Interesting thread!
Hmm. Well.. I had planned to retire my queens at the maximum age of six. HOWEVER... I've got some older girls coming to kick start my Savannah breeding programme (early gen Savannahs mature later than SBTs and can be harder to breed) - and I think my oldest one is five.
So, I've been having a think about the arbitrary deadline I set myself.
What I think I will do is retire the girls when they seem to be sick of the breeding life. Perhaps their litters get smaller, perhaps the girl is fed up with feeding.. I'll know when I see it.
Obviously if mum doesn't take to breeding I will spay her before age comes into play at all. I've spayed two girls so far - both splendid Bengals, but one developed Pyo on her second pregnancy after having a c-section with her first, and the other had a very small (and ultimately not-viable) second litter.
They are both now very pampuuuuuuuured pusses.
