Actually "the mick" throws thousands of sperm into her.. it is up to the mother to determine how many eggs that are present to be fertalized, then she will absorb any her body can't handle. Her weight drop would indicate to me that the litter she just had was too hard on her. All of my girls GAIN weight while nursing...then again it could be what you are feeding her..or not feeding her. Anywhoo...to clear up your misconceptions.. father determines sex, mother determines how many. You can get SIX puppies from just one breeding if your female is big and healthy enough to carry them, and has that many eggs present.
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Originally Posted by chipperdancing Hello, I apologize, I did not mean to skip your question.
You are absolutely right ~ it is impossible to breed for one pup. At this point in time, I do not plan to breed "Mini" again, but that decision is more than a year away.
I have bred her twice, both times on her 9th and 12th day. Both times one pup has been 7 or 8 ounces larger than the others. More than one Breeder has suggested the larger pup came from the first tie, getting somewhat of a headstart over the others.
I have no idea if there is any scientific fact to this thinking.
On the other hand, you are absolutely right, there is no guarantee "The Mick" wouldn't throw three or four pups to her in one breeding.
I had simply thought (and typed the thought) if I did breed her again, just one tie might produce just one pup ~ or possibly two. All of her pups have been between 4 and 5 ounces, fairly good sized and four of them is a lot for "Mini" at her normal 5lbs. ~ although she is an excellent mama, she is down to 4.5lbs since birthing.
It would seem all of this should be in the Breeders Forum, where reasoning and preference is discussed, rather than attacked. |