# of females per male

Hey just curious, can you breed a male to more than one female per year? My first guess would be yes but I can't recall anyone saying that they had. Also if you can breed them to more than one female how many, and does breeding them to more than one have a greater possibility for infertile eggs? Thanks. Also there's this................... no real reason for it, i just enjoy it....

Originally Posted by jesserca

Hey just curious, can you breed a male to more than one female per year? My first guess would be yes but I can't recall anyone saying that they had. Also if you can breed them to more than one female how many, and does breeding them to more than one have a greater possibility for infertile eggs? Thanks. Also there's this................... no real reason for it, i just enjoy it....

Yes... I would not think it would hurt a fertility rate of the male. I used the same male for 2 cluthes last year. Had plenty of fertile eggs.

I have heard of a breeder using a male for 5 clutches in a season. I think it would depend on the traits he carried and if you want that trait to come out or need the offspring to be het for it...

I don't know from personal experience, but I have read that a 1:3 ratio is not uncommon with corns.

Most definitely you can pair a male with several females! You may run into lower fertility if the females are ready at the same time, but as long as the male has a day or 2 between matings (2-3 times per female ideally) to produce more sperm, he should be able to go all season. Of course, giving him a break between females is much better, just so he can relax, maybe eat a meal (if he's one of those males that will eat during breeding season), and while in deep blue (I've had some males that don't care that they can't see a thing and are ready to shed). I think the maximum number of females I used the same male on in a year, second clutches included, was 5 or 6.

When I had Rhett Butler, I bred him to at least a dozen females some years (including 2nd clutches), getting nearly as good results from the later clutches. Space it out a week or so and you'd be surprised how many progeny one male can father. Without a doubt, after five or six roundabouts you start getting more slugs and the occasional female that doesn't produce, but really not very many.