Mow many females can a male breed

I was wondering how many females you guys have had a male successfully breed in a season. And how long do you leave him withe each female. The reason I ask is I have a male and female albino and 4 het females can I expect him to breed all 5 of the females each year or will that be too much for him. and also how long with each one and how long of breaks in between?

Jason,

That is a tough question to directly answer. The answer, as is often the case, is "it varies."

Younger males tend to be good for fewer females than older males. If your male is an old and experienced breeder then five (5) females should be completely do-able. If he is young (a first-time breeder or smaller in size) he may not be up to the task.

Some breeders use ultrasound to determine if females have sufficient follicle development to be bred. In this case a male can service a comparatively huge number of females because they are only being paired when the time is right. I have heard of (but never done it myself) scenarios where upwards of 25 ultrasounded females were paired with a single male. This is, of course, a very specialized situation and you won't ever get close to this number if you are not using ultrasound. I know other breeders who have successfully paired as many as 10 females with a single male. The male was older, though. I also consider this to be on the high side. I have also seen young males paired with too many females that resulted in multiple infertile clutches being laid. By spreading him too thin you could end up getting less.

I regularly keep groups that are in the 2.8 to 2.10 range so that may very well mean that a 1.4 or 1.5 ratio will work fine for you. Again, every male is different. I am fanatical about always having at least two males of a particular morph. It costs more money but pays dividends when looking at breeding results.

You need to make sure you give your male adequate time to rest between pairings and should also carefully monitor his health and weight. Overzealous breeding will make you feel good because you see your male locked up with all the females but if he isn't well rested after each pairing he is less likely to get each girl gravid.

Well if he can't I have a friend with a male albino also that will only be breeding 1 or 2 so he can be my backup. Thanks for the input.

I think Colin explained it well and as for the breaks 2-3 days in and 2-3 days out is what I have always seen recommended with a whole week break at some point in the season. I am personally going with the 3 days in 3 days out myself. Good Luck!

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Originally Posted by ColinWeaver

Jason,

That is a tough question to directly answer. The answer, as is often the case, is "it varies."

Younger males tend to be good for fewer females than older males. If your male is an old and experienced breeder then five (5) females should be completely do-able. If he is young (a first-time breeder or smaller in size) he may not be up to the task.

Some breeders use ultrasound to determine if females have sufficient follicle development to be bred. In this case a male can service a comparatively huge number of females because they are only being paired when the time is right. I have heard of (but never done it myself) scenarios where upwards of 25 ultrasounded females were paired with a single male. This is, of course, a very specialized situation and you won't ever get close to this number if you are not using ultrasound. I know other breeders who have successfully paired as many as 10 females with a single male. The male was older, though. I also consider this to be on the high side. I have also seen young males paired with too many females that resulted in multiple infertile clutches being laid. By spreading him too thin you could end up getting less.

I regularly keep groups that are in the 2.8 to 2.10 range so that may very well mean that a 1.4 or 1.5 ratio will work fine for you. Again, every male is different. I am fanatical about always having at least two males of a particular morph. It costs more money but pays dividends when looking at breeding results.

You need to make sure you give your male adequate time to rest between pairings and should also carefully monitor his health and weight. Overzealous breeding will make you feel good because you see your male locked up with all the females but if he isn't well rested after each pairing he is less likely to get each girl gravid.

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Thanks for that great info! :) It's really going to be a help next year when my females are ready to breed.

This is my first breeding season but I am planning on rotating between two females one male and go 2 days on and 2 days off rotation. so Female (A) and female (b) would work out like 2dA-2do-2dB-2do (repeat)