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Post by jessi on Dec 3, 2008 17:39:09 GMT 10
Hi i want to know how to be a registered breeder i have breeding experience and have my own rats nicely set up though it could be better but i've had to move, im currently with a group thye have said that they need to come over and inspect my setups then they can decide what to do, but i've heard i can just go to my local coucil and register with them, i dont know which to do, the breeders in my group arent the most friendly people but those who dont breed are lovely, so some one out there who knows what to do please let me know ? topic1996@yahoo.com or topic1996@hotmail.com Jessi  |
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Post by Kim on Dec 3, 2008 19:57:10 GMT 10
Hi Jessi,
If you want to be a respected registered breeder then you would need to go through an inspection with the rat group.
You can not just go to your local council to become a registered rat breeder.
Who ever told you that is completely wrong, in fact some councils wont even allow rats in their community and some actually have a limit of how many can be kept, such as only 2 to 4.
Can I please ask..
How many years have you owned rats for?
How many litters have you had?
How far do your pedigree's go back?
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Post by inpraiseofrats on Dec 3, 2008 21:00:19 GMT 10
Have you begin breeding yet?
where did you get your parents?
....interested in the outcome
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Post by RatLover on Dec 5, 2008 12:56:00 GMT 10
Jessi,
I know you don't have a lot of breeding experience other than a recent litter you had with a female rescue to took in and bred to your male.
I also know that you had a pregnant rat who was over due to have a litter and you never took her to the vet.
Maybe you should talk to some of those breeders in your group about breeding and how to get into it.
If you are serious about being a registered breeder who is respected in the rat world, then you would go and get some pedigree rats from one of the breeders in your area and start from there, with their help.
Most respectable breeders are more than willing to give advice and help out new breeders.
There are some lovely breeders here, who are really friendly and would be happy to help you learn.
Also remember that its very easy for anyone to say, "yes I have breeding experience and have had rats for X amount of years", but it doesnt make it true.
Breeders who have been around for a while are going to want to know how much experience you have and they will ask you questions to find that out what you know as some information out there is false and misleading so an experienced breeder may be willing to help you out giving you some acurate advice.
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Post by LittlePaws(Cat) on Dec 5, 2008 21:00:21 GMT 10
I was wondering why there hadn't been many responses.
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Post by Kim on Dec 5, 2008 21:20:16 GMT 10
I would like to point out here that what Visitors post are their own views and not that of every member here.
Please dont personally attack a person.
On this forum we ask that personal problems be sorted out via Private Message (PM) but of course visitors dont have that option.
So we ask that visitors please try not to attack other people including other visitors.
Posts will be modified or even deleted if they are too aggressive.
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ceara
Aussie Rat Owner 
Posts: 129
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Post by ceara on Dec 6, 2008 0:50:32 GMT 10
People are entitled to their opinions, but there are positive and negative ways of communicating those opinions. It can be difficult online to remember there's another person at the other end reading things directed at them who could become upset. I also consider it important to remember that in psychological terms, person-based criticism can have some pretty negative effects on people, and may not facilitate learning.
Jessi, I don't know your background or much about you, but I am sure that there is always plenty for people to learn whether they are new to breeding or have been doing it for decades, and wish you all the best with your rats. I've never bred rats, but as an animal breeder in general (I have bred show-quality beagles), I know it's very important to take time to research and plan breeding any animal carefully to ensure it has the best of care. Joining and posting to a rat forum is a great way to get opinions and advice from others and shows that you're keen to get new information and learn, which is really great.
I too would like to become a registered breeder one day, although it won't be for a while. I've got a lot to do before I'm ready to breed!
My intentions are as follows (although not necessarily in this order):
- Ensure I have at least 4 good-sized and high quality cages (happening by January, I've got cage 3/4 on order at the moment)
- Decide on my goals as a breeder. I want to breed for calm and affectionate personality first and foremost, but would also love to work with blazed markings, and eventually BEW colouring when more experienced breeders have had them for enough generations to ensure their lines aren't likely to experience health issues. I would love to work towards siamese markings and dumbo ears, although I know both these things are due to genetic mutations that aren't likely to appear in any of my rats, no matter how carefully I breed!
- Purchase good quality rats from a breeder who has rats with lengthy pedigrees, so that I can ensure that I have a good history of any health issues, and a history of what colours/markings have been present, and so I know what personality traits are common to the bloodline. Although I have two females at present, I do not think that I am very likely to breed from them - I may have one litter, but that's about it.
- Discuss with more experienced rat breeders what I should look for when choosing rats to breed, and make sure that any breeders I purchase from know before I buy that I intend to breed, and are happy for me to do that (some breeders have contracts about what you can do with animals after buying, which is a very good idea!)
- Research rat health problems and make sure I know what to expect, particularly when breeding, and ensure that experienced support is available. Luckily, my mother is a vet nurse and knows how to handle most problems that occur, and we have a vet nearby that I believe handles small animals.
- Plan how many rats you want, and make sure that you know what to do with them when you get them. When I breed, I want to sell about half, and keep about half to continue breeding, but intend to have one litter per year, most likely.
- Join the appropriate body and register. I'm not familiar with the processes yet and many others would certainly know more than me about it. I would think it normal to have to sign a contract to abide by their ethical and breeding standards. They may or may not want to do a site-check but if cages are set up appropriately and every rat is healthy and happy, there is nothing to fear from this. It's an opportunity to demonstrate that you're doing the right thing in my opinion, and a great chance to have a detailed discussion with a fellow rat-fancier - a total win-win!
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Post by Kim on Dec 6, 2008 1:12:32 GMT 10
This forum is setting up a Mentoring program to help those people wanting to get into breeding that don't have a lot of experience in breeding. We are just trying to work out how we can do it as ideally it would be best if mentors could have access to those people they are trying to help, because explaining something in person is sometimes easier than over the internet or on the phone. But to do that we would need experienced breeders close to those members who wanted to get into breeding, which at this stage may not be feasible. We may have to do online mentoring, via email and forum PM's.  |
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rach
Member For Life
Posts: 207
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Post by rach on Dec 9, 2008 6:22:47 GMT 10
Mentoring program to help those people wanting to get into breeding that don't have a lot of experience in breeding. Wow - that's such a good idea! |
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Post by LittlePaws(Cat) on Dec 9, 2008 7:19:06 GMT 10
An excellent idea! I would love to see something like this Kim, just bear in mind though (well the possible mentors) that sometimes the advice is wasted and it just goes with the territory. The mentors will have to be ok with giving of themselves and sometimes getting nothing back.
I am not sure what your website capabilities are ... but a form of voip might be an idea? I currently have skype running whenever I am on the computer. It is free for computer-computer use and you can have conference calls too.
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Post by Kim on Dec 9, 2008 10:04:54 GMT 10
An excellent idea! I would love to see something like this Kim, just bear in mind though (well the possible mentors) that sometimes the advice is wasted and it just goes with the territory. The mentors will have to be ok with giving of themselves and sometimes getting nothing back. That happens now anyway, when people try to give advise its more often than not ignored, it happens a great deal with me when I try to tell people what I have learnt from years of experience. Mentoring is of course only answering questions and giving advice on such things as what a person may get if putting 2 certain rats together, how long to keep the male with the female and so on. Its just helping people to learn, so advice doesnt have to be followed all the time. The mentoring program isnt to force people to do what the mentor says because they have more experience its to help the new breeder learn about breeding and rats more. I am not sure what your website capabilities are ... but a form of voip might be an idea? I currently have skype running whenever I am on the computer. It is free for computer-computer use and you can have conference calls too. Unfortunately not everyone is comfortable talking on the phone or the computer. I know of a number of people who are phone phobic and find it impossible to make calls from any type of phone. I personally hate phones and I especially hate mobile phones and will only use mine for SMS messages. |
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Post by wulfyskingdom on Dec 9, 2008 17:15:44 GMT 10
Unfortunately not everyone is comfortable talking on the phone or the computer. I know of a number of people who are phone phobic and find it impossible to make calls from any type of phone. I personally hate phones and I especially hate mobile phones and will only use mine for SMS messages. I dont have a phone phobia but over the years I've found SMS's or emails easiest for normal day to day things. Especially if there is something with alot of detail, you can re-read it before sending and nothing is missed... And when a mobile has bad reception its super annoying. I dont even use a ring tone on my phone on the train, i set it to vibrate so i know if i have a message lol. That'd be an interesting off topic thread Kim, one on Phobias... |
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Post by jaimi on Dec 15, 2008 18:46:23 GMT 10
I'm new to the forum, but currently have 4 pet rats - 2 male, 2 female, and very interested in learning more about them, and learning more about breeding etc. The mentoring side of things sounds terrific to me.
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Post by Kim on Dec 17, 2008 17:29:17 GMT 10
I'll be making a post up next year about our mentoring program. So keep watching for that. |
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Post by Lilwebby on Jan 26, 2009 12:34:35 GMT 10
I have 15 rats atm...I am super keen to hear about this mentor dealy as Id like to breed... Ive had a chat to a few breeders in sydney when I see them about... any idea when that might go ahead? xx
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