Hi Gary,
I am glad I talked to you. I just assumed that it would be easy to pair an
adult and baby, because there would be no question about who is dominant.
Are you suggesting that it might be easiest to put together Alan and
Blossom, just for breeding purposes? (he is a very good breeder); then I
could pair her with one of her own pups. Or perhaps I could attempt
repairing them (Alan and Blossom) for the long term(?)
If I did pair Blossom with a young (6 week) male pup - how long would it
take to figure out if they were getting along? Would she attack him right
away or could they be grooming, nesting together, etc. with things going bad
at a later point?
hmmm...this isn't as easy as I thought it would be. Any more advice from
you (and the list) would be appreciated.
"g. m." wrote:
> Hi Donna - Yes the normal split cage method is fine. But its best to use
> a gerbil that isnt small, because females dont accept babies easily.
> There is another way you might want to try. See old email below.
>
> Subject: Re: Breeding procedures -also in the nature?
> g. m. wrote:
> When setting up my gerbils to breed I place a male and female together
> and leave them together.
> I read on this list that some people use a different procedure.Whereby,
> the male and female are separated and only put together for mating. How
> is this done? I have a male yellow fox I would like to breed, but I dont
> want to separate him from the males he is with. Can he be replaced after
> mating? will others fight with him if females scent is on him?
> I put the male and female together every evening until the female is on
> heat and allows the male to mount her. They can then be together about
> an hour or so. I've had no problems replacing males to their companion,
> but I want to be on the safe side and rub their bedding on their fur
> before that. Others keep the male and female together for 2 weeks or
> even for 2 litters. I used to do this too but had BIG problems replacing
> males with their friends -not to mention females. Of course that may not
> be the case for all gerbils since I have bred quite a few
> litters.Another thing. I have also read that in the nature females leave
> their family when on heat and mate with some male from other community,
> this reduces the rate of inbreeding. Is this true? If it is, I may not
> be so cruel after all ; ).
> Sunni
>
> --
> Gary's web pages -
> http://home.talkcity.com/StudioDr/go5
Hi Gary,
Blossom raised this litter alone. I removed Alan a few days before the
birth. Alan is now paired with Cara and I've left him with her to raise
their 5 pups.
After having raised one litter (well really Blossom did just about all of
it) and having very good reaction about pup adoption, I am more confident
about continuing to breed.
My plan is to leave Blossom with her pups until one of Alan x Cara's male
pups is weaned and then pair him with Blossom. Is pairing a young pup with
a mature adult different than pairing two adults? Should I use the normal
split cage method?
Thanks, Donna
"g. m." wrote:
> Donna -- 35 days is ok. Is the father going also? If not Blossom may not
> accept him back later on.
>
----- Original Message -----
From: Donna Anastasi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Monday, April 24, 2000 6:14 PM
Subject: weaning questions
> I have seen Blossom's pups Petal and Rubyus (30 days old) eating in the
> food bowl and drinking from the water bottle. Does this mean that they
> are weaned from their mother's milk? or do they go through a period of
> both eating on their own and nursing from their mother?
>
> Also, at what age can pups be safely separated from their mother?
>
> These two little guys are going to their new home Wednesday, But we're
> going to have the family borrow Blossom for a few weeks so she can
> continue to care for them for a while longer. They are so very sweet;
> we miss them already!
