here or text / call 219-789-0026 if you'd like to make an appt or put down a deposit

We WILL be attending the NY show this year if it k*lls me. Deposits will only hold 14 days... but a week's worth of boarding will get you through until that show... just saying...

08/30/2024

I love when I wean a chin and find one that I can’t wait to grow out and see how she does!

Not the greatest pic, but here’s a gorgeous, chonky girl at 8 weeks and 421g already!

08/29/2024

I'm pretty positive that this is the dust bunny that everyone says lives under their beds.

Dust bunny! Looking for new under-bed (cage) to call home!

Listed here:
https://www.nwichinchillas.com/available-chins-2

Address

4294 N 900 W
Wolcott, IN
47995

Telephone

+12197890026

Website

http://www.nwichinchillas.com/

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Videos

Judah & Asher

What kind of chins do we have available? Oh, well, we have young chins, old chins, grey chins, colorful chins, special chins… 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️ Who wants to adopt the pair of special chins? 🤣🤣🤣 This is Judah and Asher — read more about them, and see more pics, their adoption fee, and mooooore, on their listing --> https://www.nwichinchillas.com/available-chinchillas-1

Would you guess that this furball is 18-20 years old? No? Is that awesome?? Kanye has been chilling at his foster home in Chicago for 7+ months now and was here at the rescue before that… it sure would be nice if someone wanted to give him a nice retirement home!

Ok… so she’s normally kind of anti-social and barky. But… she also LOVES chin-scritches. So… trade-off? We think so! This furball is looking for her new scritches-slave! Is it you? (“Pangchin” is a 7 year old female furchewer who is not yet listed on our website — if interested in adopting her, please reach out)

This is what we like to see!! This is Peter Cortez, or as he’s called in his new home - Super Pete! He came to the rescue and sat here (and at a foster home) for adoption for over a year. Not super old, but also not super interactive, kinda cranky, and he had cataracts, so maybe not the most appealing adoption candidate. Plus, he battled a fungal infection for months at his foster home, so he kept flipping between being available, then under health watch, then available, then under health watch… A follower for our page saw that we were going to TN for an expo and asked if we could bring him with, for her to adopt (and of course, she filled out our adoption form and all). We had him returned from the foster home the day before we left…complete with fungus (which we treated), and down to TN we went. …and this is now. His fungus completely cleared up with our treatment and had not returned. Even better— with his new home, he actively seeks out interaction and chirps at his mom all the time! This is the chin that I remember never leaving his hidey house and always barking at me. What an awesome transformation!

Took this video for a potential customer, but this cutie is still available! Look how sweet he is and how easy to pick up! He’s a predominantly white RPA male. The video is a bit dark, will post photos in the comments.

They say a picture is worth 1000 words. I think a video is worth even more! This is Gansito (it’s a Mexican sweet bread…and she’s oh so sweet!). She is a 2-3 year old standard grey female. She can be a bit defensive and barky about people reaching into her cage, and she currently nervously vibrates when she is picked up and held (we anticipate this will improve, but so far, only so many hours in the day). Actually, she sits very calmly in your arms when being held, so it’ll be easy to work with her more. But…BUT…she will 100% stop what she is doing and become your best friend if you will give her neck scritches! We guarantee this is step 1 in winning her over and picking her up. Gansito’s human mom took her in after another family member wasn’t able to care for her, but quickly realized that she was in over her head…so now she is here with us! We are continuing to work with Gansito and get her more comfortable with handling, though of course she will benefit the most from the sort of one on one handling that she can get at her forever home (without oodles or other chins and other animals to tend to). Might that be you??

For anyone who was hoping to see us in Nashville this October… stay posted… but it doesn’t look promising :/

Chilling at the expo, watching the bun buns groom each other 🥰

…and the #1 sign you should have closed up the barn *before* it got this windy… (it’s loofah)

Veggie time! This is Cookie, munching away on some romaine ❤️

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