How many females to breed to 1 male?

[Adam Chandler]

I'm currently raising up a bunch of single codom females. pins, spider, pastels, etc.
I picked up a killer bee male and I'm just wondering how many females could I reasonably pair him with in one season? I've heard 3-4 but I've also heard some breeders going up to 6.

I know there alot of good breeders on here so I would just like hear you guys, how many females do you usually pair with your males in a typical breeding season?

[johnsonw84]

my personal opinion would be 4 at the max i wouldnt want to over work the male, just my 2 cents

[Alice]

A lot depends on the age and size of the male. IMHO, a young male who has just started producing plugs and over 650 grams should only go to a couple of females his first season with multiple days of rest between each one. More females the next season if he grows well. When the males are over 1000 grams and over 3 years old, 5 or 6 females are easily serviced if you are careful and make ure there are rest periods of longer than 1 day each week.

Now, if you are using an ultra sound and only leave the male for a day with the females who are ready to go, a mature male can service even more females. I'm still saving for that ultrasound.

[WingedWolfPsion]

My lesser male has always been a great eater, and he weighs between 800 and 1000 grams generally. He usually eats through the breeding season.

As a result, I gave him 6 girls this year. Fertility has been EXCELLENT.
It depends on the male--some can handle it, and some you wouldn't want to do that with.

[rj1204]

I have an 08 male Bumble Bee that is currently 750 grams. He should be around 900-1000 grams by the time I breed him in 6 months. I plan on putting him to 6 females. I thought about getting a second male, but most the breeders I talked to said 6 would be fine.

[don15681]

I know a breeder who got 13 clutches from a male lesser in one season. He does breed all year long and it wasn't all at once.

I already breed a very young male to only one female his first season. and most my bigger males will pair off with around 5 females