is she ready....

[snakesRkewl]

Is that typically true? I have an 08 het pied girl that about 1200 that I was going to go ahead and pair up this year. Does the pairing really help to stimulate eating a bit?

It can and then again like the bumblebee we bred this year it can also mean they have a great chance at throwing slugs if they don't eat well.
I'm all for waiting for the female to eat her way to size versus breeding her and hoping she'll eat.

Some of the information I have read, you can start the breeding process in February. Is this an option.

Absolutely, that's what I did with both of my yellowbelly females, I waited until they hit 18 months old in Feb to breed them, their eggs are due to hatch in the next week.