How soon after eggs can she lay again?

Simple enough question. My female laid eggs in June, and we removed them and placed them in the incubator. We didnt take the male out of the tank either, So I want to know how soon she could lay eggs again? Does it always take a year round between egg laying? We removed the male about a month ago as we wanted to breed her to a pastel this year. I know they can hold sperm for 20 days till it goes bad, but what are the chances of her laying eggs soon from being with him? Or am I safe to assume she wont be fertilized by him and we will get pastels when we breed with the other male? Please no comments on "why were they together the whole time?" or anything else. We have what works for us and you have what works for you. I just want to know what the span is between egg laying. Thanks.

P.S. She has already put her weight back on, so that isnt really a concearn either.

It all depends on where she is in her follicle development. You can pair them whenever you want but no one can tell you when she will lay. When you put the male with her really has nothing to do with when she will lay. Mine tend to go around the same time every year though. Also, they can store sperm for a whole lot longer than 20 days so if your normal has already locked with her he could definitely be the sire even if she does not lay until June again.

I don't think there is a definite answer for how quickly she can lay again. I doubt anytime soon though. I like to give my girls at least a year and even then only if they've been eating well and have their weight back plus a little.

I have read things (blogs, books) by BP breeders who have been at this for a long time (one example is the VPI book) that state if the females are bred as soon as they hit the minimum weight and are bred every year after that they tend to always give smaller clutches than if you give them 2 years off between clutches.

I was just concrened because she seems to be on the very large swollen belly side. I guess I'll have to just wait and see. Thanks though for the help

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Originally Posted by Courtney281

I was just concrened because she seems to be on the very large swollen belly side. I guess I'll have to just wait and see. Thanks though for the help

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Has she pooped lately? A female i've been pairing gave me an interesting clutch after she swelled up nice and big! Just a thought. :D

About a year--give or take a few months. Most of mine went earlier this year than they did last year.

I'm not sure where the 20 days figure comes from because there have been members here who have had clutches that resulted from sperm retained for a year or more.

In any case.. I'd say a female needs about a year to recover and prepare for another viable clutch.

I'm not trying to be presumptuous or rude, but how do you know it works for you if this is your first time at it? I know you want to avoid comments like this, but I don't think it's healthy for your animals to be housed together and potentially breeding all year-round.

Cheers,
-Matt

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Originally Posted by Matt K

I'm not trying to be presumptuous or rude, but how do you know it works for you if this is your first time at it? I know you want to avoid comments like this, but I don't think it's healthy for your animals to be housed together and potentially breeding all year-round.

Cheers,
-Matt

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Ditto :confused: