Lots has happened here over the last few months! We welcomed our new human baby, though not in the way we'd planned. We've seen a few big changes with our rattery and rabbitry, and thre are two new species additions to the homestead.
But you're not here for that. You're here to hear about all of the rat babies that have been born here.
Despite medical shenanigans, June and July were probably our busiest months in terms of litters, which brought a few of our projects forwards, while some were pushed backwards.
We had our first Topaz/Fawn litters born in May. Which we kept three does from. This is quite a emotional line for us to work with, as it was our favourite Agouti sisters' last litters before retirement. No more kits will be rehomed from this particular line until mid-late 2023.
The first pairing to yield some progress to our Marten lines came to fruition in June. This is where we also discovered both parents are Fuzz carriers, as we aren't looking to work with Fuzz from this particular line, both parents have retired. All does and one buck from the litter have been retained for future breeding. Right now, our focus will be to cross into our Black Eyed Siamese line to eventually produce homozygous black eyed Marten. It will be exciting to keep you all up to date on this project however, and there may be kits available to purchase from the line in 2023.
Staying on the topic of homozygous black eyed, we had a litter of homozygous black eyed Russian blue point Siamese born in July. Two does have been retained to further the project, but we still have a couple of babies available to new homes.
Some of the babies below at various ages.
One of the girls, going through that typical Siamese moult!
Around the same time, we welcomed our first litter from a new line of Silvermanes. The dam (Powder Blue Silvermane dumbo) is one of our Belgian imports that we brought into the rattery back in April, and the sire (Phineas, a Light Phase Pearl dumbo) is from a rattery in Budapest and is the 8th generation of his particular line. He is also a Harley carrier so is lending himself well to that project. This was a really exciting litter for us as we were keen to see the quality of the Silvermane we were working with and had everything crossed for an all black litter. As luck would have it, all of the black kits turned out to be Silvermane, all of the blue kits are a stunning powder blue with only one being Silvermane.
We decided to hold back both Silvermane does and the Powder Blue Silvermane doe.
The rest of the litter has been rehomed, however we do still have two powder blue bucks available.
We were also blessed with a dwarf litter in July from the lovely Mable (Marten Marble) and Thor (Black Eyed Siamese). A typically small litter of three kits, as is the way with dwarfs. A Black Eyed White dumbo dwarf buck who has stayed with us and will be test bred to help determine exactly what he is genetically, and his two Siamese sisters (one marked and one unmarked). While the two sisters were rehomed, their temperament has apparently been very underwhelming. They will likely be returning to us soon for re-evaluation and we will not be homing out our dwarfs until we either bring in a new line to help stabilise temperaments or until 2024. Whichever comes first.
In August, we had planned to breed a little bit more than usual in order to take a few more rats to our tables at Houten this coming November. However, as it transpired, we decided against it as it simply wouldn't benefit any of our projects at that time. Houten is a show we go to twice a year so there's always next time!
In the nest now, we have three litters. The first is from TEA Edith (3rd generation, Agouti standard) to Phineas. Currently within the litter there is Russian Blue, Russian Blue Agouti, Cinnamon, and Agouti.
Currently, the Cinnamon will be staying here. A while ago we stopped breeding our Minks, Cinnamons and any carriers related to them. Needless to say it was a huge mistake and a big regret and we're hoping to see more of them thanks to this litter. Should all be well, our non keepers will be available to pet homes.
The second is from TEA Lychee (3rd generation, Mink Silvermane Rex) to Phineas. There is looking to be Light Phase Pearl, Dark Phase Pearl, Polar Bear (Pearl Silvermane), and Mink Fuzz. If all is well, some of these kits may be available.
The third is from one of our Harley girls, again, to Phineas. We do know that this doe carries Mink, but while Pearl harley would be lovely, we're just hoping for healthy babies from this litter. None will be available from this line until mid/late 2023.
Current pairings are, finally, "Hefty Jeff" kom Strikon Gonafluf Kru (Russian Blue Velveteen dumbo) to "Black Pearl" kom Strikon Gonafluf Kru (Black Marble dumbo). And Hefty Jeff to one of our Blue Silvermane does. We're hopeful that these pairings will yield some Black and Russian Blue Marble, and hopefully Russian Platinum and Russian Blue Silvermane. It will also be a huge help to our velveteens, whose gene priority has been sorely neglected recently.
The next availability email will go out on the 7th of October, where those of you subscribed will be able to register your interest in the available babies.
Should you wish to register any interest in the current and upcoming litters, please refer yourself to our REHOMING INFORMATION page.