shaping up for the season...the stats

Well, it is mid-August (where the heck did the summer go...again). While many people are dealing with the year's hatchlings, I am looking toward the coming breeding season. Don't worry, I know this is the BP forum, so I won't go onto any tangents about the GOOD stuff I hope to breed this year.

I just checked weights to see what girls will be ready when the time comes. I have 3 over 1500g, 4 over 1200 - including one of my pastels, and 4 just under 1200 (the smallest is 1150) - including one of my spiders.
11 females that should be ready for at least a late season whirl. Add in the 2 male pastels at around 600-700g, and the male spider at just under 1000g, and some might see the makings of an interesting spring.

Me, I let myself toy with that for just a couple of minutes, then realize there is NO WAY I am going to breed all those girls. Not gonna happen, because I don't want to deal with that many baby BPs. I don't have that large a rodent colony, nor do I want to make one. Besides, one or two of those girls don't really appeal to me aesthetically...I only kept them because they were great eaters and looked to be on track to breed first. On top of that, this will be my first year breeding BPs. Common sense tells me that I shouldn't jump in that hard, especially since I have a number of other irons in the fire. Well, it was a fun thought while it lasted. Guess I will only breed......................mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..... ...................................
10 of those girls this year. (just kidding. As long as the pastel and spider are ready, it will be those two...and maybe 4-5 others

well if you don't have plans for those big females I'm sure there are plenty of people that will take them off your hands

I know of one male that could use a few more females to "make friends" with.

I know for you, like myself, one of the reasons you started fooling with the balls was the goal of making yourself a bumblebee, so I wish you the most luck with those two this year.
I messed around and only held on to one female pastel and she decided not to eat for two months this summer. She finally went back on feed two weeks ago, but I'm not sure she's going to be ready to have a clutch this year, so that might throw me another year later in finally getting myself a bee.
If nothing else maybe I can live vicariously through your success this season.

Pfft! I can't believe you're complaining about having too many females to breed, Harald! I'd be happy with two!

Why not send the "extra" girls to a trusted breeder who could pair them up and take care of the offspring? Gives you the opportunity to out cross what you have and not have to handle the day to day care of so many babies at one time.

I'm in agreement! I only have one girl who's ready to breed this year and two guys I want to breed her to. Conundrum....
I think i'll try breeding her to my spider first, he should be up to weight by then, and if he's not up for the challenge, pastel it is.
Next year though! I'm hoping for bees!

Originally Posted by TripleMoonsExotic

Pfft! I can't believe you're complaining about having too many females to breed, Harald! I'd be happy with two!

Yeah, but you are forgetting that I don't like BPs, Steph. The ONLY reason I have them is that I became enamoured/obsessed with bumblebees when I first saw them in Dec 04. The only reason I have as many females as I do is because I ordered a group for somebody (found a few that I kind of liked the looks of, so I ordered some more to replace those), and got stiffed on the deal. I just never got around to advertising any til this summer.

Breeding loans, are a possibility....then again, I might just have to let a few of those girls out into the world. Time will tell. Thanks for the responses.

(Steve, we'll talk)

If you let any of those girls go Harald, this time of year, you'll have a line forming to the right LOL. I wish I was in a position of having too many breeding size females!

Originally Posted by frankykeno

I wish I was in a position of having too many breeding size females!

I think many of us feel that way!

Harald,

Congratulations on your conundrum.

If you want, I can take a couple from you as well, if you have any particular need for any other morphs. We'll talk.

The possibilities are endless!