Holding off on breeding this spring, input please

[beardie1434]

As many may know I had been planning on breeding this spring, well I have decided to hold off this spring to make sure my quality dragons and their babies will have a better chance of great homes, as my area has so many newbie breeders that are selling babies on craigslist down here. I fear the over-hang of large clutches may reach an expensive level for my family and I do not want to add to the decline of appropriate value of wonderful bloodlines. I am interested in finding out what my fellow beardie lovers feel about this. Am I being reasonable or hasty in my decision?? Thanks.

 

[sjsexotics]

of course breeding is a big desicion andhas to be planned. I always say if I cant afford to keep every baby I breed then I wont breed. I have had no problems selling babies this year though. I actually have made a little bit this year lol normally the money all goes into feeding the little ones. but I must say I have been selling on craigs list in my area and that is how I have sold most of my babies though I do give everyone a care sheet and make sure they know what they are doing before they leave with there new babies

 

[beardieaddict]

i would have to agree and ive said to myself if u have any doubt in breeding then dont do it just play it safe if u still want to next year ur dragons will still be there. especially with the economy the way it is it probally will be hard to sell the babies and that can get exspesive if ur not selling the babies. i think ur being really responsible about this and u thought it threw which is always good

 

[citrusdragon]

It can be overwhelming to have a lot of new hatchlings. Space, feeders, lighting, and time can be pushed to the limit. I have found Craigslist sales the most work and the least rewarding, but that's my experience. While some people don't mind jumping right in, it helps to do some planning. If it considered a "business venture" then all the relevant planning and marketing are necessary to be successful.

I would never let some one dissuade me from doing something I was passionate about, but that doesn't mean I would be blind to the bumps in the road either.

Good luck in your decision

Jeff

 

[spurlee01]

I wouldn't breed the way the economy is right now (both national economy and beardie economy). It seems like a lot of breeders are having to deeply discount high-quality beardies to sell them right now. I would worry, too, that to sell them, you would have to sell them for less than what you spent raising them and lose a significant amount of money. But it is definitely a personal choice!

 

[Twobeardieguy]

I think you are being very reasonable and responsible for not breeding! Good luck.

 

[beardie1434]

Thank all of you for responding with your input!!

 

[Twobeardieguy]

So did you make up your mind?

 

[beardie1434]

I think is is in the best interest of the industry for me to hold out on this spring. I am confident that I would be able to find wonderful homes with the members here, however with the current economic issues I want to be able to preserve the value of our beloved beardies and know there is always another time. Also I do not want to cut any other breeders short by selling lower than value just because of the economy. Hopefully by late summer things will be better and I have a pair that will be, in my opinion, worth waiting for.

 

[spyder79]

what lines are you planning on breeding next year?

And as far as numbers and prices. What you can do (works for me) is only hatch parts of the clutches. IE in a clutch of 20-30 eggs i will only hatch 10-15 max. This keeps my overall cost down (in case i have to keep them for a long time) and makes it so i can be more firm with my set pricing.

 

[beardie1434]

next year I will be pairing Garfield and Lightning after lightning is old enough, she already has the size part under control. Here is an older picture of the two of them, I have to upload more recent ones to photo bucket yet.

I also have a reduced scale female with some tiger stripping to her beard that I have been planing on crossing with my GG. These two will be more of breeding for great pet quiality personalities as both are extremely laid back and always seem to want to cheer up somebody when they are down.

I have some more that are still too young to decide on yet.

 

[tundradragons]

I agree with spyder,

I personally breed as a hobby, so I'm not really in it for the $$, I only keep a dozen eggs from one clutch a year. this gives me time to find good homes and I can keep my prices right where I want them, if i get a lot of requests for babies i will do more but right now one clutch a year is enough for me.

I currently have 12, one week old little poopers under my care, 1 is sold awaiting it's mommy to pick it up tho. (pics on my site)

I think it's really rewarding to breed, it was nerve racking though waiting for the eggs to hatch, but in the end i think it's worth it.

If you want to test the water though you could just keep say 6 eggs, and then there is no saturation on your part and you can hold your prices without a lot of pain.

just my 2 cents, cheers, Charles

 

[Stephies_Leo _Dragon]

This year was my first time breeding and I have to say it has been really difficult to sell my dragons at what thier value is. I only hatched 13 eggs and I still have 13 babies. Maybe it was a wrong time of year I don't know but I have been advertising them for months. I think the economy is really hitting the market hard right now. If I had to do it again I would have waited for a better time. I had alot of activity on craigslist but most people complained about my prices and just weren't really interested. Of course I am just a newbie and some of the more established breeders fare better than me I am sure. Just my 2 cents.