Winter White Breeding

UchihaSakurashi · 03-27-2016, 08:51 PM

Hello, so I am having a hard time finding correlating information on breeding winter white hamsters. I have read at a couple different websites that ww females are only fertile for four months of their lives and after that they are sterile

I don't mean to be a green horn but some of the things I have been reading contradict each other. One page told me that immediately after the female is pregnant you have to separate the male and female because they will fight... So at this point I am confused and really need some advice or even recommendations on where to find good, accurate information Thanks!!!

GreySyrian · 03-28-2016, 06:18 AM

My help is limited as WW aren't a species I know about specifically. I do know you will need to separate male and female when pups are born, otherwise the male can get her pregnant soon after and back to back litters aren't great for mum or pups health.

chesca_27 · 03-28-2016, 07:46 AM

UchihaSakurashi - I'm sure this breeding section of the forum will have a lot of info. Try looking at the Winter White section as well. It's always worth looking on the forums or having a look at other hamster forums. Hope that helps!

Vectis Hamstery · 03-28-2016, 07:56 AM

I would suggest taking great care in your selection of parents.

Make sure the parents are in good health, from reputable sources, aren't diabetic and have good pedigrees with no 'unknowns' or Campbells/hybrids in the background. Keep an eye on the inbreeding coefficient (a good breeding software is helpful for this, and not costly to buy). Speak to the breeders you got your male and female from for their advice on pairing.

Go along to a hamster show and see the show WWs, talk to other breeders of WWs both to find out how best to pair them and also to find out what to select for. Read the standard and please pay attention to breeding for good type. The standard for type was set with the hamsters' health in mind. Unfortunately I've seen many WWs when I've been judging recently that are front-heavy in build (rather than oval shaped) and have blunt muzzles resulting in bulging eyes