For the month of May zero (0) chinchillas were surrendered, and seven (7) chinchillas were adopted.  Finally! There is space enough to bring in a clothes washer and dryer again! At least, that was the goal. Earlier this month we received two different mixed family groups of chins (including babies) as transfers from other shelter facilities. *sigh* We're full again.

At this point we are seriously hoping to win the farm with the essay contest. HOWEVER, we learned recently that the tax hit will be huge on it. Talk is flying around of fees of about $160K or more. Well....that certainly is a lot less than a 600K mortgage! But it is far from "free".

Nevertheless, a farm at that rate is still a very good deal. Please keep us in your prayers and positive thoughts as we refine our essay for submission this week.  If submissions are turned in by July 1st, we're allowed an extra 1000 words in our write up. We're using that opportunity to expand our story.

If you want to help, enter the contest! It won't run unless there are close to 5000 entries. And yes! They will allow essay entries on behalf of another person or organization. *hint, hint* The contest ends in October with the winner announced around Thanksgiving time. Wouldn't winning Rock Spring Farm be something to be thankful for?

Please share the facebook link with your friends and family.   https://www.facebook.com/virginiahorsefarm?fref=ts

So today was cage cleaning day for the Aunties in the "community cage." After vacuuming out the used bedding and wiping everything down, we usually sprinkle some dust in the bottom of the cage and let the girls roll around in it. This time, we let all of the kits join in the dust party fun! Everyone had a blast, popcorning everywhere and running around. Take a look at these fun clips we took:

As a side note: no, the kits do not live in the same cage as in the video. They all have separate, baby-safe homes with their mommies.

Things sure have been "hoppin'" here at the menagerie. We've had our first litter of Z babies born in our effort to work with variations of the violet mutation. As members of the Mutation Chinchilla Breeder's Association, we're very careful about breeding selection. Please keep in mind, we are NOT breeding chins to sell. Our goal is to work toward show quality/breed standard mutations in cooperation with our fellow members. With that in mind, occasionally there will be chins born who do not quite measure up in quality. Those are generally the tiny runts or those who do not have the characteristics we are working toward. While some chins will not meet certain "quality" standards, they are still deserving of love! If any babies born here are placed for adoption, they will only go in same gender pairs or as a proven buddy for another same gender chin. Ok, now that I'm off my soapbox, wanna see the new babies? :)

Maisie's kits have been weaned, and the two standards grays are available for adoption, bringing our number of available chins up to 12. We've decided to keep the beige girl and name her Miriam. The little ones are so friendly and have had a nice smooth transition from their doting mother to the community cage where all their new "aunts" have taught them well how to play nice with others. Our little utopia is getting rather crowded and after much deliberation, we have decided to pair off some of the girls to go to pet homes.

The adoptions page is going through a major overhaul. The new layout features clickable thumbnail pictures of the available chins, and we hope to have video introductions too!

Please welcome our new arrivals... Maisie had triplets! There are two standards (male and female) and a beige (female). At birth, they weighed 62, 52, and 44 grams (respectively). Mom and babies are all doing very well.

Maisie's kits aren't the only new chins around. We also took in another rescue. He's a black velvet with pale ears and a sweet personality. We're calling him Mordecai. He and Petra look very similar except for the difference in ear color.

We also added another chin to our Menagerie. She came to us from Shelli (Chinchildren) of North Carolina. She's a white violet, but there are no markings on her at all, so she almost looks like a pink white. We've named her Davi, which is Hebrew for "beloved" and the feminine form of David. We plan on entering her in the show ring in the future. A big thank you to Shelli for our darling little girl!