And Another Two Bite The Dust

I had been so hopeful. My new mentees Jessica and Samantha seemed so "gung ho" and eager to become good rat breeders. But alas, both "bit the dust" and are no longer interested in breeding. This rat breeding stuff isn't for everyone. It takes time, space, money, and the ability to respect and respond to the public on an almost-daily basis. A love for the animals and an interest in genetics is a basic requirement but it isn't enough. I am very much saddened that there is such a lack of interest in becoming a (good) breeder of pet rats as soon there will be no recourse for adopters than to get their pets from shops, feeder bins, rescues, reptile swaps, and Craigslist. The rats will have the poor health and poor temperaments that I(and other fast-disappearing breeders) have been spending years breeding to improve. All the knowledge, the excellent breeding lines, will be lost in the not-too-distant future. This is my 15th year of breeding. I can't keep it up forever but there is no one to replace me. The reason I have kept breeding for this many years is because I want so much to be able to give adopters a place where they can find a quality pet rat. I love hearing the stories from adopters about how much they are loving and spoiling their pet rats and how much joy they get from them. But breeders like me are dying, or retiring, and all their lines and knowledge are going with them. I want so badly to be able to"pass the torch" (so to speak) to others, share what I have learned, and see someone else get the kind of satisfaction and pleasure "I" get from breeding. There MUST BE "wannabees" out there, right?

Two mentees!

I am pleased to announce that I am now mentoring two new breeders! Jessica Daniel, of Big City Rattery(CITY) in Richmond, VA. will be working with Siamese and Burmese. Her goal is to have rex, black-eyed Siamese. Samantha Hudgins, of Mischievious Main Street Rattery(MMSR) in Springfield, IL. will be "getting her feet wet" with self rats, working with Russian blue, mink, and dove. I am honored that both of these ladies sought me out and asked me to serve as their mentor. More good breeders are very much needed in the rat community as more and more adopters are seeking quality, breeder-bred pet rats.
Welcome, Jessica and Samantha! I look forward to working with you on your new rat-breeding adventure!

What should I expect from a good breeder's rats?

Not long ago I had an adopter here picking up her new babies. As I placed them in her hands and she began admiring them, she exclaimed, "You can HOLD them!" I replied, "Of COURSE you can, that's why you came to me!" I have been thinking a lot about this little exchange. Why was it that this lady assumed she "wouldn't" be able to "hold" her new pets? What kind of experiences had she had in the past? Had she gotten a breeder's rats and had them so wild and crazy that they'd shot out of her hands, clearly not wanting to be held? What should an adopter expect when getting rats from a (good) breeder? Well-bred rats should have good temperaments, plain and simple. They shouldn't bite. They shouldn't fearfully run to escape being picked up and shouldn't fight being held. They SHOULD be friendly and curious, eager to explore but also interested in the "sweet talk" and gentle handling of people. Good breeders do handle their babies, socializing them to being handled by people but really well bred, quality rats, will display this gentleness, curiosity, and willingness to interact with and be handled by, people, even with minimal handling by the breeder. This is because good breeders choose breeding pairs carefully, selecting and using only those with good, stable, temperaments, and those who come from "good families", temperament-wise. A good breeder KNOWS the rats they produce will be friendly with people. When you adopt from a good breeder the babies don't need to be "tamed down". You should EXPECT (and not be surprised by) being able to handle them easily.

Are rat breeders a dying breed?

I am now the only actively breeding rattery in my area. And, though there are a small number of ratteries in nearby states, they breed for themselves and to share with other breeders, leaving very few babies available to pet adopters. Over the 11 years I have been breeding rats I have seen breeders come and go, some just "burning out", and others quitting when they discovered the amount of time, effort, and expense involved in the hobby. (Back yard breeders will always be around but the GOOD breeders are few and far between.) The hobby needs new breeders who are dedicated to working hard to improve upon the health and longevity of pet rats AND to offering the pet-seeking public rats of a much higher quality than they can find at their neighborhood pet shop. As more and more people are doing their homework and learning that they can get friendlier, healthier pets from a good breeder (and are trying to seek them out), it is becoming harder and harder to FIND a good breeder.

In my breeding I always work to improve upon the rats I have, and to continue to produce rats of the highest quality. I take great pleasure in placing these rats in loving homes, giving pet owners the opportunity to purchase healthy, sweet-tempered rats. After all, the whole POINT of working to improve the species is so that PET OWNERS can experience the joys of having healthy, sweet pet rats, that they cannot get from the mill-produced animals found in pet shops. At least that's my philosophy. There are breeders who do not share it and these are the breeders who raise very few litters and who share babies amongst themselves, placing a rare few with the public.

Whether would-be breeders are being discouraged because they cannot locate mentors or because they cannot locate pedigreed breeding stock to start their ratteries, or because the prospect of the time, effort and expense involved is too daunting, I do not know. Maybe they have been turned off by the antics and philosophies of breeders I have described above. All I know is that the fancy very much needs more good breeders, both to improve the rats themselves (and enlarge the pedigreed gene pool) and to provide quality pets for the public. If more people don't come along who want to become (good) breeders, eventually there will be none, and adopters will have only BYBs and pet shops to turn to for pet rats. That would be such a shame!

I always have a waiting list and often find it is quite long due to the difficulty adopters have in locating breeders near them. (Of course people contact me because "Only the SWEETEST pet rats come from Sweet Genes!") After 11 years of breeding I would like to slow things down a bit, breeding fewer litters, and spacing litters out more, but there are no breeders to whom I can refer adopters. I have met many individuals and lovely families over the years. The rats I placed with them have been much-loved and spoiled rotten! It has given me so much joy to get updates, funny stories, and pictures of their "furkids"! It is because of these wonderful people and more like them, seeking rats from a good breeder and wanting to avoid pet shop rats, that I continue to work hard at what I do. Pet adopters, please know that I will continue to produce rats of the highest quality and help all the people I can. I cannot (and will not) breed more litters than I am comfortable with raising, and will breed and raise all rats according the high standards I have always set. Mother Nature is in complete control of how many babies arrive, how many of each sex, color, ear-set, etc. Because of the shortage of breeders (good ones, not BYBs), getting quality rats may entail a wait of several months. Start looking early for a breeder, and get added to a waiting list. For those who choose to be added to MY waiting list, please know that you WILL get rats and they will be WORTH the wait!

Debbie

Sweet Rats headed for New Jersey!

I haven't given rats to another breeder for quite a long time now so it is definitely worth mentioning here that SGR Eli Rose (Russian blue rex dumbo) and SGR Whole Lotta Hoodie (agouti hooded dumbo) are on their way to New Jersey with Kate of Farmhouse Rats (www.fhrats.com) as I type this note. Since forming American Rat Club (www.americanratclub.com) I have met a lot of nice people and several good breeders. Kate impressed me with her dedication to breeding rats of quality and we have become friends.It is my hope that Eli and Hoodie will be good additions to her breeding program. I look forward to working with Kate and her beautiful rats. (AND to GETTING a couple of them in December to add to my breeding program!)
 

A new club for rat lovers!

I am very happy to finally be able to announce that a new club for rat lovers has been formed! American Rat Club welcomes people from all over the country to share their love for rats in a friendly environment. Yearly shows will be held, with conformation classes geared toward breeders as well as fun classes geared toward pet owners. ARC promises something for everyone! ARC even has it's own group on Facebook, where members can "chat rats", share pics and experiences, learn from each other and make new friends. Please check American Rat Club out at www.americanratclub.com   You'll be glad you did!

Shades of grey, common sense, and horse hockey!

There is a lot of misinformation, nonsense and just plain horse hockey being passed along to new breeders from some of the established breeders out there, and it's often combined with a heavy dose of our-way-or-the-highway "attitude". Newbies must kow-tow or they will be ostracized, and certainly will never be given breeding stock. New breeders and wannabe-breeders look up to established breeders and seek them out for advice. They SHOULD be able to do this, given the amount of knowledge and experience that established breeders have to share. What saddens me at present is that newbies are being subjected to arrogant "dictates" and a lot of just plain nonsense (IMO). Worse, the newbies are buying it. Because the established breeders CERTAINLY know what they're talking about, DON'T they? And newbies NEED those breeders to give them breeding stock, DON"T they? (Not always; not necessarily.)

One doesn't get very far in life without noticing that it's lessons come in shades of grey, instead of black-and-white. There are different paths to becoming a good, ethical, successful, rat breeder. Information presented on a breeder's website should reflect the experience and philosophy of that breeder and not be there simply because other breeders dictate that it must be such-and-such a way, have such-an-such a page, or whatever.****If you don't have a page listing all your past litters, or a "bridge" page, for example, the breeders who like to dictate to others will say that you must be "hiding" something because you aren't sharing all the information on every past litter and every rat who has died. NONSENSE! Breeders SHOULD keep careful records and should also BE WILLING TO SHARE that information when asked, and ALWAYS with other breeders who may be acquiring breeding animals. Established breeders who dictate to newbies that ALL breeders MUST plaster their websites with every bit of information about past litters, rats who have passed on, information about lab testings, necropsy results, etc, etc, if they wish to be "accepted" and certainly if they ever hope to be given breeding animals, are simply on a power trip and/or have a lot of control issues!

 Shades of grey are ignored and new breeders are instead given black-and-white pictures of the way a good breeder "must" operate. Misinformation too, is many times shared. For example, when it comes to what ages to use animals for breeding, it is being passed along that waiting till animals have reached 10 months and up (for females) and 12 months and up (for males) is best. One newer breeder said she's heard an established breeder's claim that breeders are creating "slower maturing" rats (which I suppose means they can keep safely and without problems delay breeding till older and older ages). HORSE HOCKEY!  Older rats, just like older human females, have more difficulty getting pregnant. There can be birthing difficulties. (Some breeders will blame their "lines" and not their own breeding practices.) With humans, the difficulty in getting pregnant, and the potential for genetic problems (for example, Down's Syndrome), increases with maternal age. Mother Nature didn't intend for us to wait so long to bear children. Has Science been able to help US "mature slower" so that WE can more successfully "breed" at older and older ages? No. Can't be done. (This is why fertility clinics are so busy, and older women are "high risk" deliveries.) Can't be done with our rats either. But the newbies believe it because that's what they're being told.

One person in the rat community has managed to "sell" a lot of others on her unfounded "fact" that soy in rat food is harmful, and that eliminating it from what we feed our rats will extend their lives several years beyond the average of 2 1/2-3. There are just no serious studies supporting these claims, the "articles" pointed to were written by the same woman making the claims, and none of her own rats have lived as long as what she claims they WILL on a soy-free diet. It's all HORSE HOCKEY!

Every breeder, new, established, or wannabe, should be aware that rat breeding practices, like living life, are full of shades of grey. There is no, one, "right" way to do things. Question things that don't make sense for you instead of just following the dictates of others. Apply your common sense. Don't allow yourself to be bullied into doing things "just because" the established breeders tell you that's the way you MUST do them if you want to become a good, successful breeder. NONSENSE! Please don't be discouraged and fear your dream of breeding rats will be derailed if you are not able to obtain breeding animals from these self-important breeders; there ARE breeders who will help.



Debbie