Why are you breeding?
before even thinking about breeding rats you need to think about this question, breeding rats will not make any money and take up a lot of time. also you could end up with up to 20 kits and its not just a matter of putting an advert in the newspaper and waiting for people to call. What would you do if the doe dies whilst giving birth, do you have the time to hand raise 20 kits?
What to do next...
The first thing you need is a suitable buck and doe. The parents need to have a good tempermant and be free of and diseases or health problems. The male should be at least 6-8 months old, weigh 600-750g and have a muscular, almost brick like shape. The females need to be older than 4 months but younger than 8 months, ideally being 5-6- months with a long, racy body weighing 300g. If in any doubt don't be afraid to ask for a second opinion from breeders, judges and rats.
When it comes to the actual mating the female will come into season once every 5-6 days, when she is in season she will arch her back and wiggle her ears when you touch her back. There are two options for mating you could:
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put the male in with the female for a week
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watch the female and 'add' the male when the females in season
during the mating watch out for any signs of distress from the female and if she is too stressed or injured/bleeding remove her immediatley! At the end of a successful mating the female will have a whitish plug in her urethra.
pregnancy and birth
The gestation period of a rat is 21-24 days and there are often complications if the pregnancy lasts more than 25 days. the doe should gain 30-60g each week and 100-150g in total however you shouldn't increase the amount she eats - she'll just get fat! In the days before the birth the doe should make a nest sometimes draging everything onto the nest. you may choose to provide the nest by using an igloo bed.
the birth should last no more than a few hours and some watery blood is to be expected, keep an eye out for any distress (such as a stuck or dead kit) if there is any distress try massaging the does stomach but if she does get to weak a caesarean may be needed.
care of the kittens
after the birth supplement the mother diet with easy foods such as pouched puppy or kitten food, eggs chicken fish and tepid water with sugar and honey. when the kittens are 'pinkies' you should be able to see their stomach - a white blob - aslong as they are full. the kittens grow up fast: their markings appear in 2-3 days they weigh 5-6 gra,s and their markings appear and by 14 days their eyes open and weigh 30 -35 grams. once the kittens open their eyes start to wean them using the easy diet. I weaned mine on porridge, puppy food and rat food soaked in water or milk,
remove the males at 4-5 weeks old and the rats should be fully weaned at this time although you should continue the high protein diet until 7-8 weeks
