I have had multiple male BCC perfectly healthy at less than 4ft even at 3 years of age. Anyone with a BCC male that big at that age is really pushing it, has an exceptional one that errs on the very big side, or might not dealing with pure BCC.



The general consensus I have gotten from those I know who are routinely successful is that the male should be a minimum of 3 yrs old and the female should be 5.

Of course, someone is always going to tell you about an exception, but these are general rules of thumb I have gotten from people w/much more experience than I.



Realize that if the female slugs out, you will have to give her one season off after that and you will be waiting a heck of a long time to breed that pair. Also, breeding in and of itself can be risky business with cooling, delivery and all. I would not risk my animals for unlikely prospects.



Also, if you get nothing or bad results, you’ve thrown in another variable whose contribution you cannot really measure or ascertain: maturity. Breeding BCC seems to be challenging enough for most; I would not introduce any more variables. I would make sure they are 100% so I am learning to get them to breed and am likely to do so, while also actually learning something about seasonality, not guessing about and hoping for maturity.



Good luck!





Matthew

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