MinkaBlue Rattery

Our rattery first became an official thing on the 27th of August 2016.
I decided I wanted an official name and to do things properly as oppose to just breeding.
A name would also allow us to get on Facebook and start advertising much easier.
Originally we were known as Curious Rats, and later when we decided on our goals, we picked MinkaBlue Rattery as a name to represent us. As Blue and Mink are our majority focus.

As I have been told it isn't as standard as one from the outside may think, I must say, our main goals are to improve the quality of pet rats. As such, we generally pick 1 or 2 with the desired genes from a litter, and then 1 or 2 that show great health or a desired temperament in the litter and then all of them contribute to improving the line.
Of course if any picked for their genes show horrible signs in either health or temperament they are not included in breeding, and occasionally we find one that has the best health temperament and genes, and we are lucky.

Girls here generally have 2 to 3 litters with the third depending on how well they recover from the first two. and fertility at that time, which is generally 12 months. Unless complications arise in the first litter. Then they are retired and can live out their lives happily here, or if someone wishes to adopt an older rat. Males are retired when they cannot fertilize females or when their genes are no longer needed for improvement, and they too spend the rest of their lives here unless someone specifically is looking for an older rat. Though, we often get attached and cannot let them go when they are retired anyway, so most aren't even considered for that.

Rats are not bred while they are sick. Many girls go through respiratory infections, and we breed to avoid that. But, most still do. They are not bred until they are 100% clear though, as to not pass it on to babies in their early lives.
They are all our pets first, and breeders second. Their care comes before babies, and that will never change, even if we progress into large scale one day. Males are also cleared of health so they do not pass anything onto the female right before pregnancy.
This ensures no harmful infections can pass to babies early life, and they have the best start to being healthy.

Older rats that develop infections later than cage mates or not at all and recover quicker are regarded as more healthy rats and are chosen to contribute to health. Of course, we can't and certainly do not want to infect babies to test their health, so they are chosen based on size and growth compared to siblings. Usually, the biggest is the healthiest.