ve litters a year, and
from two to five at a litter. Three is a safe average.

The females are sexually mature at a month, but, of course, should not
be bred at that age. Three months is plenty early enough and some
breeders wait until they are even older.

The period of gestation is from 65 to 70 days. The young ones are fully
developed when born and in a few hours are able to run around. They
begin eating other food in a day or two.

They should be weaned when about three weeks old and placed in separate
pens, separating the young males from the females. It is then well to
let the mother rest two or three weeks before being placed in the
breeding pen again.

It is best to let each female have not over four litters a year. The
young ones are apt to be stronger and there will be more of them in a
litter. You will get about as many of them per year with four litters as
with five and have better stock. Some breeders, especially for show
stock, get only three litters a year.

When your young females are about four months old, they should be placed
in the breeding pen. Best results and surer are obtained by keeping one
male with four or five females and letting them stay together until you
are sure each female is bred. They begin to show that they are with
young in about 30 days or sooner and get to be very large before giving
birth.

It is best to have several females with young together in the same pen,
as they will nurse each other's young indiscriminately and the little
fellows seem to know no difference. While the males do not kill the
little ones, still they should never be left in the pen with nursing
mothers, as they will bother them.

Many breeders do not have special breeding pens, but keep all of the
females together and put males in with them. This is hardly the best
plan, however. The females must not be allowed to litter in the big pen,
but always in special pens or hutches.

It is best to have different breeding pens or hutches, so you can get
young stock that is unrelated. You will have many chances to sell
breeding stock and it does not do to supply males and females that are
full brother and sister. By using care you can so breed your stock that
you can keep different batches of them that are not very closely
related.

Line Breeding.

By line breeding, we mean breeding the same stock without getting new
males. It is the method used by breeders of fancy stock to get any
special color or mark