Rat owner/enthusiests/lovers question?

Question

I have rats and love them very much. Over the last year I have been doing quite a bit of research about breeding because when I move back to Sault Ste. Marie Ontario I am thinking about starting to open my own breeding/rescue rattery.
Now, as I am an avid rattie lover I will be putting out the money to get quality breeding stock from various places across canada and, if possible, the States. I want to only be breeding healthy and well tempered ratties. Dose anyone have any advise or articles or know any breeders I can talk to for advise. And any pages with genitic info to help me as well?
Please keep in mind I will NEVER breed an animal without being willing to put out the money and emotional/physical care that is necessary. And I do not plan on putting this in action for at least 5 years when I have a comfortable savings in my account and money fro vet fees etc...
Also any other advise would be very welcome.

I will never breed feeders. It's just something I couldn't do to an animal I raised and cared for and loved. It will be hard enough watching them go to a loving home.

Thank you for the fantastic advise so far. I will certainly be looking into all the info provided.

Answer 1

I have enjoyed the company of pet rats since 1997, and became an accidental breeder when I bought a female that was pregnant at the pet store. I breed rats but I keep them for life.

Doesn't mean that I'm not interested in the advise and wisdom of professional breeders who sell their rats as pets. This endeaver has led me to such resources as the Ratster http://www.ratster.com/, RatsPac Northwest website http://www.ratspacnw.org/, and their forum http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/RatsPacNW/. This group is located on the West Coast and includes members that live both in Canada and the USA.

Eagleseye, http://www.dreameyce.com/eagleseye/rattery/, who has also answered your question here, is one of those well-respected breeders of this group. She, and others like her, would do well as your mentors.

Rat Genetics:
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=rat+genetics&ei=UTF-8&fr=ks-ans&ico-yahoo-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAqFmYLsucJ9Ju1A_wytuo5cazKIX%2FSIG%3D111gjvvgj%2F*-http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch&ico-wikipedia-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAjrR1DDgyctRMOV346dKZz4azKIX%2FSIG%3D11ia1qo58%2F**http%253a%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpecial%253aSearch&p=rat+genetics

Kudos to you for looking into rat breeding before you start.

Sandra Beasley and the Spaz Rats
(Rattery, Rescue, and Rat-care Expert)
http://spazrats.tripod.com
"my life has gone to the rats"

Answer 2

My best advice, is to start networking with responsible, reputable breeders NOW. Find a mentor, or multiple mentors. Get out there, and help breeders actually get to know you.

One problem so many newbie breeders have, is so many reputable breeders (including myself) are often leery of the "Hello, I decided to breed rats, can I get rats from you!" contacts because MOST new breeders start up on a wim, and end up not being dedicated. I call these 'fly-by-night', and 'one litter wonder' breeders!

Typically a new breeder contacting us wants breeding rats THEN.... whent he waitlist for quality breeding rats can at times be long because generally the breeder is keeping the picks of litters! If we know and trust a newbie breeder, we're willing to put our necks out, and maybe place quality breeding rats we'd normally keep to help get their rattery off on the right foot.

If you're around a few years before looking for breeding stock, active, and learning it'll show breeders you are serious, and have taken the time to learn the ropes of ethical breeding. That's important to breeders! We want to know our hard work will be taken seriously, and that new breeders will be around a while.

Another suggestion, is own the rats you plan on breeding before you breed. It took me a few years searching for the 'right' rats to start up my lines, because when I just looked locally I wasn't finding what I wanted. It may not be the case with you, but own rats from differnt lines, and breeders and decide what you want to dedicate your time and hardwork to!

Hopefully this helps. If you need any help feel free to e-mail me. My username is my rattery name and I can easily be found in an online search. There are not many breeders in Ontario, or the rest of Canada so you may end up having to get rats from the US which really isn't hard, or much more expensive I'm told... as long as import laws don't change! Canada really only has a small handful of reputable breeders.

Answer 3

I don't really have any advice. I just wanted to wish you luck. I have 4 rats who are the sweetest things. I'd breed them, but I really don't think there'd be many people in my area who'd want them, except maybe as feeders.