When to stop pairing...

When do you stop pairing if you don't witness ovulation?

I'm in this position because I have two females who have not ovulated. I'm HORRIBLE at palpating and I don't have the touch to notice if/when they are reabsorbing. One was paired since October (with a move around January...but she's been showing building behavior since then) and the other has been paired since January. I don't wait to tire out my males because they are breeding endlessly if the girls aren't going to go but I also don't want to pull the males if the girls are just taking a little longer to ovulate.

I have only been breeding a few years.. I stop pairing at the end of May so i can relax and start planning for next season.
I have heard of people breeding all year.

I missed an ovy this season and stopped pairing when she went off feed and refused to lock. But I have completely stopped pairing end of April. .

Short version, till I give up or until the females stops locking.

Thanks for the replies guys!

The one female who's been paired since October has been hit and miss with eating (off feed for 2 months, on feed for 2 months) but stopped first part of April. The other is so hit and miss with food I can't base anything on that! I've got one male that I've been using since January and I'll probably pull him end of the month. I've got another that we are trying to convince to breed (he's young) so he'll go a lot longer. I'm trying not to give up on them! Both look miserable.

Breeding here at my place goes on year round. If she's still locking, I'd keep going. If the male and female both are eating and remain healthy, it doesn't hurt to pair them up once a month.

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Originally Posted by ClarkT

Breeding here at my place goes on year round. If she's still locking, I'd keep going. If the male and female both are eating and remain healthy, it doesn't hurt to pair them up once a month.

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The male who's been breeding just ate his first rat in 2 months last week. He's not lost too much weight yet.

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Originally Posted by BHReptiles

The male who's been breeding just ate his first rat in 2 months last week. He's not lost too much weight yet.

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Then you should be good to keep going, especially if the girls are showing building/breeding behavior. Just because we want to start pairing in Oct/Nov and have eggs in April, doesn't mean they give two shakes bout our plans. :D I have half a dozen girls I'm still pairing that are taking their sweet time.

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Originally Posted by Annarose15

Then you should be good to keep going, especially if the girls are showing building/breeding behavior. Just because we want to start pairing in Oct/Nov and have eggs in April, doesn't mean they give two shakes bout our plans. :D I have half a dozen girls I'm still pairing that are taking their sweet time.

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The male in question actually gained a lot of weight when I started breeding him. He went from 550g up to 740g in less than 2 months. Now he's down to 670g but in a holding pattern. He's been around 670g in the 2 months he's been fasting. I'm more worried about over breeding him since he's been locking since late January than I am about his weight loss. I'm hoping the other male (570g) will figure things out pretty soon so I can rotate them through the girls.

One female (the one who's been paired since October) is the one tat I've seen bowl wrapping and laying slightly inverted. Her follicles are about the size of ping-pong balls. She's parked on the hot side and off feed. The other (only paired since January) isn't showing any building behavior but she is growing follicles. My palpating skills are primitive enough for me to know that she is growing them. She went from no follicles (or so small I couldn't feel them) to know the size of nickles. She's also off feed. Both are still locking. I guess I'll just keep pairing and hope that one of them will ovulate soon enough.

The one that's been paired since October is the one driving me NUTS. I thought she would have gone by now. The woman I bought her from (who was responsible for pairing her October through early December) even said she had already expected me to get eggs from her. This girl, though I love her to pieces and she is a house favorite, is going to be the one that gives me grey hair.

I saved a couple of females for two young males. Will pair them a few more weeks before I stop and wait for next year.

I'm with ClarkT. We pair all year long. Not all females follow "the season". We have hatched babies from February to December....and different species in the months between. They go when they are ready.

Maybe I should continue to say what a horrible breeder this pastel is. Apparently me saying that she's been breeding since January with no building signs spurred her on to prove me wrong. Woke up to her laying slightly inverted with an ugly look at me like she was telling me "Why did you remove my paper hide. Be Gone!". I know it's not flipped upside down or anything, but this is definitely different for her.

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/4581/img08001b.jpg

The other female is apparently glowing hardcore. I don't notice it because I see her everyday, but my buddy came over and I opened her tub and his first words were "Woah...she's glowing". So maybe my girls are just not being obvious with their signs.