exact age I'm uncertain..haven't gotten ahold of my buddy since he mentioned saving them for me, but they are...according to him "ready by next week" so I'm assuming lust old enough to be separated from momma. Would raising both (male and female) be worthwhile since they are both the same age, both beagles and naturally would fit together at home and on the hunt. I know they are very commonly used in packs for hunting so I would assume having two trained at the same time and the same way they would work well together. I's seeing 8 weeks to be the appropriate time for command training..but would like to think they can be accustomed to it earlier at least.