the one plus one system is used to ensure that all females have been mated twice by the same male by March 22 (CCFAR 203). Double mating is desirable to ensure the female is mated successfully. After the female has been mated both times, it is important not to handle her or cause her undue stress which could compromise the success of the implantation. It's also important to make sure there are no unnecessary noises or distractions during mating, such as loud voices or clothing. The Canadian Center for Fur-Bearing Research uses the one plus nine mating system as explained above. Table 1 shows observations of five different mating pairs from the Canadian Center for Fur-Bearing Research. Each pair was mated on March 7, 2014, and March 10, 2014, allowing for a total of two matings per pair. The results in Table 1 also show the number of live, dead, and weaned pups of both dam and bulls in each mating pair. Generally, each mated mink comes from a mother who had a high number of live pups, a low number of dead pups, and a high number of weaned pups. This is why each of these mink was chosen for mating, with the hope of increasing survival while the Canadian Center for Fur-Bearing Research tackles Aleutian disease. This year, 2014, was the first mating season for all the mink listed in Table 1, and therefore no information regarding their previous breeding season was available. Typically, information from the previous breeding season will also be used to determine which animals to breed, such as information on number of pups, ease of breeding, whelping, nursing, and weaning. All pairings reported in Table 1 were completed between 9:00 and 9:30. Table 1. Results of mating mink at Ca...... middle of paper ...... their weaning weight recorded (CCFAR 208). This is done by first removing and weighing the mother, then removing and weighing the pups by sex (CCFAR 208). After the mother and pups are separated, they should be monitored and fed immediately. Monitoring the mare is particularly important to record her body condition and any teat damage (CCFAR 208). A lot of information is collected during birth, breastfeeding and weaning. During birth, the ease of birth and the number of live and dead pups are recorded. During breastfeeding, the number of puppies fed by the mother is recorded, as well as the health status of the mother and any puppies raised. During weaning, the number of weaned puppies for each sex, their weight and the mother's weight are recorded. Weight and health problems are recorded during birth, breastfeeding and weaning.