05/08/07

My Aims

1. To produce healthy rats with great temperaments, that make fantastic pets first and foremost.

-         I will achieve this by only selecting rats to breed from with no known health problems themselves and minimum known health problems in their lines, which have great temperaments.

-         I will maintain this by closely monitoring the health & temperament of all rats that I breed (and subsequently any rats bred from them by myself or others), by maintaining the highest standards of rat husbandry, and by handling all my babies daily from day 1 to ensure they are well socialised and friendly. I will not cull from my litters or retired breeding adults.

-         I will maintain the highest standards of husbandry.

2. To promote responsible breeding, well bred rats, responsible rat keeping and aid rat rescue work

-         Through information placed on my website and by acting as an example

-         Through my work as education officer for RAWA

-         When possible by taking in rescue rats needing homes either to be my own pets, or to foster and find forever homes for them. This will be very small scale, but every little helps, if I am in a position to do so.

-         I will maintain responsibility for all rats bred by me throughout their lives, if at any point for any reason they need to be rehomed from the homes I place them in, I will take them back, no rats bred by me will end up in rescue.

3. To improve the russian dove variety (and eventually seek recognition of the russian dove agouti (‘russian cinnamon’) variety by the NFRS).

-         I will achieve this by selecting rats to breed with the aim of improving type in each litter

-         I will maintain this by entering my rats in shows to receive independent critique on the rats that I breed or am considering breeding from.

My Breeding Ethics

• To only breed from tame, well-tempered animals in good health, with known backgrounds in relation to the pedigree and health of their lines.
• I will not cull litters or retired breeding adults.
• When choosing rats to breed from
  • Good health of individual & line (as much knowledge as possible with regard to health & longevity)
  • Excellent temperament (in the eye of the beholder!)
  • Choose pairs to complement each other with respect to type & any faults
• To plan to have a good number of suitable homes on a waiting list before carrying out matings
• To care for the mums and litters to the highest standards to ensure their wellbeing at all times, including (but not limited to) providing good nutrition, safe housing, litter & bedding, company of other compatible rats, exercise & stimulation, human handling.
• To keep & maintain detailed records with regards to the health, breeding and showing of all animals I own or breed.
  • To follow up all animals I breed at 3 months, 6 months and then 6 monthly intervals, contacting owners about any health problems and how the rats are doing in general. I will also encourage owners to keep in touch and send lots of photos as often as possible!
  • If rats bred by me are to be used by other breeders, this must be negotiated with me, and I would expect other breeders to have similar ethics to me.
• To place my kittens in vetted, caring homes with a responsible adult, ensuring that their new owners have adequate knowledge to be able to care for them correctly.
• To sell kittens to new owners under contract, specifying standards of care, whether the animal is suitable for breeding or not, and that the animal must be returned to me if it can no longer be kept, to ensure the kittens’ continued wellbeing.
• To remain available to all my kittens’ owners for the duration of the kittens’ lives, for any help or advice they may need regarding the kittens’ care, wellbeing or health problems.
• To take back any kittens that the new owners are no longer able to keep, due to change in their personal circumstances etc, and either seek to rehome them in a vetted, caring home or to care for them myself for the rest of their lives.