Shortage of Syrian breeders?

Pebbles82 · 01-31-2018, 01:59 PM

I was checking out NHC breeders recently and so many no longer seem to be breeding. Plus there rarely seem to be litters available anywhere.

Just wondering if this is becoming a problem or is that most breeders sell at hamster shows now?

souffle · 01-31-2018, 02:42 PM

Most people have waiting lists and sell directly but yes you are correct in that there are quite a number whose lives have gone in other directions so they have either cut down or stopped.

Drago · 02-01-2018, 07:15 AM

What sad news

The world needs more good hamster breeders. Hopefully more will start popping up with time..

GhostsInSnow · 02-01-2018, 02:03 PM

I think the time of year doesn't help either. I know a few Syrian breeders I'm friends with have said they always struggle to have successful pairings around this time of year

Lilac_Dreams · 02-04-2018, 11:22 AM

A lot of Hamster breeders have had a hard few years, I've been told a lot have lost the majority of their lines in 2015-16. In my 2 Hamsters Pedigree's, only 3 people out of 7 are still breeding.

Sadly we do need more ethical breeders and there definitely is a shortage, especially down here in the South West [I was, up until last year, the only NHC Breeder in the whole of Devon]. I would say though, Campbell's are in much more of a decline, getting your hands on a Pedigree Campbell is horribly impossible unless you're very well known and win a lot [I've been trying for 2 years :P ].

A lot of Syrians appear on the sales tables, Winter Whites as well, seen a few Robos, I've attended 5 Shows since 2015 and only seen 2 Chinese on the Sales tables, never seen a Campbell on the sales table at all.

Also, it is as Willow Tree says, at this time of year Hamsters just won't stand and breed. I've been trying to breed my 6 month old female for the past 2 weeks and she won't stand despite having 12 hours of light, lots of good food... It's just really difficult with Syrians to breed them around winter time.

Pebbles82 · 02-04-2018, 12:00 PM

I just noticed on the list of breeders, quite a few saying - no longer active. Might have been just one region though. Sad if some lost their lines. I guess these things go in phases. One breeder, when I checked the web page, wasn't dealing with hamsters at all any more, (I had looked there only last year).

It just occurred to me because we often recommend people to get hamsters from breeders but then it's hard to find any hamsters! Maybe the NHC could run a breeder training course to encourage some more ethical breeders!

Vectis Hamstery · 02-10-2018, 04:55 AM

There are some legal changes afoot in England which are likely to affect hobby breeders (more information will be going in the Journal when I've digested the large document, and when more guidance is issued) which I can only anticipate will make being a hobby breeder less inviting sadly.

I don't think a 'breeder training course' will help in this climate, though the Hamster Fancy still tries to encourage new people to exhibit and offer advice on an informal basis as and when they feel the time is right to move into breeding. Given the costs (financial, emotional, time) involved, breeding isn't for everyone and there are people who happily exhibit without breeding. Knowing your own limits is very important to prevent someone getting out of their depth which is not good for the human and not good for the animals. I feel that deciding to breed needs to be the person's own informed decision rather than there being 'peer pressure' to do so