Part of the problem is probably one male and one female. I have never had success with that. I need a minimum of two females and one male, and three girls to one male is even better.

It will take time to get it right. It took me a solid three months of trying before I got it to work, and even now I sometimes put groups together that just don't produce. I have had the most success with starting the group young. I try to get three to five females together as soon as they are weaned and eating on their own. I give them about 2 weeks to establish dominance, then I introduce the male. It is best if he's a little bit older than the girls. Sometimes the dominant female will attack the male if he's too young. They will do quite a bit of squabbling and fussing and such, but they should not draw blood. The fighting will usually last a day or two, and then he'll start getting down to business. Roughly 30-45 days after putting them together, you should see the females with big, pregnant bellies. Be aware that loosing the first litter or two is normal. Don't panic. Give them a chance to get it figured out. However, if you loose the second set of litters that should come about a month later, then it's time to try and find the culprit and feed her off. That is another reason to make a group of 4 or 5, so if you have a problem female you must feed, you still have a productive group.

Gale