Posted by:
glkherp
at Mon Oct 25 14:53:00 2004 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by glkherp ]
I was basically using that as an example. Maybe 3000g would be a bit much but the point is a larger (not overweigh) male is going to be able to breed longer than a smaller one. You mentioned keeping males between 1000 and 1500 grams, that is pretty well the range I keep my males at. However you see plenty of posts about breeding 8 month old 600 gram males, and I can't see them breeding as many females as a larger male would without causing harm.
Personally I have had better luck keeping my females feeding after copulation than I have males. This year I had multiple females go off food early and shortly after breeding they started eating again, however out of the 5 males I'm using only one of them is still eating. From what I know this has to do with females trying to build up fat stores before ovulating.
Since I did have females that quit eating early this year I talked to multiple breeders about the risks of starting breeding my males early to just the females that went off feed. All of them had basically the same thing to say. There is a good chance the males will go off feed once breeding starts, and if I plan on breeding them later in the year to the females that are still feeding they might not have the weight and energy. Obviously it is going to depend on the individual animal but with all the people I talked to about this and them all saying the same thing, I would say it is worth taking into consideration.
George
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RE: I would dissagree. - glkherp, Mon Oct 25 14:53:00 2004