Update on my rat program! (with stinky pics)

artgecko · 09-02-2015, 06:02 PM

Hello all!
It's been months since I last posted. My hammie situation is the same, but I wanted to update everyone on my rats. When I last posted, I had just acquired my future breeders t6 o start my rat lines. Out of the 6 pups I purchased (4f/2m) one female had to be euthanized for MC (that litter was an outcross for the breeder and she didn't know they would carry MC), I had to treat all 6 for possible lice / mites (although I think the wounds / bare areas were really due to scuffling not pests), and i had to eliminate one female as a potential breeder due to temperament (she is extremely shy and not even social with other rats).

All of that left me with 2 males (Russian cinnamon velveteen dumbo and Rusian dove vaereagated headspot dumbo) and 2 females (Russian blue dumbo berk and beige dumbo velveteen self).

I paired up the two females with the RB male (he has the better temperament) and have just had my first litter, with the second on the way, probably within the week.

So far the beige female has 14 pups and seems to be nursing them. I will be examining for milk bands, deformities, and runts tomorrow when I move them to a better maternity bin. The RB female is already in a maternity bin waiting her litter's arrival.

My plans for now are to cull the litter down to 10, which is more manageable for mum. At that point, I will be choosing potential keepers from the litter based first on temperament, then on head conformation / overall size and ear placement... Beige mum has pretty bad dumbo ears (almost standard). The beige female may be carrying mink and RB, so the litter could contain multiple colors.

My goal is to keep back 2-4 females and 1-2 males from both litters together and use these to establish my breeding lines. If I am lucky enough to get a mink female keeper, she can be bred to the cinnamon male to produce more cinnamons and minks.

I will attach pics below... very bad ones. These were taken with my phone in bad light and mum wouldn't get out of the way or hold still.

The RB female and RD male

The beig female... pic shows her head, but is blurry

Beige female with pups.. again, wouldn't hold still for me.

Mum's getting fresh veggies (kale, collards, and carrots), extra sunflower seeds, and boiled egg in addition to her lab blocks. And by this time tomorrow, she'll be in a smaller, safer maternity bin cage (I was going to move her when I got home, but she had the pups early).

Hope you guys enjoy the bad pics and I'll try to update frequently as they develop.

Wanna Hamster · 09-02-2015, 06:05 PM

Awww, they are adorable!

artgecko · 09-03-2015, 05:02 AM

Thanks! I think they look like squeaking pink sausages as of now lol. It will be 10-12 days before they start to show hair / color.

Wanna Hamster · 09-03-2015, 05:14 AM

They do kinda look like little sausages LOL!

artgecko · 09-03-2015, 02:45 PM

Updated pic. Day 2. You can already see some pigment coming in and I *think* I can already see one hooded baby. All 14 still seem to be OK and I saw milk bands on all of them. They have been moved into their maternity bin and although mum wasn't happy, she didn't start eating them or anything like that. I will wait a few more days to see if there are any runts as only a couple looked slightly smaller than the others.

Wanna Hamster · 09-03-2015, 02:52 PM

Oh my goodness! Cuteness overload!

artgecko · 09-03-2015, 05:03 PM

Yeah...They still look like sausages lol. It'll be fun trying to sex them. I think I'll need a magnifying lense.

Thin Lizzy · 09-03-2015, 07:11 PM

They do look like sausages lol!
The babies are so tiny and adorable. Sounds like mum has adjusted well to motherhood.
14 is a lot for a rat.

hrl20100 · 09-04-2015, 01:40 AM

YAY another rat owner!

artgecko · 09-04-2015, 04:23 AM

Thanks guys! Yeah, I think 14 is too many too, which is why I will probably end up culling the litter down to at least 10 for her. I hate to do so, but it will be healthier for all involved. I just wish I had more experience telling conformation, etc. I am going to give them a couple more days and then remove the smallest / weakest ones. If there are no obvious runts, I am going to try and go by hip / shoulder width... I have read that the closer to equal those two widths are, the better / stronger the body of the adult rat will be... Apparently pear shaped rats (hips wider than shoulders) are not as structurally sound. I also want to try to keep mostly females in the litter because I will need to hold back at least 2 girls from this litter and might only retain one male (if there are any really good ones).

The second female (Russian blue) hasn't delivered yet... I'm hoping she will within the next day or two.. She keeps getting bigger which is concerning (she is already as large as this female was when she gave birth). I am going to try putting an older very friendly female in with her to help her with her litter of pups.. I have heard of people doing this with success, so I guess it won't hurt to try.

I will keep you guys updated as they develop! I can't wait to see genders and colors.

EDIT: Thought I'd add a link. I read this breeder's blog a lot and this is a good article on type in babies... Hopefully I can implement it with this litter.