Healthy Female Breeding Size Q's

From what I've read it seems that 1500+ grams is best size for a female to start breeding. The bigger the better too. My question is what are the detriments if any to breeding a female that is smaller? If only at 1100-1200g would there be any health risks for the female? Would there be a lower chance at healthy eggs? Or just less eggs altogether? My female was born Nov '12 and I planned to start pairing in early fall 2014. I'm not wanting to rush things. Just curious if she were to plump up in just a year like they sometimes do, would I even want to try?

I know people say 1200+ grams, their second winter, and all that is the best. I guarantee if more people were honest we'd find they probably are in the 1000-12000g range when breeding.

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Originally Posted by TheSnakeGuy

From what I've read it seems that 1500+ grams is best size for a female to start breeding. The bigger the better too. My question is what are the detriments if any to breeding a female that is smaller? If only at 1100-1200g would there be any health risks for the female? Would there be a lower chance at healthy eggs? Or just less eggs altogether? My female was born Nov '12 and I planned to start pairing in early fall 2014. I'm not wanting to rush things. Just curious if she were to plump up in just a year like they sometimes do, would I even want to try?

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It's not just weight to consider, but also age and body condition.
The bigger, the better. Yes.
Some girls just never exceed 1200 grams. They're just generally small animals and can breed just fine.

You have to look at body condition on top of weight. If you have a long skinny female at 1800 grams, I would not breed her. I find that to be a poor breeding candidate where as a 1200 gram short and chunky girl would be fairly better. That short chunky 1200 gram girl has better fat reserves to endure the breeding season.

I have 2 girls of breeding size. One at 1950 grams and the other at 1400.
I'm only breeding the 1400 gram girl because she's a short chubby girl. She has good fat reserves. The 1950 gram girl is extremely long and skinny. She has no fat reserves and I wouldn't feel comfortable breeding her yet till she bulks up more.

A girl who isn't in prime condition will probably slug out or possibly become egg bound.

You can try to breed her in a year if she had good body condition, but she might not take if she's not sexually mature yet. And that's the age portion you have to factor in.

I know a lot of the larger well known breeders start breeding girls at 1200 grams.

Great points to consider. Thank you

I've had a couple girls breed in the 3-4 year range at 1,150-1,250 grams and drop 4 egg clutches...no issues, no complications, and no problems with weight recovery. On the flip side, I've had a 22 month old girl lay a 7 egg clutch at 1,800+ grams. Smaller females have bred successfully, and I'm sure there are larger females that have had issues. If an average size bp egg cannot fit comfortably inside the female you're considering to breed, don't breed her....and yes, I have seen gravid females with eggs literally bulging from their bellies looking like they're about to pop...when that happens, they may be a bit small, IMO.

What constitutes an average to large clutch from a thick and healthy 1200 gram female? Or is it all just by chance and luck?

My rule of thumb for 2-3 year old females is 1300 grams by the time I start pairing in October. If they're 1300 grams when I start pairing, they're pretty much guaranteed to hit 1600 by the time they ovulate. Even the 2 year olds.

Older females I'll pair a little smaller. I paired my 2007 female when she was 1150 grams or so. She still hit 1600 grams, and she gave me 5 eggs. But this last year when I paired her a second time she only gave me 4 eggs. I'm giving her a year off this season to gain some weight.

Making eggs takes a lot of energy and resources, and I think breeding small slows them down on their way to their full size. So waiting an extra year means more eggs in the long run, at least for me. My females are generally kinda small. (This is not a cue for husbandry suggestions, I'm just remarking that they're kind of small. They're healthy, and I'm happy with them. But I might start giving them a year off once in a while to grow.)

I started pairing both of my females at 1100-1200g because they had nice heavy but not flabby body condition. The body condition is what you look for. Now, after being paired for 5 months, they're both pushing 1900g. Pairing them up does wonders for stimulating them to eat with enthusiasm. They are both about 18 months old and they're both showing promising signs of an approaching ovulation. Will I get eggs? Only time will tell...

Nikki and Rob pretty much nailed it. I bred a 1200g 4-year-old female and a 1700g 18-month-old last season. They both laid healthy clutches and are back up to weight for this season (the smaller girl actually beefed up to 1600g!). Personally, I wouldn't breed a female that is both young and small, simply because I'm not in a big enough rush to risk her health for a couple of eggs.

Bump for more opinions/experiences