[radiocricket]

I can definitely see where people would only want two litters, however this is the system that I've found works best for me and I feel works out best for the hamsters. I don't like to leave the female to rear a litter on her own and just haven't observed the 1st litter pups assisting the mother if the father is removed prior to the second litter being born. It's as if the mother is left to rear two litters on her own.

I don't usually wait up until the very last day before birth of the third litter to remove the male. It's more of a "sense" thing I guess, depending on how self-sufficient and helpful the 1st litter is. That way if something comes up and I miss the window to remove him, I don't have to worry about the female being rebred.

I've also not had instances with the 1st litter females becoming pregnant. I've found that males become sexually mature before the females do so removing the males is more important. Really, if you already know who you're going to keep, you can remove all but one of the female pups before litter 3 is born. I should note though that this is what I've observed within my lines, it's not to say that your lines won't be sexual mature earlier. Within my lines I find I end up waiting for a females first litter until she's sexually mature and the males have proven they've not been the issue.

In the end what you want to end up with is the mother having help to rear the last litter and the father paired up with another hamster (be it a son or a different female). I prefer leaving a daughter in with the retired mother, be it a litter 1 or litter 3 female. It's a "companion" female- one I'm never going to breed but is there to keep the retired mother company. When the mother passes away, this companion female is too old to be fertile so I'll pair her with a young, just weaned male (split cage method) and then when the companion female passes away, that male will be ready to breed to whichever female I've selected for him.

It's really a management and juggle of hamsters. What I strive for is few repairings. I don't like to be constantly splitting and reintroducing pairs. I don't like the females to rear litters on their own, but really, I'm sure they can do it just fine but I want them to have the least amount of stess as possible and feel having her mate or older daughters with her is beneficial.

-Janice