10 Things to Consider When Buying Building Materials for Breeding
AKC's Guide to Responsible Dog Breeding – American Kennel Club
Use the following resources as a guide to responsible dog breeding. You may also want to watch the AKC webinar on Planning Breedings: Are you ready to breed a litter of puppies?
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- Prepare Yourself for Breeding a Litter of Puppies
- Breed to Improve
- Understand the Commitment
- Choose A Suitable Mate
- Know Your Genetics
- Finalize Stud Contract
- Perform Pre-Breeding Health Checks
- Mating
- Pregnancy and Whelping Preparation
- Puppies Are Born
- Consult Your Veterinarian if Complications Arise
- Keep Your Puppies Warm, Fed, and Clean
- Register Your Litter with the AKC Soon After Whelping
- Wean Puppies from their Mother
- Sending Your Pups to Their New Homes
- Encourage New Owners to Register Their Puppy with the AKC
Step One – Prepare Yourself for Breeding a Litter of Puppies
Breeding dogs has been a passion for people through many centuries. Part art, part science, and total devotion, breeding will show you all the best in the human-and-dog bond. It is exciting and challenging.
Breeding purebred dogs is also time consuming, expensive, and, occasionally, heartbreaking. If you go forward with breeding dogs, your underlying purpose should be to improve the breed—not just increase its numbers.
Breeding a litter of puppies should begin with knowledge. Responsible dog breeders devote time to learning as much as they can about their breed, about canine health and training, and about AKC rules. How can you become an expert?
Study Your Breed’s Standard
This is the official version of the “perfect” breed specimen and should be the starting reference point for any dog breeder. The AKC offers a “Meet the Breed” video for AKC-recognized dog breeds that shows real-life examples of excellent dogs, and many AKC parent clubs offer more detailed, illustrated versions of their standards for more in-depth research.
Attend Dog Events
Watch dogs in action and study the pedigrees of the dogs you like. Ask questions of dog breeders involved in your breed. Research your breed by visiting the breed’s national parent club website or social media accounts. Find and attend a local club meeting to meet other breeders and owners.
Read, Read, Read!
Your local library and bookstores are invaluable sources of information about canine health and dog breeding. Some books, including the Complete Dog Book and American Kennel Club Dog Care and Training, are available in the AKC Store. The AKC Gazette and other dog magazines have informative articles about breeding as well. Dive into Amazon or other online retailers to find titles about your specific dog breed, or in-depth books about canine reproduction.
Step Two – Breed to Improve
The motto of the responsible breeder of purebred dogs is “Breed to Improve.”
Every dog is the best dog in the world to its owner. Responsible dog breeders, however, know to avoid “kennel blindness.” In other words, they take a step back and honestly evaluate the good and bad points of their dogs before making the decision to breed. The goal of dog breeding, after all, is to produce a better dog and a quality pet.
Examine your dog carefully. Recognize its flaws. If you decide to continue with the breeding process, look for a mate that will eliminate or balance those flaws. The national parent club for your breed may also provide assistance.
One of the best ways to get an objective opinion of your dog is to test it against others. Consider attending a dog show to determine how your dog measures up against the best specimens of its breed.
Step Three – Understand the Commitment
Raising puppies is a full-time job. During the first couple of weeks the dam (the litter’s mother) normally takes care of the puppies’ needs, but complications, such as a dam with no milk or an orphaned litter, may arise. It is the dog breeder’s responsibility to provide a safe, warm, dry place for the puppies, and proper food and water for the bitch.
Puppies are even more work (and more fun!) once they are weaned. The extra feeding, cleanup, grooming, training, and veterinary care adds up to a lot of hours—and not much free time for you.
Another factor that’s critical to consider is the financial cost of having a litter of puppies. From the genetic screening and health tests before breeding to the extra food, supplies, and medical care required after the puppies are born, the cost of whelping and raising puppies can be very high, especially if complications arise.
Responsible dog breeders make sure that their puppy goes to an owner who will provide it with the same love and devotion for life that the breeder has provided. This means careful screening and evaluation of each person or family interested in getting a puppy.
Responsible breeders learn everything they can about their breed and know all the pros and cons of ownership. It is important to share this information—including the negative aspects—with every prospective puppy owner. You should be ready to explain why a dog requiring a lot of grooming care or training may not be the best match for a workaholic, or why a tiny dog may not be appropriate for a family with small, active children. You should be committed to placing puppies with owners who are committed to providing excellent care.
Step Four – Choose a Suitable Mate
The first thing to consider when choosing a mating pair is to ensure that both the sire (or male dog) and dam (bitch, or female dog) are AKC registered. If both dam and sire are AKC registered, then the litter is eligible to be registered with the AKC.
When selecting a breeding partner (most likely a sire for your dam), there is a simple principle to bear in mind: mate animals that complement one another. Choose a dog whose bloodlines will strengthen your bitch’s weaknesses and emphasize her good qualities. For example, if your bitch’s coat is not as good as it might be, then find a partner with a good coat, from a line of dogs with good coats. Of course, practicing this common sense maxim can be very complex because you must weigh all the factors that contribute to the dogs’ traits and appearances. This is an area where research and the advice and experience of other breeders are invaluable.
Two vital factors to keep in mind as you make your selection are temperament and health.
Temperament is a hereditary trait in dogs, although it can be influenced by other external factors. Selection over many generations eventually produced breeds with the correct temperament to pull sleds, follow scent on trails, or retrieve game. The inheritance factors of temperament are complex. However, you should never consider breeding a dog with a questionable temperament.
As far as health goes, you should make sure that you are aware of the potential adverse health traits, if any, that can appear in your breed. Then consider the known health status of your dog and its possible mate(s). Remember, your goal is to improve your breed (see Step 2 above). Finally, continue reading to learn more about health testing and genetics in the next section of this guide.
Helpful links
- Orthopedic Foundation for Animals
Step Five – Know Your Genetics
To be an effective and responsible dog breeder, you should have a basic understanding of the science of genetics. Everything about your prospective puppies’ health, soundness, looks, and temperament will be determined by the genes passed on by their parents, and by their parents before them. Therefore, the selection of a mating pair should not be made solely on the basis of the dog’s or bitch’s looks (or temperament or soundness, etc.), but should be based on an understanding of how the animal’s genes contributed to its looks and of how those genes are passed on and expressed. That is why it is essential to study the pedigrees of your mating pair. The more knowledge you have as you make your selection, the more likely you are to produce a litter with the qualities you desire.
You should also be well-versed in the genetic problems that affect your breed. Genetic defects can occur in any breed and can affect any system in the body. Some genetic diseases may occur in many breeds; others occur in only one or a few breeds.
Diseases that follow a dominant pattern of inheritance need only one abnormal gene. That is, if only one parent is affected, the condition will show up in each successive generation. Some individuals may be only mildly affected with the condition, making it difficult to detect. In such cases, the condition can mistakenly be thought to skip generations.
Diseases that follow a recessive pattern of inheritance occur in homozygous individuals, meaning dogs with two abnormal genes. Dogs with one mutant and one normal gene are heterozygous, and they are carriers of the condition. They appear normal but can pass the abnormal gene to their offspring. Recessive mutant genes can be passed through many generations before emerging in the offspring of two dogs that carry the same genetic mutation.
Polygenic disorders result from the cumulative action of a number of different genes. The exact number of genes involved and their individual functions are difficult to determine, and the pattern of inheritance tends to vary from family to family. Polygenic inheritance can sometimes mimic either dominant or recessive inheritance, and this feature may lead to erroneous conclusions regarding the type of underlying genetic abnormality.
Chromosomal anomalies — defects in chromosome number and structure — can also cause genetic diseases. Dogs normally have 39 pairs of chromosomes on which genes are located. Major abnormalities in chromosome number and structure can produce serious defects.
Step Six – Finalize a Stud Contract
You have performed all necessary health checks, genetic screenings, and selected the perfect mate for your bitch. Now it’s time to work out the details of the mating.
It is an excellent idea to work out a contract with the owner of the stud dog well before breeding takes place. The agreement concerning stud fees should be in writing and clearly state all obligations and circumstances. The contract should be signed by all parties to the transaction, and each signer should receive a copy. You may wish to consult a lawyer to help you draft a suitable contract.
The stud fee is set by the stud dog’s owner. The method of payment may vary. The stud owner may request a cash fee, “pick of the litter,” one or more puppies from the resulting litter, or other similar method of compensation. The collection of the stud fee is the stud owner’s responsibility. The contract may state that the owner of the sire is not obligated to sign an AKC litter registration application until the stud fee has been paid. Keep in mind that the AKC cannot settle disputes between individuals in regards to contracts and breeding arrangements.
Step Seven – Perform Pre-Breeding Health Checks
Good puppies start long before mating ever takes place. Both parents need long-term pre-breeding care—what dog people call conditioning—to produce the best offspring. This means regular veterinary care, screening for genetic problems, pre-breeding tests, and regular exercise and good nutrition. Bitches should not be overweight and should have good muscle tone before breeding. Additionally, a bitch that is in good mental condition will make a better mother than a bitch that is insecure, snappy, or has an otherwise unstable temperament.
One month before mating, the bitch should have a thorough pre-breeding physical examination by a veterinarian, and ideally a veterinarian who is well-versed in and supportive of canine reproduction. Her vaccinations should be current, and she should be tested and treated for parasites.
You may also want to have the bitch and dog tested for brucellosis, an infectious bacterial disease that can cause sterility or spontaneous abortion in affected dogs.
The age at which dogs reach sexual maturity depends to a large extent on their breed. Small breeds tend to mature faster than large breeds. On average, however, males become fertile after six months of age and reach full sexual maturity by 12 to 15 months. Healthy stud dogs may remain sexually active and fertile to old age. Adult males are able to mate at any time.
Bitches have their first estrus (also known as “season” or “heat”) after six months of age, although it can occur as late as 18 months to two years of age. Estrus recurs at intervals of approximately six months until late in life. During estrus, the female is fertile and will accept a male. The bitch should not be bred during her first season.
The bitch’s cycle is divided into four periods.
- Proestrus: The bitch attracts males, has a bloody vaginal discharge, and her vulva is swollen. Proestrus lasts approximately nine days; the bitch, however, will not allow breeding at this time.
- Estrus: During this period, which also lasts approximately nine days, the bitch will accept the male and is fertile. Ovulation usually occurs in the first 48 hours; however, this can vary greatly.
- Diestrus: Lasting 60 to 90 days, diestrus is the period when the reproductive tract is under the control of the hormone progesterone. This occurs whether or not the bitch becomes pregnant. False pregnancy, a condition in which the bitch shows symptoms of being pregnant although she has not conceived, is occasionally seen during diestrus.
- Anestrus: No sexual activity takes place. Anestrus lasts between three and four months.
Keep in mind that AKC rules do not allow, except with special documentation, the registration of a litter out of a dam less than 8 months of age or more than 12 years of age at the time of mating, or by a sire less than 7 months of age or more than 12 years of age at the time of mating.
Step Eight – Mating
Natural Breeding
Responsible dog breeders generally do not breed a bitch at the first heat to avoid imposing the stress of pregnancy and lactation on a young, growing animal. It is also customary to avoid breeding a bitch on consecutive heats to allow sufficient time for recuperation between pregnancies.
Most dogs are first bred between the 10th and 14th day after the onset of proestrus. As long as the bitch will accept the male, mating every other day for a total of two or three matings is generally considered sufficient. However, signs of proestrus are not obvious in some bitches. To catch the peak fertile period, a veterinarian may need to perform hormone tests or examine vaginal smears under a microscope.
Bitches are usually less inhibited by new environments so they are usually taken to the stud. Breedings involving young males proceed more smoothly if they are paired with experienced bitches. Sometimes human handlers must step in with assistance or guidance during breedings. Some breeds are more prone to needing assistance than others because of anatomical considerations. Discussing this process with your own breeder will help you be prepared for how you may need to assist.
During breeding, the male mounts the female from the rear and clasps her midsection with his front legs. Rapid pelvic thrusts follow until penetration and ejaculation take place. After the pelvic thrusts cease, the dog and bitch will not separate for 10 to 30 minutes. Known as a tie, this results from a swollen section of the penis called the bulbus glandis. During the tie, the male may move around until he and the bitch are positioned rear to rear. Do not try to separate the dogs during the tie because it can injure either or both animals. After some time, they will part naturally.
Artificial Insemination
Artificial insemination is a relatively simple procedure that can be used when natural breeding is impractical. The AKC accepts registration of a litter mated by artificial insemination using fresh semen, fresh extended semen, and frozen semen, provided the proper procedures are followed. Registration of these litters requires DNA certification. For more information, see the AKC’s rules for registering a litter bred by artificial insemination.
Helpful links
- Breeding and Litter Records Form
Step Nine – Pregnancy and Whelping Preparation
Watch for Signs of Pregnancy
Canine gestation lasts approximately 63 days. Signs of pregnancy include an increase in appetite, weight, and nipple size. However, a bitch with false pregnancy may also show these signs. A veterinarian can usually confirm a pregnancy through abdominal palpitation at 28 days, or by using ultrasound or X-rays.
Once pregnancy is confirmed, you should talk to your vet about special feeding requirements and what to expect during pregnancy, labor, and after birth. You should also be briefed on how to recognize and respond to an emergency.
Provide Proper Nutrition for Your Pregnant Bitch
A bitch in good condition should continue into pregnancy with the same caloric intake that she had during adult maintenance. Her food intake should be increased only as her body weight increases, beginning about the last five weeks before whelping. Daily food intake should be increased gradually, so that at the time of whelping she may be eating 35 to 50 percent more than usual. As her weight and food intake increase, begin offering small, frequent meals to spare her the discomfort that larger meals can cause, especially in a small dog.
If you have been feeding your bitch a well-balanced, high-quality diet, you should not need to add anything to her food during her pregnancy. However, some breeders advocate supplementation with a protein source such as evaporated milk, eggs, meat, or liver. These supplements should never represent more than 10 percent of the bitch’s daily food intake.
Accustom Your Bitch to the Whelping Box
It is a good idea to build a whelping box well in advance so the bitch has time to become accustomed to it. Unless you have already accustomed her to a whelping box, she may choose your closet or another inappropriate place for a delivery room.
An ideal whelping environment is warm, dry, quiet, draft-free, and away from all other dogs when possible. Confinement and whelping location of your bitch is relative to her breed and size.
A good whelping box is roomy and has low sides so you can easily reach in. It should also have a small shelf or roll bars running halfway up along the sides so the pups have something to crawl under to avoid getting rolled on by the bitch. Many breeders prefer to line the box with newspapers until after delivery because paper can be changed quickly when it becomes soiled. After whelping, newspapers are typically replaced with non-skid bath mats, outdoor carpeting, or something else that provides better footing for the puppies.
Suggested Whelping Supplies:
Newspaper Bedding for bitch and puppies; line whelping box before, during, and after whelping Bath Mats Bedding for bitch and puppies after whelping Clean Towels Clean puppies during whelping Paper Towels Clean up the whelping area Thermostat Check bitch’s temperature prior to whelping Un-waxed Dental Floss Tying puppies’ umblicial cords Heating Pad Keep puppies warm. Be sure that it does not get too hot. Scissors Cut puppies’ umbilical cords or the placenta Iodine After umbilical cord is cut (either by bitch or breeder), clean puppies’ abdomenBe Alert for Signs of Labor
A few days before the bitch is ready to give birth, she may stop eating and start building a “nest” where she plans to have her puppies. If it was introduced properly, this should be in the whelping box you have prepared for her.
Shortly before whelping, the bitch’s body temperature will drop to 99 degrees or lower (from a normal temperature of 100 to 102.5).
Approximately 24 hours after her temperature drops, she can be expected to enter the first stage of labor when the cervix dilates and opens the birth canal for the passage of puppies. At this time, she will pant, strain, and appear restless. This stage of labor is followed by actual abdominal straining and production of the puppies and placentas.
You should have on hand your veterinarian’s number and the number for your local emergency veterinary clinic.
Step Ten – Puppies Are Born
Most bitches give birth easily without the need of human help. Each puppy emerges in its own placental membrane, or sac, which must be removed before the puppy can breathe. The mother usually takes care of this by tearing off (and sometimes eating) the membrane and then severs the umbilical cord. After delivery, she will lick each puppy to stimulate its breathing.
You should keep track of how many placentas are delivered and ensure that the number matches the number of puppies, because a retained placenta may cause problems for the bitch.
You must take over if the bitch neglects to remove a sac or sever an umbilical cord. A puppy can remain inside the sac for only a few minutes before the oxygen supply is depleted. The sac membrane should be torn near the puppy’s head and peeled backward until the puppy can be gently removed. Then you should clear away mucus or fluids from the puppy’s mouth and nose and gently rub the puppy with a towel to stimulate circulation. The umbilical cord can be tied with unwaxed dental floss and cut on the far side of the tie/knot about two inches from the abdomen. The cut end should be painted with iodine to prevent infection.
At the time of birth, the bitch will be busy cleaning her puppies, warming them, and allowing them to suckle. It is very important for the puppies to suckle soon after emerging from the womb. Suckling lets them ingest colostrum, a milk-like substance containing maternal antibodies which is produced in the mammary glands just after birth. Colostrum helps the newborn puppies fight infection in their early days while their own immune systems mature.
To track nourishment of the puppies, it is advisable to identify and weigh puppies during the first 2 weeks.
Step Eleven – Consult Your Veterinarian If Complications Arise
If something goes wrong, don’t hesitate to call your veterinarian or emergency clinic for assistance. Signs of potential trouble include:
- Indications of extreme pain
- Strong contractions lasting for more than 45 minutes without delivery of a pup
- More than two hours elapsing between puppies with or without contractions
- Trembling, shivering, or collapse
- Passing a dark green or bloody fluid before the birth of the first puppy (after the first puppy, this is normal)
- No signs of labor by the 64th day after her last mating
Step Twelve – Keep Your Puppies Warm, Fed and Clean
Temperature
A newborn puppy cannot control its body temperature and must be kept in a warm environment. Chilling will stress the puppy and predispose it to infectious disease; overheating can kill it. The environmental temperature can be controlled with a well-insulated electric heating pad or a heat lamp. But make sure the puppies have a cooler place to crawl to if they become too warm.
The immediate environmental temperature should be kept between 85 and 90 degrees for the first five days of life. From the seventh to the tenth day, the temperature can be gradually reduced to 80 degrees; by the end of the fourth week it can be brought down to 75 degrees.
Nursing
The first milk produced by the bitch after whelping is called colostrum. Every puppy needs to ingest colostrum as early as possible after birth and certainly during the first 24 hours of life. Colostrum contains a number of substances that are beneficial to the puppy, including immunoglobulins that protect newborns from the infectious diseases to which the mother is immune.
For your nursing bitches, one thing to keep a look out for is canine mastitis. It is not that common, but you should be aware of it. Canine mastitis is a breast infection in bitches, usually occurring a few weeks after whelping. Normally, the breasts of a lactating bitch are warm and enlarged. If the breasts seem to be red, dark, hot, or painful when touched, then you should contact your vet immediately. Advanced canine mastitis presents itself as a hard, hot and almost black breast segment, which is extremely painful for the bitch when touched. Canine mastitis can be caused by weaning puppies too early, severe scratches from puppies’ claws, or some other infection. A bitch with canine mastitis may be running a fever, be listless, and may not eat. She also may not allow her puppies to nurse, and if she does, she will be “snappy” when they touch the affected area.
Caring for Your Bitch After Whelping
Some bitches eat very little for the first day or two after whelping. Then their appetite and need for all nutrients rises sharply and peaks in about three weeks. During this entire period, adequate calcium, phosphorous, and vitamin D must be fed to avoid the onset of eclampsia. Optimal amounts of these nutrients are already present in a high-quality diet so further supplementation is unnecessary. Eclampsia causes nervousness, whimpering, unsteady gait, and spasms. Although very serious, it is readily cured by prompt veterinary treatment.
After whelping, the bitch ideally should be about the same weight as when she was bred, but not more than 5 to 10 percent heavier. For three weeks after whelping, she will need two or three times more food than her normal maintenance diet to help her provide nourishing milk to her puppies. This food should be divided into three or four meals. The composition of the food should be the same as it was during the last third of her pregnancy; only the amount per day should change.
Care for Orphaned Puppies
Newborn puppies must be hand fed if their mother is either unable or unwilling to nurse them. Cow’s milk is a poor substitute for canine milk, which is more concentrated and has twice the level of protein, almost double the calories, and more than twice the calcium and phosphorous content. For feeding puppies, a commercial puppy formula is recommended; carefully follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
Remember that puppies grow very rapidly, so make sure you weigh them every day before you calculate how much to feed them.
You may need to start with slightly less formula at each feeding and gradually increase the amount as the puppy responds favorably to hand feeding. Steady weight gain and well-formed feces are the best evidence of satisfactory progress. If diarrhea develops, immediately reduce the puppy’s intake to half the amount previously fed, then gradually increase it again to the recommended level. Diarrhea in newborns can be very dangerous, so consult a veterinarian for advice.
Never prepare more formula than is required for any one day because milk is a medium for bacterial growth. Maintain sanitary conditions at all times. Before feeding, warm the formula to about 100 degrees or near body temperature. Using a bottle and nipple, hold the bottle at an angle to prevent air bubbles. The hole in the nipple can be enlarged slightly with a hot needle to let the milk ooze out slowly when the bottle is inverted. The puppy should suck vigorously, but should not nurse too rapidly. Consult a veterinarian if the puppies are not nursing well. You may need to resort to tube feeding, which is best taught by a veterinary health professional.
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Newborn puppies must be stimulated to defecate and urinate after each feeding. Ordinarily the mother’s licking provides this stimulation, but orphaned puppies will need human intervention. Gently massage the puppy’s anal region with a cotton ball that has been dipped in warm water.
Gentle body massage is also beneficial for any hand-reared puppy. Massage stimulates the circulation and thoroughly awakens the puppy. Stroke the puppy’s sides and back with a soft cloth. The best time for a massage seems to be when the puppies are waking up and you’re waiting for the formula to get warm.
Step Thirteen – Register Your Litter With AKC Soon After Whelping
One of your most important tasks as a breeder is to ensure that your litter is registered with the AKC. Registering the puppies creates a record of their place in the history of your breeding program and in the development of the breed. It also opens the doors for the puppies’ new owners to the wide array of services, information, and events provided or sponsored by the AKC.
You should be able to provide the new owners with a registration application at the time the puppy is sold. Therefore, it is essential that you apply to register your litter promptly after the puppies are born.
There are two easy options for you to register your litter. You can register your litter online by going to Breeder Toolkit. When you register your litter online, you can get your litter kit in as little as two to five business days. Or you can download an application, fill it out, and send to the AKC.
Registering your puppies with the AKC is another way to give your puppies a great start in life. Additionally, it confirms for your new puppy owners that you are a dedicated and responsible breeder.
Helpful links
- Breeder Toolkit
Step Fourteen – Wean Puppies From Their Mother
There are many schools of thought about weaning your puppies. Experienced breeders tend to use methods that work best for them and their respective breed. It is recommended that you contact your breed mentor and veterinarian to discuss a feeding regimen for your litter.
Most puppies begin the weaning process at about two to four weeks of age. Some breeders recommend starting them off by offering a pan of puppy formula in place of their mother’s milk. Other breeders combine the puppy formula with some presoaked or pulverized dry puppy food and/or baby rice cereal to create gruel.
As the puppies get older, most breeders start adding more food and decrease the amount of formula.
To avoid digestive upsets, be sure to introduce all changes in food or feeding schedules gradually.
Step Fifteen – Sending Your Pups to Their New Homes
By this time you have learned everything you can about your breed, and you know all the pros and cons of ownership. It’s important to share this information — including the negative aspects — with prospective puppy owners. You should be ready to explain why a dog requiring a lot of coat care or training may not be the best match for a workaholic, or why a tiny dog may not be appropriate for a family with small, active children.
A responsible dog breeder makes sure that their puppies go to good homes. This means careful screening and evaluation of each person or family interested in getting a puppy. Knowing the right questions to ask prospective owners helps breeders get a feel for the type of home they will provide. Some of these questions can include:
- Why does the person or family want a dog? Why has the person or family chosen this particular breed?
- Who will be primarily responsible for the dog’s care?
- Do you have the time to meet the demanding needs of the puppy or dog? Time for feeding, training and exercise?
- Are there any children? If so, how old are they? How would they be instructed in the care of the dog?
- Does anyone in the household have allergies?
- Are the new owners committed to the grooming and health maintenance?
- What is the potential owner’s attitude toward training and obedience?
- How often is someone at home?
- Will they have time to walk and play with the dog?
- Are the new owners prepared to register their new puppy with the AKC?
Breeders who register their litters with AKC have the responsibility to provide AKC registration paperwork to the puppy’s new owners. This means applying for litter registration in plenty of time to supply applications to owners at the time of sale. You should explain the benefits of registration to the owners and help them complete the registration application. Conditions such as limited registration or co-ownership should be explained in full. You will also want to provide the new puppy owners with vaccination records, health records, feeding instructions, health guarantees, return policy, any health or genetic test results, as well as a copy of the sales agreement or contract.
Commit Yourself to the Puppies for Life
For dog breeders, responsibility doesn’t end when their puppies leave with new owners. Responsible dog breeders make sure their puppies’ new families know they can turn to them with any questions or problems that arise throughout the puppies’ lives.
As a breeder, you will be gratified by calls, social media posts, pictures, and letters describing your puppies’ first teeth, birthday parties, and other milestones. You’ll be thrilled to receive photos of a puppy’s first show win, or portraits with the puppy right in the middle of a happy family. But you will also have to be ready for bad news: a family moving to a different home where they can’t take their dog; a vet contacting you about an unforeseen hereditary illness; a dog you thought would be a great obedience prospect nipping a young child. As a responsible breeder, you will need to be there with advice and support for all these and other situations. Responsible breeders answer questions, provide resources, and assist with problems that may come up. Responsible breeders assist in re-homing or take their puppies (or adults) back into their care should the need arise.
Step Sixteen – Encourage New Owners to Register Their Puppy With AKC
Getting All Your Puppies Registered
Before you send your puppies to their new homes, be sure to inform new owners of their best source (besides yourself!) for information on sharing a long, fulfilling, active life with their new pet — the American Kennel Club.
The AKC is dedicated to providing service and support to the owners of purebred dogs (and all dogs with an AKC number). As a breeder, you can help us reach out to new owners by performing these simple steps:
- Give the individual registration application to the new owners and help them complete it properly.
Explain the benefits of registration and conditions such as limited registration or co-ownership. The application requires information and signatures from you and the new owners. Since the new owners may be unfamiliar with the form, you should see that it is properly completed as the sale is finalized. - Emphasize AKC registration benefits.
When new puppy owners register their puppy with the AKC, they will receive more than $100 in registration benefits!- Frameable AKC registration certificate
- Free introductory vet office visit, available with participating veterinarians in the AKC Veterinary Network
- 30 days of pet insurance coverage through AKC Pet Insurance*, at absolutely no cost or obligation to the owner. Information will be provided soon after registration.
- Free AKC New Puppy Handbook
- Reduced rates for pet lost-and-found recovery service enrollment
- Encourage the new owners to submit the registration form to the AKC.
Many new owners incorrectly believe that the application is the dog’s actual registration paper. You should explain that their dog is not officially registered until the form is submitted with the proper fee. Show them an example of a registration certificate so they will know what to expect back from the AKC. - Indicate the importance of AKC registration.
Registering with AKC is good for owners and good for dogs. As a not-for-profit registry, AKC’s commitment is to canine health, breeder rights, and promoting responsible dog ownership. AKC funds a wide array of activities and initiatives dedicated to our achieving our mission, including:- AKC Canine Health Foundation research to treat and cure canine diseases
- Canine legislation initiatives that help protect breeder and dog owner rights
- K-9 search and rescue programs
- Inspections to monitor care and conditions at kennels across the country
- Canine DNA profiling that ensures reliable registration records
- Education to encourage responsible dog ownership
Additionally, AKC sanctions more than 20,000 competitive dog events each year and provides support for AKC affiliates and programs, including AKC Reunite, AKC Canine Good Citizen®, AKC Humane Fund, AKC Museum of the Dog and much more!
New owners should be told that without an AKC registration number, their dog cannot be entered in dog shows, companion dog events, or performance events. They should be told that without an AKC registration number, any offspring of their dog (if breeding is a viable option) cannot be registered. Perhaps more importantly, they should be told that if they don’t register their dog, they will be missing out on the wealth of information and services the AKC is eager to provide to the owners of registered dogs.
When they register, new owners are automatically included in an newsletter called Pupdate that will give them tips, advice, and information geared toward the age and development stage of their puppy. The AKC will keep owners up to date on exciting dog events held around the country, on legislation affecting dog owners, and on advances and alerts on canine health.
The AKC respects and honors the bond between dogs and humans. Whether a puppy is purchased as a show prospect, a hunting dog, a future agility star, or a beloved pet, the relationship between a dog and its owners is one that provides many rewards. Those rewards can be multiplied with an AKC registration. As a breeder, you can help make that possible.
Five Stages for Success With Breeding Chickens
Suppose you’re interested in saving money on raising chickens, improving the production of your flock, and getting closer to living a self-sustainable lifestyle. In that case, you will want to learn how to breed chickens. I’d love to show you how it’s done in these five stages of breeding chickens.
Learn the basics of selecting the best chickens from your flock to breed, what to watch for in regards to the rooster mating, and how to time the breeding… nature will take care of the rest.
How do you Breed Chickens to Mate?
Several years ago I set my first hen. This means I put some fertilized eggs under a broody hen in hopes that they would hatch. As day 21 approached, I became doubtful. Surely, I wouldn’t succeed on my first try.
With doubts about success abounding, I went and checked for rotten eggs. I reached under the faithful hen and felt a small vibration, and then I heard a slight chirping.
Despite my inexperience, nature found a way! I realized that all we have to do is provide a little management to serve our purposes, and the chickens will do the rest.
My evaluation of my first chicken breeding experience and the lessons I’ve learned since then can be summed up as – breeding chickens is easy, but the selection process is harder.
Breeding Chickens Versus Purchasing from Hatcheries
There are many factors that interfere, and not everyone has the resources to breed chickens. If you can’t breed your own chickens, locate a reputable breeder near you.
I had great success with the Sustainable Poultry Network as I found an outstanding breeder only 30 minutes from where I live.
Some of the differences between large hatcheries versus breeding your own or finding a local breeder are listed below.
- Self-sustainable – You become truly sustainable, and you’re not dependent on any outside sources for reproduction.
- Less Stress on Chicks – Shipping chicks in the mail is incredibly stressful for the birds.
- Health of Chicks – Hatcheries produce for quantity, not quality.
- Selectively Breeding – Hatcheries do not selectively breed and rule out aggressive traits.
If you’re not yet at a place where you can keep a 100% self-sustaining flock, we recommend McMurray Hatchery as well. I hadn’t discovered them at the original posting of this blog, but they’re also an extremely reputable source and where we source our meat birds.
Stage # 1 – Selecting Stock for Breeding
Common Mistakes in Breeding Chickens
Poor record-keeping is the number one mistake newbies make. It’s critical to know which birds mated with which birds otherwise, you’re just flop breeding. The flop breeding process will decline the quality of your flock. The better option is to use selective breeding.
Two Ways to Use Selective Breeding
- Pen Breeding – Pen breeding is when you put your best male with three to five females in a separate pen. Don’t use more than 12 hens per rooster
- Pedigree Breeding – This option involves using one male and one female to improve on a single trait found in both birds.
How Many Chickens Should I Choose to Breed?
The top 10% to 20% of your flock. If you have a flock of thirty birds, you’ll select your top three to six hens and your top rooster. If you only have a small flock of six birds or less, then use one male to breed all of them and be more selective about the progeny.
What Qualities Should I Look for in my Birds?
Quality # 1 – Vigor and Vitality
Vigor and vitality are the absolute most important qualities in selecting birds. If your backyard chickens aren’t well-adapted, then they won’t be good producers.
To measure vigor and vitality, look for birds that are active, eat well, have mating interest, forage well, are protective but not aggressive, healthy, and get up early and roost late at night. All of these attributes must be observed and recorded.
Quality # 2 – Production Quality
Production quality is the chicken’s ability to produce chicken eggs and meat. To measure egg production, you can use frequent observation along with record keeping, incorporate trap nests, and do an exam of each bird. Signs of a good layer are as follows:
- A Good Overall Appearance – Bright eyes and a wide, deep body. Comb and wattles will be red and full, not sagging.
- The Distance Between the Protrusion Bones – These are located on either side of the abdomen. You can measure them with your hand. Know that the wider the bones, the more likely it is she’ll be a good layer. Expect a width of about three fingers in average-sized breeds.
- The Distance Between the Breastbone and the Vent – This can also be measured with your hand and is usually about four fingers wide. The wider, the better.
- Skin, Beak and Legs – These should lose some of their color or pigment as these resources go into egg production. Although all birds lose color, it’s much more noticeable in yellow-skinned breeds.
- Vent – The vent should be moist in appearance.
Quality # 3 – Standard Quality
Standard quality is meeting the standard of your particular breed found in the American Standard of Perfection. Abiding by the standard will take you a long way in restoring and maintaining what our chickens were originally bred for.
Additional Notes on Choosing Stock
Measuring for Meat Production Stock
When raising meat chickens, weigh each bird at eight and sixteen weeks old, consistently through the generations. Look for your quickest and heaviest growers. Hanging scoop scales work great for this purpose.
How to Mark Flocks and Individual Birds
You can use plastic bands to mark individuals and toe punches for marking entire flocks.
Stage # 2 – Managing Breeder Chickens
How Old Should a Chicken be Before I Set Her Eggs?
Wait until she’s laid for a couple of months, and then you can start setting her eggs.
What Breeding Program do you Recommend?
There are many breeding programs like Out and Out Breeding, Flock Sourcing, Flock Mating, and Rolling Mating. If I had to choose just one, it would be Spiral Mating also known as Clan Mating.
Spiral mating involves line breeding, but a closed flock can have amazing results. Breeding father and daughter chickens is ok. It’s breeding siblings that you want to avoid.
I’m personally going with Spiral Mating. As I only have a flock of 30, I don’t really have enough for three breeding flocks. I’ll pick my two best roosters and six best hens and set apart two different breeding families.
Spiral Mating (Clan Mating) Step by Step
- Select your breeding stock from the top 10% of your entire flock.
- Divide your breeding stock into two or three families. A family can be as small as one rooster and one hen. If you don’t have enough for two families, you can breed everyone and be more selective in the next round. I only have enough for two families, so I’m starting there.
- Mark your families. I like to use zip ties that are colored and numbered. Name each family to identify them with your mark. I’ll be calling my two families, the Blue and Green families, and I will place the appropriately colored band on each family.
- Separate your breeding families from the flock and the other breeding families.
- Mark your chicks according to the family they were born in. You can’t place leg bands on chicks, but you could do a toe punch to identify them as a group. Once they’re older, you can do leg bands. The leg bands come in handy for quick reference, and if the leg bands are numbered, they’re great for identifying individuals.
- Once breeding is over, you can return everyone to the main flock or wherever desired.
- The following season you’ll breed roosters of one family to the hens of the next family over. In my case, I’ll breed my blue rooster with my green hens and vice versa.
- Use your roosters once or twice and then cull.
How Do You Separate Breeders?
Simply separate them into another complete system with a house, run, feed, and water.
How Long Should I Keep Breeders Together?
Keep the breeders together until you’ve gotten the desired amount of fertilized eggs.
Stage # 3 – Handling Fertilized Eggs
Once your breeding stock is separated from the main flock, you’ll want to give them about ten days together before you start saving eggs for setting. The rooster’s fertilization stays viable for up to two weeks.
As the days pass, any undesired breeding fertilization wears off, and you’ll soon be sure that your selected stock genetics is what will pass on to the eggs.
Start collecting fertilized eggs. Keep in mind how many chicks you want to hatch, how many a broody hen can sit on, and how many broody hens you’ll think you’ll have.
If you are planning to use an incubator to incubate eggs, you don’t have to consider the mother hen. For teaching purposes, I’ll be addressing the scenario using a mother hen.
Save eight eggs per broody hen. For my flock of 30 Australorps, I can expect two to three to go broody. You want to be careful not to place too many under a broody hen as she can only adequately heat what she can cover.
You might be tempted to set extra eggs just in case of failure, but that will increase your chances of failure. Since the mama hen constantly moves the eggs around underneath her, rotating them from center to the edges, the large number of eggs would all end up being too cool.
Only save the cleanest eggs while avoiding the large and small extremes. Store your eggs in an egg carton clearly marked for the breeding family. Once you get more than twelve, you can begin rotating out the older eggs and replacing them with the newer ones.
Store the fertilized eggs at room temperature and don’t wash.
Stage # 4 – Managing the Broody Hen
Now that you have a consistent flow of desirable fertile eggs, you’ll have to wait for a broody hen. What I mean by a broody hen is a hen that is naturally ready to sit on some eggs. The broody hen will be the one that sits on the eggs until they hatch.
It is not necessary that the breeder hen (biological mother) sits on the eggs. Our broody hen will happily accept anything that hatches underneath her, including other similar species like ducks or geese.
Broodiness has been bred out of many lines as it is seen as a less desirable trait for egg production. A hen won’t lay eggs while she’s broody. This is yet another reason to go with old standard breeds like Australorps or Orpingtons who are still naturally broody.
Let’s go ahead and set up a broody area for our future mother.
Supplies Needed for a Broody Station
- Space – The broody hen needs separation from the rest of the flock. This can be an area built among your existing operations such as a wire mesh partition or in a separate location. I use an old homemade brooder box located in my garage. Pro-Tip: Make sure she has an area to relieve herself. Deep bedding or wire mesh floors will work. If you’re using a wire mesh floor suspended over the ground, make sure it’s off the ground and push the manures through on a regular basis.
- Small Waterer and Feeder – A broody hen will consume less than normal. A small waterer and feeder will allow for the area to be more spacious.
- Fake Eggs – This will encourage your hen to go broody while you are finishing collecting the fertilized eggs.
- Nesting Box – Make sure your nesting box has fresh material like straw, shredded paper, or pine shavings.
Building a Nesting Box
- Get a box and some helpers if you have them!
- Cut and tape the box to have an entrance.
- Fill the box with straw.
- Place the box in the broody station.
4 Ways to Encourage Hens to go Broody
- Hopefully, you have a breed that will go broody. Avoid hatchery birds and strive for traditional breeds like the Black Australorps, New Hampshire or Orpingtons.
- Leave a fake egg in the nest at all times. Having something to sit on that resembles an egg could encourage her to go broody.
- Make sure your nesting area is secluded and dark. The chickens need to feel their nesting area is a safe place from predators.
- Keep the nesting boxes clean and free of mites or other annoying insects.
Three Ways to Tell if You’ve Got a Broody Hen
- The hen is continually on a nest.
- The hen puffs up, pecks you, or is overly aggravated when you reach towards her or collect eggs from underneath her.
- A sure fire way to know is if she stays on the nest through the night and doesn’t perch.
Setting the Broody Hen
- Remove the broody hen at night when she’s tranquil and will be most disoriented from the move.
- Place the broody hen in her broody station, inside of her nesting box, directly on the fake eggs. If she acts like she’s ready to jump, gently hold her down for a few seconds. Pro-Tip: If she continues to try to leave the nest after you release your hand, turn her nesting box around against the wall, so that she can’t get out. Turn her around in the morning.
- Leave her in the broody station on the fake eggs for a day. If she stops being broody, then it’s not meant to be. If she’s continually broody, then place your fertilized eggs underneath her. I set eight, and wouldn’t suggest any more than that for a beginner. You can set as much as she can adequately cover, so it does vary by breed and size of the individual. Be careful not to push this thinking – it’s ok if a few don’t hatch. The mama will equally rotate every egg from the center to the edges. If she has too many, chances are they will all be too cool. You can keep her broody without fertilized eggs for at least a couple of weeks. Believe it or not, she’ll happily sit there until she gets her eggs, plus the three weeks it takes to hatch the eggs.
- Mark your calendar 20 days out. Most of the time, they’ll hatch within 21 days, but it can take longer.
- Make sure you check her feed and water daily. She won’t eat or drink much and will lose as much as ⅓ of her body weight.
- Clean out any poop throughout the process. Don’t be alarmed if her poops are rare, massive, smelly, or diarrhea.
- About ten days in, check the eggs for viability if desired. Working at night, you can “candle” the eggs to see if there’s life. You’ll pull out the infertile eggs as they are rotting and could crush or even explode, creating a smell and attracting harmful bacteria that could penetrate the other eggs. To “candle,” get a strong flashlight and hold the egg directly on the lamp. If you see veins in the eggs, it’s doing well. If you see a solid lump, it’s no good. If they all seem to be bad, you should leave them alone as you might not be candling right.
- On day 20, you can do another check for viability. This time, hold each egg to your ear and gently flick it. You’re likely to hear a chirp inside.
- Once the first chick begins to hatch, it can take up to 3 days for all of them to hatch, but I’ve never seen it go longer than 12 hours. The mama will instinctively lay there until they’ve all hatched. If she gets up, and there are still whole eggs, they are no good.
- Resist the temptation to assist a struggling chick hatching by trying to get it out of its shell. As harsh as this sounds, it’s a very strong indication of weakness and will more than likely remain weak and sickly.
- Enjoy watching the mama shelter and feed her chicks.
Check out this VLOG where I set a broody hen against an incubator!
Notes about Setting a Broody Hen
If you don’t have fertile eggs but you have broody hens, you can acquire fertile eggs from a local breeder or online.
If you don’t have broody hens but you have fertile eggs, consider buying a few hens known for their broodiness. Silkies or classic homestead breeds like Buff Orpingtons or Black Australorps are a good place to start.
If your hen is truly broody, and she’s sat for several days, you could place some live chicks directly underneath her. Chances are she will assume she hatched them, and she’ll gladly adopt them.
I once set a mama on eight eggs. Seven of them hatched, and one failed. I got a call from my local breeder who had four extra chicks she needed to get rid of. I happily took them and set them under this new mama, and she happily adopted them. I even set them under her a day after she finished hatching the eggs she had been sitting on.
Stage # 5 – Managing Mama and Chicks
I like to move the new mama and chicks out as soon as they’ve all hatched. It’s amazing to watch Mama hunt for food, break it down for the chicks, and periodically shelter them.
You can keep them in their brooder station if necessary, but you’ll need to make an effort to bring live foods to them since they can’t source it themselves. You can prep the food by chopping it or enjoy watching Mama hen do it for them.
Be sure not to feed adult pre-mixes as they contain calcium that will harm the chicks. Take note that the Mama hen won’t need calcium either as she’s not producing any eggs.
You can put mama and chicks out to free-range depending on your predator situation. I can’t let the little ones run free as hawks will get them despite Mama’s best efforts.
I run my new family in a pastured poultry pen, but you could certainly use any chicken tractor or system with a cover and the basic design necessities for a coop. Here are my top 5 chicken coop ideas that work.
One year, I ran a new mama and chicks with the main flock and didn’t have any problems with the other flock members. However, the little ones were able to escape the electric net, and the mama hen wasn’t. This made them especially vulnerable to predators.
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to care for your new baby chicks.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of Building Materials for Breeding. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.