How long between litters?

[Bati]

Have a mum with two giant babies, would like to make another litter with her - how soon could I do that? She doesn't look like a mum, she's completely fine and the weight is back to normal (and a little over )

 

[lilspaz68]

I know of a minimum of 3 months between but most breeders wait longer than that. they also only breed a particular female 2-3 times only in her lifetime.

 

[jorats]

Pregnancy is very hard on a female, any female. I'd definitely give her a good 3 months.
How old is she and how many litters so far?

 

[Annbritt]

I'll answer for Bati, as it is me who has requested her to make this next litter.
She has only had 1 litter so far, and only with 2 babies. The babies haven't been hard on her at all.
The problem is, the male is starting to get old, so we, or I, was hoping we could give her a smaller break, since she only had a litter of 2.

 

[jorats]

How old is the male and has he produced any litters before?

 

[Annbritt]

Yes, he is the father of the 2 babies. I can't remember the exact age, but Bati probably can. I think he is over 2 years old.

 

[jorats]

They say a male that has fathered a litter will be able to reproduce for a good long time. If he's in perfect health, I think waiting a couple of months should be ok.

Personally, I would be concerned with the fact that mom gave birth to only two babies. That is not a normal litter size for a rat and this would be raising a red flag. How old is mom?

 

[Annbritt]

That must be for Bati to answer. I don't know the age of the mother.

I have a male, who is 2 years and 4 months old, and eventhough he has been the father of a litter before, he isn't able to make any girls pregnant anymore, though he is still healthy and fit.

 

[jorats]

Ah, ok, I was going on the information of another "so called" breeder.
I guess it's not true for all males then.

 

[Lise]

I am not a breeder but I know of a few litters sired by very healthy bucks at almost 3 years of age.

 

[Annbritt]

Yes, I know it has happened. But they can also go sterile when they become of age.

 

[jorats]

I am not a breeder but I know of a few litters sired by very healthy bucks at almost 3 years of age.

Same here, I know of a couple that were able to produce at that age.

 

[TEKrats]

The absolute minimum amount of time I will give my does in between litters is 3 months from the time of weening. I don't think there should be any "corner cutting" on this kind of thing as rats lifespans are short as it is. Having pups is a huge strain on a doe (even if we can't see it outwardly) and they need the time to rest and recoup. Also I wouldn't breed a female more than twice. Again, think about lifespan and the fact that breeding really shouldn't happen until a female is mature (6 months minimum)...

 

[Bati]

Thank you for your advice, me being stupid, I think it's ok to make the next litter as soon as the two babies are weened, as nothing is showing on mum. I'm in a hurry because I have so many nice boys close to 2 years having visits from ladies and NOTHING is happening with them so I'm afraid the same will happen to this boy. Both only have these two babies

Why and how should I worry about only two babies? -it makes me feel idiot, because I keep thinking two is a perfect number, I have time to play with both very intesively and they are getting so nicely big.

 

[lilspaz68]

Its a very tiny litter and probably an indicator of a problem. She might have reasorbed the other embyro's, etc.

An average rescue oops litter is 8-13, even for these possibly genetic timebombs, 2 is considered tiny and there must've been issues, or the mom is really young or much older.

How old is the mother?

 

[Bati]

She is supposed to be 7 months old (the Danish 'rules' say first litter mum has to be 6-10 months old), and I got her when she was 3 months old, and believe the age is accurat.

I know litters are sometimes really big, but have seen rather many at around 4-6 babies and never thought something was wrong (so thank you for pointing it out)

 

[lilspaz68]

She is supposed to be 7 months old (the Danish 'rules' say first litter mum has to be 6-10 months old), and I got her when she was 3 months old, and believe the age is accurat.

I know litters are sometimes really big, but have seen rather many at around 4-6 babies and never thought something was wrong (so thank you for pointing it out)

4-6 isn't bad either, TEK himself prefers smaller litters, but for an animal that is quite capable of having 16, 2 is :shock:

Thats a good age for a first litter. I don't personally believe in 3-4 month old babies (no matter what the lines) having babies themselves.

 

[jorats]

Same here... I totally don't support breeding babies. Under 5 months is so not right. 6 months would be ideal.

 

[TEKrats]

Balti,
Litters with smaller amounts pups happen - however I usually find it is when an older doe is bred (recently I had a litter of 3, but the doe was a year old). Some lines are prone to *smaller* litters , say 6-8 pups (which I prefer!), however if you see a line where young rats are repeatedly giving birth to 1-3 pups, I would question that there is something suspicious going on during gestation.

 

[Annbritt]

So by making another litter, and see if she gets a small litter again, we could find out something about her maybe being from a line of giving small litters?
Though I think older boys tend to make smaller litters too, in my experience.