Black Woods Rattery
My Breeding Ethics: My females will only breed when they reach 250g or 16 weeks old, preferably the latter. After I have separated or sold the litter (at 6 weeks old) she will get 6 weeks minimum rest time. Ive retired them at 1 year old, after 3 litters, or before then if the breedings seem to be taking a toll on them. Sometimes if they have a hard time on their first litter I'll retire them them and not breed them again. Males will not be bred until a year old to ensure they have good health and temperament. Males usually won't be retired unless they develop health problems and will stay with me their whole lives. The babies get to go to new homes at 6 weeks or older. Rats usually wean litters at 3-4 weeks old but that doesn't mean to separate them right away they still need more social skills. At any time I keep around 5-7 rats as breeders so we really are a small rattery. I do this to ensure they all get sufficient play time and one on one time with me, and of course because of this babies won't be available very often. My rats health comes first above sells. I keep extensive breeding records on my rats aka pedigrees to keep track of stuff, if anyone wants their records I can send them, some are longer known lines then others.
How I Socialize the Babies: As soon as a litter arrives I handle them for a little bit. My females are pretty chill about me messing with them. The older they get the more I handle them. When they open their eyes at 2 weeks old I ramp up the handling time and start putting them in another cage to bring them downstairs with me to be handled by my family and to get used to different sounds. We have two dogs who check them out every once in awhile and a couple of birds. The average time they're downstairs varies from 1-8 hours depending on their age and if I'm home to keep watch. Whenever I go out I'll bring 1-2 of them along with me to be further socialized by my friends or strangers. Also by the time they're 2 weeks old I introduce them to all kinds of food such as veggies, fruits, and other stuff I have laying around. Once or twice a week I'll introduce or change up their cage setup to get them used to as many things as possible. I'm aware that some breeders believe their rats should have great temperaments despite handling often, and so they won't have handle them. I have done that a few times but their isn't really anything to lose from handling them anyways.
FAQ:
Q: What do you mean by "retire"?
A: This means that they won't be breeding anymore and can either go to a new home or stay with me. If they are placed in another home the buyer must agree not to breed them again.
Q: Can I breed the rats I buy from you?
A: This is up for discussion but usually no. This is for the safety of my rats mainly because breeding takes a huge toll on their bodies and its up to me as a breeder to make sure these rats are going to good responsible homes.
Q: Can I get them younger then 6 weeks old?
A: No, read the information above. They will be much better pets if you wait.
Q: Can I just buy one rat?
A: Unless you have another rat at home, no. These are social creatures and they thrive with their own kind. Please do more research if you're considering just having one rat on its own.
Q: What kind of food should I get?
A: Oxbow adult rat preferably. It's available at petsmart and online and is one of the best foods you can get. Harlan/Envigo Teklad and Mazuri are good as well.
Q: What cage should I get?
A: Get the biggest cage you can afford. Critter Nations are among the best. Do some searching around for the best, you can find used cages on craigslist at times. Some large bird cages work great if you fix them up.
Q: Can I visit the rattery?
A: No, as this is not a pet store or a zoo. But you can visit the rats outside of my home to meet the parents and or to pick out and meet the rats you plant to adopt. If you do choose to do that I ask that you haven't come into contact with any rats in the last day and shower before coming just in case diseases or bugs get transmitted.