Why breed?

Before starting off on any breeding programme it is important to consider your motives in wanting to breed rats. There are many rescue centres around the UK who are overwhelmed by the number of rats who come through their door needing a new home. If we are going to bring more rats into the world we need to be sure of ‘why’.

Looking at our reasons

Here are some of the reasons that I have heard people give when they contemplate breeding. Think them through for yourself and decide which ones you feel are ‘good enough’ reasons to actually go ahead and breed.

• I want the kids to witness the miracle of new birth.
• I think ‘Horace’ is the sweetest rat in the world, I just want to make more rats like him.
• I just want to have one litter just for the experience.
• I really love this particular variety and want to work to improve it.
• This rat has won Best In Show and I want to breed more show winners.
• I am curious about this variety, I want to find out more about how the genes work.
• My friends and I want more rats and there are no good breeders around here.
• A lot of the pet shop rats I have owned have had health problems, I would like to work to produce fitter rats that live longer.
• I fancy a ‘small business’ - a hobby that makes a bit of money.
• Our local pet shop hardly gets rats in as they have problems getting hold of them. I can supply them with my babies.

Some of these reasons sound plausible but are in fact rooted in fantasy. Others seem genuinely credible. Let’s take a closer look at what breeding can mean in practice - this may help us to decide which reasons we consider ‘good enough’.

Hobby breeding is unlikely to be an economic success story. If you are going to feed and house your breeding rats, and their kittens well, provide veterinary care where needed, and go out of your way to make sure your babies get to their new homes, you will find that it probably costs you money to have a litter rather than you making a profit.

Don’t rely on the birth experience being wonderful for all concerned. Often it is, but things can and do go desperately wrong; litters are stillborn, mothers refuse to care for their babies when the hormones don’t kick in, worst of all, you may lose your doe to the process. Things don’t always go to plan. You need to be prepared to deal with the worst that can happen.

A rat who is sweet natured or beautiful (or preferably both!) will not *necessarily* pass these attributes on to any offspring. Breeding rats with great temperament, health, (and looks) goes beyond what you see in the individual and will be affected to some extent by what you see in other related rats, and former generations. You may be lucky and be able to produce lots of ‘little Horaces’, but it won’t necessarily be so. Taking two beautiful rats and putting them together won’t always result in a litter of rattie Miss Worlds, and you can easily take two rats of your favourite varieties (say silver fawn and blue) and produce a whole litter of agoutis. Rather more thought and knowledge of the lines the rats come from, and their genetics is needed.

If the only reason for breeding is that rats are in short supply around you, then remember the bursting rescue centres, and the fact that many breeders are willing to travel to make sure that their babies end up in the best of homes. Pet shops vary enormously in their philosophies and practice but very few will vet the homes their babies go to, many sell single rats to live alone, in cages that are far too small, and almost none follow up their babies or take any interest in them once they have left their doors. If you are thinking of breeding to supply a pet shop be careful to consider where they might end up.

Breeding to improve a variety is a long term commitment. Along the way you will probably accumulate more rats that you intended (those that never make breeding standard, those who you couldn’t find homes for, those returned due to changes in circumstances, those you couldn’t resist keeping because they were different, or just plain cute).

Know where you are heading

Having considered why you want to breed, you will hopefully have decided what your aims and objectives are. Keep these in mind every time you come to make a decision about your breeding plan. That way you will find it easier to make the best choices to move things towards where you want them to be. Measure everything against your own goals and principles.

Before choosing which individual rats to breed from, do as much research as you can into the variety you have chosen to breed. Find out who else is breeding them and talk to them. All varieties have difficulties and glories that are specific to them, be sure you know what these are before beginning.

Then find out about the health and temperament of the extended family (parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents etc) of your chosen rats. If you deem this information to be important you may be cautious of using any rat for whom you find it difficult to glean this information. Breeding from unknown rats is a bit of a gamble and not the best place to start off in case things go badly wrong (for instance if there are temperament issues you could end up with a proportion of your kittens being aggressive, causing harm or needing castrated before they are a year old). If you are placing rats into pet homes you need to fully embrace your responsibility to be producing healthy and well mannered babies, who will be a joy to own. Breeding from healthy well mannered parents, from healthy well mannered lines is the best that you can do towards guaranteeing the same for your babies.

It is my personal opinion that temperament and health should be first priorities when breeding, and that every mating should have the potential for improving desirable traits in the next generation (health, excellent temperament, healthy body type etc).