September Skies - Breeding

I have decided to create a page where I write about both the theoretical and practical experience of breeding rats. I do not believe that most rat owners should breed their rats, for a variety of reasons, however, if you do wish to, and you have seriously thought over all the possibilities, then you should go into it knowing as much as possible. I hope these pages and the links within them help you to do your best by your rats and yourself.

If you want to breed, you really need to ask yourself why. Breeding can be expensive, can put your doe's life at risk, can take up a huge amount of time, and may not be in the best interest of the pups themselves. Why do it? Many people say things like, "I like babies", "My rat would be missing out if I didn't", "She'd have such cute babies", etc etc. These kinds of reasons just aren't good enough. Sure, I love babies, and my rats would have beautiful babies together, but I have to be able to justify myself better than this. It's a big reason to risk the life of my doe and her pups. The worst reason you can have is that it would be "A nice bit of pocket money", or worse: "My rats have to earn their keep". There is NO money to be had in selling rats, unless perhaps you mass breed under inadequate conditions, for a huge market like the snake food market. In fact, breeding rats can be hugely expensive, and the initial outlay simply for cages is plenty enough. Your doe may need the help of a vet, any number of your pups (of which there might be up to 20) could fall ill or get injured, all of which is expensive with a capital "E". Plus you need to pay for enough food for up to 20 rats for at least three weeks after they begin to eat solids, and buy another cage to separate the males and females at 5-6 weeks. you won't necessarily be able to put the young boys in with your adult males, the adults may not accept them. And what do you plan to do with all these rats? Sell them to the pet shop? Are you happy with that? I'm not. I'd like to be able to know what kind of homes my babies are going to. Even in Tasmania there is a reptile market, and that is on of the potential sad fates of a pet shop rat.

Really, I think the only time you should breed is when you have the following:

~ Healthy, gentle, quiet males and females, preferably of known heritage for at least four generations, and of appropriate ages to be breeding.

~ Homes lined up for a good percentage of your potential babies, with avenues to find homes for any leftovers, or cancelled reservations, and room to keep any who don't find homes.

~ Suitable caging already bought/built, including a maternity cage and cages for separating males and females.

~ Time, to pay attention to your doe's nutrition, to giving her proper exercise and attention, and to possibly raising part or all of the pups by hand.

~ Money to be able to afford cages, good quality food, possible veterinary costs, and even milk supplements in case of emergency.

~ Space to keep all the babies should the worst happen and all your reservations are cancelled, or your pups are aggressive or sick and it's not right to sell them.

~ Knowledge. I really believe in knowing as much as you can about what what is best for your doe and pups, during the mating, the pregnancy and the raising of the litter.

This is going to be a combination of a record of an actual pregnancy, from mating to the pups leaving home, and also a source of the theoretical information I have gathered through my research into becoming a rattery. I hope it's useful :-)

Neena is my little black hooded doe, and she's been introduced to Jesse, my black variegated DownUnder boy. We'll start with Day one, and follow her progress through to her pups finding new homes.

Day	Practical Experience	Theoretical knowledge
Mating Monday	I have decided to introduce Neena and Jesse only in the evenings for up to half and hour, until she exhibits signs of being in season. Then when she seems more receptive to him, I'll leave them in together for about three hours, late in the evening. Neena and Jesse are introduced in the evening, in an empty cage, just to see how they get along. There are no scuffles, but no romance either! When Jesse tries to sniff under Neena's tail she pushes him away with a back leg, and occasionally squeaks gently. I don't think she's in season!	Does come into season every 4 to 5 days, for between 12 and 20 hours, generally in the evenings. When the doe is in season (fertile) she generally exhibits a behaviour called "lordosis", where she braces her legs and lifts her head and tail, sometimes vibrating her ears, if she feels a touch on her rump. In some does you can observe this when you stroke her back if she's in season. People say that they become more frisky when they are in season too. There are two main ways of mating your rats, you can put them in together full-time for two weeks, or you can introduce them for a part of each day (either all night or for a few hours in the evenings). Most people recommend the latter, especially if you have several males normally housed together, as you don't have to re-introduce adult rats back into their old cage afterwards. Breeders have told me that a male who has been living with his girl for some time becomes very "cocky", and can sometimes be very difficult to reintroduce, as he has decided he's the alpha male now, and will sometimes bully his cage mates. A friend also said she thinks her buck was very disturbed at suddenly losing his doe, and took his angst out on his cage-mates. This was the worst injury she had as a rat owner. That said, there are times when the female doesn't seem to be coming into season, and the only solution is to have the male living with her full-time. Whatever you choose to do, make sure you use a neutral cage, as this helps prevent the male being too dominant. Expect some scuffles, but if the female is being hurt or seems distressed, take her out straight away. Males can sometimes be a bit rough, or they could both get into a serious fight.
Mating Tuesday	Today I introduced them again in thie morning for ten minutes, just in case, but if anything she was a little more adamant that he leave her alone. She turned around at him and shoved his face away with her hands (er, fore-paws). They made me laugh. Then she backed into a pot and told him to get lost. I took her out again :-) He's such a gentleman about it all though, he's determined but polite ;-)
Mating Wednesday	7pm: I put them in together again, and although Neena didn't accept him, she didn't kick him in the head! She's super frisky this evening, so I think I might put them in together at about 10pm and see what happens :-) At the moment they're free-ranging together, and seem to be happier. 10pm: Little change, she's still not letting him get too physical, but she's not being too adamant about it. We'll see tomorrow :-)
Mating Success! Thursday	Got home late-ish, so I put them straight in together after a cuddle from me. Neena was super frisky, and when she got in the cage with him, they were still for a few minutes, then started tearing around the cage together. I was worried, but then he jumped on her, and she did the lordosis pose, so I know she's in season at last! So, tonight is the first night of Neena's pregnancy, we begin the countdown to day 22 from here! I'm leaving them together for about 45 minutes, until I go to bed, they've done the deed at least 15 times, and she's getting harder for him to catch, and doesn't seem very impressed anymore, though she still freezes when he catches her. I'll separate them when I go to bed.	The earliest a female should really be allowed to mate is four months, and experienced breeders have told me that females of 6 to 8 months generally have an easier time rearing their babies and lose less condition. They also continue growing, very slowly, until they are up to a year old, and leaving them until they are six months gives them the best chance of being healthy throughout their motherhood, without affecting their full growth. Ig you cannot wait, at least wait until they are 4 months old, and their growth rate has really slowed and they have filled out properly. Any sooner than this and you are risking both your doe and her unborn pups.
Day One Friday	Neena seems a little extra sleepy, and stroppy. She has reverted to alpha rat, which I am hoping means she really is pregnant!	A pregnant or nursing rat usually becomes the dominant female in her house, and the hormones she releases seems to let everyone know that she's pregnant and not to be messed with! On the first day, each embryo is just a single cell, traveling down the fallopian tubes towards the uterus (womb). There are on average about 8 to 12 embryos, each of which should grow into a healthy pup.
Day Two Saturday	Neena is well, and fairly normal. She doesn't like being handled much, a bit extra wriggly. She's eating well, and I can't wait for her to get a little pot belly!	You can usually begin to observe a rat's burgeoning belly in about the last two weeks of pregnancy. Their character can sometimes change a little, sometimes becoming more grumpy with rats and humans alike, especially at the beginning and end of their pregnancy.
Day Three Sunday	I am feeding Neena an extra protein diet: As well as the normal dry food (see the recipes page) I have added some slivered almonds, a couple of small dry dog biscuits (I got the expensive small dog brand) and extra rations of yogurt, fresh fruit and veggies, soymilk-soaked bread, a little cheese, and more healthy human food. She's enjoying it, as is her cage-mate! Luckily Emma's young and needs the extra protein anyway!	Like in humans, pregnant or nursing rats need to eat better quality food, with more protein and other nutrients during the whole course of their pregnancy, and while they are lactating. They will eat a greater quantity, but better quality is best. Just don't give them plain milk, give them yoghurt instead, as they can't digest the lactose well without the beneficial bacteria in the yoghurt. The embryo is still traveling down to the uterus, and is very slowly diving. Each embryo is now 8-12 cells.
Day Four Monday	I worked all day today, so I didn't get to see Neena much, but she looks well and happy. She really wants to get out of her cage and have a good run around.	Rats will often sleep more during their pregnancy, but they can also be more frisky when they are awake! The number of cells has become uncountable, and the embryos are getting prepared to implant in the uterus. The uterus of a rat has two "horns" or branches, unlike the human uterus, which is just a single "pocket".
Day Five Tuesday	Neena is getting a little heavier to pick up, I think, though maybe I'm imagining it! She is very serious about her food, and looks glossy and sleek.	Rats put on around 30 grams per week (I think) during their 22 day gestation, with more in the last week. This weight is a mixture of babies, amniotic fluid, placentas, stored fat, milk and breast tissue.
Day Six Wednesday	Today I think I might have noticed a very little bit of bulging about the belly region, perhaps a thickening of the midsection! I'll take a picture, and you can see if you can see it! She was really tearing around the place today, it was really hard to catch her in a photo :-) She's also getting very interested in protein-rich food, for example, she was caught raiding my rubbish bin for the tiny bits of egg left in the eggshell from her lunch! She's also very dominant, though gentle, and Emmalise is taking it very well, considering she was top rat a few days ago :-)	Bellies start to look obviously round from halfway through the second week of the pregnancy, and during the last week she can begin to look and feel very uncomfortable. At this stage (day 6) the embryos are each about 0.28 mm across, and have only just properly implanted, but the two "horns" of the uterus begin growing rapidly from the moment of conception, to make room for all the babies, because the growth rate of the embryos is exponential once they implant. For example, in 4 days time, the embryos have increased in size by ten times, to about 2mm each, and 4 days after that they are over 12 mm across. So, at the moment, her babies are about the size of a very small full stop!
Day Seven Thursday	Neena is behaving pretty normally, her usual; sweet self :-) I'm letting her have a good run each day, knowing she needs exercise. She hasn't lost her balance yet, and I don't think she's noticed that she's pregnant, she still recklessly slides down any sloping surface in her own, inimitable style! She seems to have learned how to shimmy down things, fireman's pole style! This includes trousers (the outside!) chair legs, computers, and really anything that points to where she wants to go - the ground!	As well as good quality food, a pregnant rat needs plenty of exercise. When letting her run around the room, keep in mind that she may be a little off balance, so try to restrict her access to dangerous areas as she gets heavier. A good idea (from the Dapper Rat) is to use a few cardboard boxes, cut completely down one corner so they open out to a long rectangle. These should stand up if you clip them to each other with bulldog clips, and you can use them to make a corner of your room a ratty area, where you can sit with them or put them in with lots of toys and some shredded paper, more (smaller) boxes, and treats.
Day Eight Friday	Neena has been having a regular run in the room in the mornings with me, while I eat my breakfast, and afterwards she loves to come up next to me and have the part of her back just below her shoulder blades gently scratched and rubbed, while she nuzzles me back, it's gorgeous!	The primitive cells that will form the heart are beginning to grow, and there is a dark dark line showing, known as the "primitive streak", which is the area where tissues which will form the skin, muscles and bones will grow out from.
Day Nine Saturday	Neena's whole belly is starting to look a little bit lumpy, which I'm guessing is her mammary glands (teats) beginning to fill out in preparation for the birth.	In rats and humans as well as other animals, the breast tissue begins to develop almost from the moment of conception! It needs to change dramatically, creating enough mammary tissue to make milk for all the babies, and a complex network of veins and capillaries to give sufficient blood supply to the mammary glands. There are twelve teats on most rats and mice, though some have only ten.
Day Ten Sunday	Neena is starting to have a belly that other people can see! Here is a picture :-)	The long thin branches of the uterus reach up to near her ribcage, and as the embryos grow, they cause her lower abdomen to expand slowly. The embryos seem to have followed some kind of chemical signal when implanting, as they are usually spaced really evenly along the length of the uterus. The uterus itself is like two strings of cooked spaghetti, joined at the base, within her pelvis. At this stage the embryos each measure 2.4 mm across, but the branches of the uterus are expanding rapidly to accommodate their later growth, so her belly begins to fill out.
Day Eleven Monday	Halfway! I can't believe how fast it's gone :-) Today Neena seems to have a small, weeping lump near the corner of her mouth, below her eye. I have cleaned it with Betadine, and then washed the antiseptic off. I will keep a good eye on it, she may need to have a vet look at it tomorrow. I suspect a small abscess or splinter.	Today is an exciting day in terms of the development of the embryos, they are suddenly sporting tiny leg, arm and tail buds. They are growing incredibly fast, and measure 4mm across today. The tissues which form the bones, muscles and skin originate from the primitive streak, on the dorsal side (back) of the embryo. The tissue grows out of the primitive streak on both sides of the embryo, growing forwards until both sides meet in the centre of the ventral side (front) of the embryo. This is the reason why you can feel a ridge in the centre of your nose and chin - this is where the two branches of bone tissue joined when you were an embryo.
Day Twelve Tuesday	Neena's lump disappeared overnight.... Who knows?! She seems fairly normal today, though a little more grumpy with her cage-mate, Emmalise.	The embryoes measure 7 mm across today, and the gaps where the tissues are growing forwards from the primitive streak are beginning to close. The paws are beginning to differentiate from the arms and legs, into flatter disks.
Day Thirteen Wednesday	Neena's belly isn't growing very quickly, though she is beginning to look fairly pear shaped from above. She is cranky, starting fights with Emma several times a day. I'll separate them when Neena is a few days away from birthing. I don't want to disturb her too much.	It's normal to separate your pregnant doe from her cagemates towards the end of her pregnancy. People do sometimes leave them in together, but it does have risks. In rats, infanticide (killing babies) is not uncommon, and both parents, relatives and unrelated rats may do this. The risk is particularly high when cagemates have not known the doe for longer than the pregnancy, and it is more common among unrelated stranger rats than it is among sisters who have been kept together all their lives. It still happens even then. Sometimes too, the pups will be fought over, or the non-lactating female will steal pups, and they will starve. It can also be very stressful for a doe if she feels she has to defend her nest, and high stress levels can cause a rat or mouse to kill her own litter.
Day Fourteen Thursday	Things are going well, I have been supplementing Neena's feed with soyamilk, chicken and cooked chicken bones, yoghurt, English spinach, kale, egg, fish, and fruits. I have been buying extra little things at the supermarket, like five cherries, a kiwi fruit, an avocado, and then sharing them with her and Emma. People at the checkout look at me funny, but I just smile!	The embryos measure 10.5 mm today, which is over one centimetre! Their faces are changing, with snouts beginning to protrude from the front, and ear and nose pasages forming. The paws are becoming more obvious, and an early form of cartilage is laying down in the areas where bones will later form. In mammal embryos, most bones start out as cartilage, which is later replaced with calcium deposits. In rats, the development of the pups is not complete when they are born, and in fact only part of the cartilage is replaced with bone down by this stage, and their eyes and ears have not finished forming, which is why they are born with their eyes and ears closed.
Day Fifteen Friday	Neena is getting really cranky, I might have to separate them soon. She's very frisky, and eager to get out and run around. I had been letting her run with the boys, knowing she's pregnant, but today she decided to try and beat up Jesse as well! Her belly is rounding out noticeably day by day. She's running around with me now, driving me batty! She's us and down off the computer desk like a yo-yo. Maybe her growing belly makes her feel itchy and grumpy. She certainly stops to nibble and scratch her belly frequently. The stretching must make it itch.	By day 15, the embryos have grown to14.2 mm, and have nearly finished developing into fetuses. A Fetus has all the organs and bodily parts present in a basic form, and all that remains is growth and development of the body and organs.
Day Sixteen Saturday	Neena seems to be slowing down a little, she's more sleepy when I bring her out for a cuddle, and wears out faster when she has free-range time. Today I gave her and Emma some canned dog food, as I found a brand which contains only cuts of beef, with gravy, not "animal by-products". I think it's called "Nature's Gift". It's really hard to find a brand which only contains a named meat and no offal. It comes in one of those mini-tins, with the foil lids. I just five her a couple of chunks of meat each night, and I froze half of it for later so it doesn't go off before she eats it all. She loves it. She's starting to look a little more sausage-like! I bought some human newborn infant formula in a little sachet, just in case something goes wrong with the birth or with Neena's lactation, and I have to raise the pups by hand. I'll get a first aid kit ready as well, as we near the due date.	On the sixteenth day the embryos officially become fetuses, which means they have all the parts of an adult rat in basic form, and the remainder of the pregnancy is growth and development. They measure 15.5 mm, and their little snouts have lifted off their chests.
Day Seventeen Sunday	Neena is starting to have trouble scratching herself, and she really appreciates a good back rub! She bruxes until her eyes "boggle" (bruxing and boggling are part of the natural grinding of the teeth, which a rat does when she's very content, or when she's annoyed about something). She loves a scratch down her back, just behind her shoulder blades. She also enjoys a gentle belly rub, and nuzzles me back. I love her! She is also a little more clumsy now, and her belly begins to grow quickly! (It's so beautiful!) She slipped off a coffee table today, and I felt awful! She was fine, but I will be very careful about what she gets up on from now on.	The fetuses are 17 mm long (1.7 cm), and their eyelids are rapidly growing to cover their eyes. The mother should start to fill out in the midsection now, and may become more unstable. Some people remove ramps, ladders and hanging toys that the mother may fall off, others leave her to her to choose. It's a good idea to think about moving her to a "maternity suite" soon, and think about it's layout at this stage. A long low ramp is best for a burgeoning belly.
Day Eighteen Monday	Things are quiet. It's been so cold, I'm reluctant to separate them yet, I think they need each other's warmth. But the are getting on each others' nerves, so I think I'll move them soon.	The fetuses measure 20mm (2cm) long, and they are growing quickly. By this stage the mother needs to be handled with great care to avoid harming the babies. Always use two hands, and never squeeze. Children should be encouraged to stroke rather than pick up the mother rat. She may also begin to become more defensive now, and may possibly bite a human or her cage-mates if she hurt or irritated.
Day Nineteen Tuesday	Neena's belly is getting pretty lumpy looking! She's getting very full of babies, and I'm starting to wonder how many are in there! She looks gorgeous, and is still running around like a busy little thing :-) She is a bit more cautious of jumping off things, which is a relief to me, as she is normally almost suicidal!	The babies measure 25mm (2.5cm), and they are growing very fast now, half a centimetre a day for these last four days. Their eyes are now covered with eyelids, and their tails are growing longer.
Day Twenty Wednesday	Now Neena has filled out, from lumpy to just plain round! She's moving a bit slower and more carefully, but otherwise is her usual beautiful self, very perky and bright-eyed. I think pregnancy agrees with her :-) The last week I have been giving her (and Emma) a warm mash in the mornings. I warm up some soymilk and yoghurt in a jam lid on a hotplate that is just warm (I don't have a microwave), and add little bits of bread and some wheat germ. When it's just nicely warm, and after checking the metal isn't hot, they get their breakfast! They love it, they eat every last drop, and it's so nice to be able to give them something warm and nutritious when it's so cold in the mornings here in Tassie :-) After that they get fruit salad, and at lunchtime some cooked chicken and leafy greens. At dinner time they get their bean mix (see recipes page) plus veggies and whatever other goodies I'm giving out!	The babies are 3 cm long now, and their lungs are preparing to breathe air when they are born. The inside surface of the lungs has to become stronger and coated with protective fine mucous which allows them to breathe without damaging the lung cells or the lungs collapsing.
Day Twenty-One Thursday	Oh my god! I think we're hitting the grapefruit stage! This belly has started to become bigger than Neena! She is having to walk around on her tiptoes to keep it from dragging on the floor, poor girl! She's still very bright and happy, and gets around well, if a little more slowly :-) She's going into her new house today, I meant to do it yesterday, but I got called away in the evening. She's busy making nests all over the house at the moment, one inside our ancient couch, and one behind a cupboard. You have to watch out if you leave any important documents on the floor, she'll drag them away as quick as she can and shred them into tiny pieces! The little sweetheart :-) New Pictures (evening):	Today the babies have grown to 3 1/2 cm long, and they are getting more wriggly. As the mother's belly grows rapidly in these last two days you may be able to see the babies moving around inside her. She needs extra careful care, and plenty of nesting material, along with a suitable place to make a nest. I am making a wooden box out of MDF, which is almost like very tough cardboard. I am making her a box with no base, and with the lid on hinges. That makes it easiest for me to look in and see the babies without disturbing her too much. I'm making the door just big enough for her to fit in and out with her enormous belly, so that it's not too big and drafty when she has given birth. Don't make it too big, as she needs to be able to keep all the babies snuggled together to keep them warm. Keep in mind that it will be a throw-away item afterwards, unless you paint it to keep it sealed. In which case, let it air for a few days before you put it in with her to reduce the fumes. Suitable nesting material includes shredded paper (no inks, they can be toxic), pieces of material, tissues, kitchen toweling, finely cut up wool, and I have heard of people using some dried cut grass as well. This has the potential to introduce mites and lice though. Give her plenty, and let her choose what she puts in her nest :-)
Day Twenty-Two Friday	Due Date! Well, Neena is starting to look pretty unimpressed about her newly developed roundness, but she loves her new nesting box. She's gone off her food a bit, and is spending all her time building her elaborate nest inside her nesting box. I have given her all the food she could eat, including fruit, veggies, beans, dry food, chicken, baby food, and soymilk mash! She's not touched much, which makes me think she's getting ready to give birth tonight. You can see that her full belly is giving her a little difficulty breathing, her breath is shallower and more obvious. The uterus presses right up against the mothers diaphragm as she reaches full term. I reckon she's really looking forward to getting those babies out of there!	Well, the babies are full term now, and they should each measure around 4cm from nose to rump. They are ready to be born, with powerful front legs to pull themselves around in the nest, and a fully developed diaphragm in preparation for breathing the air outside. Throughout the pregnancy, their lungs have been naturally filled with amniotic fluid, the mildly salty waters they are floating in. They have been practicing breathing while they are inside the uterus, "breathing" in the amniotic fluid, to ready their muscles for the life-bringing exercise of breathing.
Birth	Neena gave birth to 14 beautiful, healthy little pink babies at 5:10am on the 23rd day of her pregnancy. After a long night's vigil, I was very relieved to see her contractions and hear the wavering squeaks of newborn pups! They came out very quickly, it was all over in about an hour and a half. Neena was such a good mum, cleaning the babies, eating the placentas and snuggling the babies under her to keep them warm. She was very tolerant of me peeking in her nest box every 20 minutes, and just went on with her ministrations. She's such a darling, and she really trusts me :-) I handled the babies this morning, and they are all really well, so big and well developed! I had only seen baby mice before, and they are so little and like jelly beans. These babies are so beautiful, I'm such a proud Grandmother! Neena has done a wonderful job indeed. When she is more relaxed I will take the time to take a picture, as it was I only held them long enough to count them before I put them back in their nest. Neena came over to me and put her nose in the middle of my handful of babies, and seemed satisfied that they were fine with me! But I put them back quickly as I didn't want to disturb them all too much. She's such a wonderful mum, she's been feeding them nearly all day, hardly coming out to eat for herself. I've been worrying about her, and giving her mash and banana smoothie off my finger through her little door :-)
Babies!	The breeding diary continues here!