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How it All Began:
Well, it's an odd story- but a nice one. I had fancy
mice at the time, back in 2002, and needed a 30 gallon tank to provide them with some more room. A close friend of mine had
one, but there was a catch. It came with 3 rats, a mother and 2 pups. The mom and one daughter were platinum patchwork
hairless dumbos and the other daughter was a platinum patchwork hairless standard. I first kept telling myself
"Ok, I'll home them temporarily, but as anyone that has ever owned rats knows, they can really pull your heart strings!
These 3 gorgeous girls spent the summer with me playing in the grass, and I had really gotten attached to them. Unfortunately,
mom died of old age, we never knew how old she was, and her 2 daughters became missing. I will never know just how,
only that when I had gone into feed and water, the top was dislodged and they were no where to be found. We will
never forget this amazing trio of girls, and how they got us into this long interesting journey into a whole new world.
Why We Breed:
We believe in producing
a healthier, more social, gorgeous rat. Our main goals are health and temperament. We then strive for personality and longevity.
Lastly, we shoot for color, variety and markings. We have NEVER had any cases of mega colon that we are aware of in our lines
this far since we began breeding in 2002. In the hundreds of rats we've produced over the years, we've had a mere 3 cases
of mammary tumors- 2 of which were in old adults; in all 3 cases all breeding from those lines ceased. We do not believe
in breeding a rat that has, or has ever had respiratory conditions. We strive to breed rats with strong immune systems
that tend to be resistant to mycoplasmosis. All of our rats are non biters, maintain wonderful health and have stable
temperaments.
What We Feed:
We feed ProLab Lab Diet 5P00 RMH 3000 lab blocks constantly, and add in fresh
vegetables (carrots, romaine lettuce, etc), fruits (apples, tomatoes, etc), grains (wheat bread, oats, etc), pastas (spaghetti,
macaroni, etc), proteins (beef, cat chow, etc), or dairy products (yogurt, cheese, etc) on a nightly basis. Babies are supplemented
with Enfamil soy milk and baby rice cereal.
The Housing Situation:
We house our rats on an all natural pellet
type bedding, made solely from hardwood consisting of neither cedar nor pine. We also use aspen shavings and bedding, recycled
paper pellet bedding, as well as Carefresh Ultra for our moms with babies.
All of our female rats are housed in
a giant powder-coated rat condo. Our male rats are housed in power coated white cages with wire bottoms and pull out
trays. We never have any feet problems or cases of bumblefeet for many reasons. We keep our cages clean, so rats are not treading
on urine soaked wire. Also- we have many other surfaces our rats can play on such as plastic igloos, wooden toys, soft hammocks,
etc.
For our maternity set-ups, we typically use
a 10 gallon tank now with Carefresh Ultra bedding- which allows us to monitor blood loss closely as it is white. It is also
very very cushy, comfy and warm- perfect for fragile newborns and mom. We also provide fluffy nesting pads that mom can shred
and build a nest with. As the babies grow and begin to wander- they really appreciate their tunnels, toys, and chews to play/gnaw
on. We now have tank toppers that we can add onto our maternity tanks which double the size of the cage and are equipped with
3 ramps and 3 levels- to allow for plenty of space, exercise and fun! Our babies will leave our residence at 5 weeks of age
as a general rule- if we have a small/weak litter, we may decide to keep them longer. We now refuse to sell to anyone
that requests a baby under 5 weeks of age.
Playtime:
Our ratties get time outside of their cages on a regular basis to
play and develop motor skills. We typically let them run around in the bathroom so they can mingle with one another. I like
to take one rat out at a time for one on one time, like sitting watching TV, puttering around the house, or on the computer.
Record Keeping:
We believe that there is no use in spending much effort, money and
time in quality rat breeding unless you are willing to spend that much effort, money and time in quality rattery record keeping!
Our rattery records are kept in an acordian file. Each rat has their very own folder. In each rats folder contains their own
pedigree, health record, and breeding history. We carefully keep track of every baby that leaves the rattery, and make notes
as to any health/temperament problems in their mom's breeding history. This is very important in bettering our lines, and
monitoring any problems. Any injuries/illnesses/vet visits are logged into our rat's health records. Records are kept
on sold/deceased rats that were used in our breeding program.
Rat Healthcare:
All of
our rats are treated monthly with Revolution for flea/lice prevention. A copy of Rat Healthcare* is always kept on hand as
it provides valuable information for at home treatments of many illnesses, injuries, etc.
We have excellent rat veterinarians; Dr. Katie Carter
of River Road Veterinary Hospital and Dr. Benson of Broadway Veterinary Clinic. Effective 2005, every litter born here will
get a routine visit to verify good health and will be accompanied by signed health records.
The Owner
Darling Road Rattery is owned by a single person, Betty. Sometimes
I refer to the Rattery by saying "us" or "we" only because I never like to take all of the credit. This way, I'm giving credit
where credit is due- to the rats.
Ever since I was a small child, I expressed a great facination
with animals- many different species. Throughout my school years, the majority of my projects, reports or essays revolved
around animals. I was highly interested in Science and English (reading, writing and poetry). I finally graduated high
school 2 years early with a 4.0 GPA.
My first job started at age 14. I began 2 months after I could legally
work in the state of Maine, being so young. I obtained my worker's permit, and off I went. I worked at a veterinary hospital
in the Corinth area for 3.5 years, as a kennel assistant/A.H.A. Later, I worked at Howard Healthcare, as a transcriptionist.
Currently, I am a receptionist at a veterinary hospital in the Bangor area.
I enjoy summer activities such as fishing, walking, camping,
sunbathing and shopping. I have a passion for mixed martial arts competitions, and am an avid UFC fan (Go Liddell and Silvia!)
In addition to my love for my rats, I also have a beautiful Boxer son (Dozer), a gorgeous Boxer daugher (Maggie) as
well as my precious infant (a 5 year old bobtail cat named Ukulele), a black longhaired kitty son (Cubby),
a black Persian daughter (Tsunami), and a white Persian son (Crisco). I also have 3 red-earred slider turtles (Crush,
Hercules, and Frodo) Oh yes, and 2 young guppies that I raised from birth and snails!! :o) I love all of my pets dearly
and would be lost without them. Yes, even the snails :o)
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"Yo ho ho, I'm a sailor in....a carriage?"
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DRR Pucker Posing
This is DRR Pucker, our black bareback stud. He was our main buck and
added nothing but greatness to our rattery. Here he is sitting in a little crib wearing his favorite hat. He is greatly missed
and will be remembered always.
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