Eva x Alaster (SEVENTEEN!) - Page 3

WinnieTheHam · 10-04-2015, 02:46 AM

They're all so adorable, I especially love the tiny tort banded LH, very cute!

Nancy gives some great advice and from what I can see your Dove tort banded seems to have a decent head shape and looks to be one of the larger ones in the litter so you're very lucky with having her!

Pebbles82 · 10-04-2015, 03:58 AM

Absolutely amazing - 17 pups! And all really gorgeous. I really don't understand all the genetics lol! But you are right there is such a variety of colours in there and they look amazing. What a clever Mum ham to bring them all up - she deserves a special treat lol.

I'm guessing tort means kind of mixed colours? And Dove sounds grey but looks more pale cinnamon?

fluffymunchkins · 10-04-2015, 04:05 AM

Wow, what a beautiful litter! congratulations

They seem to be growing fast into little bundles of joy x

Mama2six · 10-04-2015, 04:27 AM

Wow, Nancy, thank you. I think I finally actually understand it!!! You explained it with my last yellow litter, and I could tell I was not quite catching on. I knew who to breed, but WHY was eluding me. Thanks for explaining again!!

I am looking high and low for rust, so a trade would be in order.

I am in PA.

It's funny, because dove tort was my goal, so they all carry cinnamon. I do not have any blacks that do not carry cinnamon right now, and Alaster also carries it, but I can make it a secondary goal. I would love to trade at some point!

As to how many to keep, I have recently turned a corner in my hamstery. Over half of my females are now too old to breed, and so I have kept too few,and I am not going to be able to keep up demand.

I did just find an absolutely stunning new girl to bring home yesterday. She appears to be a smoke pearl, so this is good.

She has a beautiful head!

About outcrossing... my other goal with this litter was to have lots of non-satin to choose from. I kept having trouble pairing everyone up because of so much satin. But now I can breed whoever I keep with nearly anyone.

I have two very large males, both satin, so I will keep them in mind when picking a keeper. One is golden,and one is silver grey.

Mama2six · 10-04-2015, 04:30 AM

Yes, dove is grey. Tort is short for tortiseshell, also called calico in the U.S. (Tort is so much cuter...) Tort means a mixture of yellow and whatever color they have, so black tort is yellow and black, dove tort is yellow and grey, which is the color I think you are describing.

Pebbles82 · 10-04-2015, 04:37 AM

Thank you - lol I thought Tort looked like tortoiseshell! Never clicked it was an abbreviation - I've only heard the word used in legal transactions in the Uk!

Mama2six · 10-04-2015, 04:38 AM

I am fortunate to have a local pet store to work with. I have a couple of rules, which they respect. Boys and girls need to stay separated,and if my litters reach the point of fighting, I separate them into individualized, and they still want them. So with a steady demand, I have a wonderful opportunity to work on all of my goals!

I used to only have a litter every couple of months, but now I can have 2 a month. I do think the pet shop may be selling through more hamsters than expected because of how friendly our little guys are, because they keep running out.

Anyway,bath the same time my lovely females started turning 1, this pet shop requested I become their "supplier", so right now I need to keep more. I have 8 females young enough to breed, and I give them a 3-month break with only 2-3 max litters, so you can see that is not going to work out Long-term! I do need to be careful not to keep them all at once, or in a year I will run into some of the same trouble again!

Mama2six · 10-04-2015, 04:57 AM

Well, hopefully I am not the only one abbreviating it! Tort just sounds so much cuter.

Pebbles82 · 10-04-2015, 05:04 AM

It certainly does!

Mama2six · 10-11-2015, 12:23 PM

As these guys have grown, I have seem that most of them have poor type. I have another dove female who is due in a few days, and, again, Alaster is the father. I am not going to keep my little peanut butter, in the interest of improving my lines, because she is not an improvement.

It makes me very sad.

There is a nice-sized black tort girl I may keep instead, with a decent head shape. And there are a couple of males to choose from. There is also a Little Miss Friendly whose only hope and dre is to be able to get out and play. She hops on my hand first, every time, with no hesitation. I will post pictures of who I keep (if anyone). I have to decide tomorrow.

Meanwhile, meet Myrtle, a beauty of a dove with a lovely face. Maybe her babies will have lovely faces to match their mom! (She is due in a few days, and will hopefully also have dove torts.

)