Yay

[Annbritt]

I think my Indis is pregnant Oh, I'm so happy! Or... well.. she isn't really mine, I've just borrowed her for a mating. She is from one of my previous litters though.
She has gained 50 grams of weight since I put her with Diego. Some of it could be fat though, but I hope it's because of babies It's been so long since I last had a litter, so I'm really looking forward to it

Indis and Diego are closely related, it is the first time I've done such close inbreeding, as inbreeding is looked down upon in Denmark.

Here's the pedigree http://www.catsrotter.dk/stamtavle1.htm

But I hope to get more of the lovely temper, that both Dalai Lama, Ulutiu and Loki had. Diego reminds me so much about Loki, that it almost hurts to think about, he is such a sweetheart.
Indis is just hyper active all the time, I don't know who she reminds me of :lol:

This is Indis:

And Diego as a young rat, he now looks more like doublerex :lol:

I will remember to post baby pictures, if she is pregnant

 

[jorats]

CongRATS!!

They both are lovely rats.
Is Diego looking like a double rex because he's such an old rat now?

 

[Annbritt]

He is only 1½ year old, but he has lost a lot of fur on the back. His grandfather did the same thing, when he came of age.

 

[mamarat]

Oh they will make beautiful babies.

 

[jorats]

Oh I see, so just his type of rex.

 

[Annbritt]

Yes, just his type of rex. Not a very good rex, but since we don't have shows in Denmark, it doesn't matter much what the rex looks like

 

[ratamataz]

:congrats:

 

[Lise]

Not a very good rex, but since we don't have shows in Denmark, it doesn't matter much what the rex looks like

Shouldn't you be breeding for the best, anyway? Whether or not you have shows is irrelevant.

They are both beautiful and I wish you luck with the breeding... but that comment rubbed me the wrong way.

 

[Annbritt]

The look of the rat isn't my first priority. Diego is an amazing rat, and I would hate to not see him become a father, even though he is a bad rex.

 

[jorats]

I've got a couple of rats that are considered a bad rex... but I sure do love them all the same.

If you are breeding for health first and foremost, then looks is secondary.
But I know what you mean Lise, it just seemed weird coming from a breeder. lol

 

[Lise]

I love all of my rats no matter what color they are, or how their fur is -- that's for sure. But that didn't stop me from being disappointed when my american blue rat I got from a breeder ended up having "rusting" and has a brown bum. (Which is a show fault.) I expected the rusting my pet store rats had...

By the same token I imagine I would be very disappointed if my rex rat from a breeder started balding. Especially if the breeder knew it was possible and didn't let me know about it....

I guess what I am saying is that health and temperment should come first, absolutely, but there is also an expectation of looks and type from a breeder and it should be relayed to the adopters if there may be a fault in the coat the same as if there was a potential health problem to avoid surprise/disappointment in the future.

And the long term goals regardless should be for improvement in any weak area.

 

[jorats]

I didn't know that rusting was a characteristic of less than desirable breeding.
I had a rat that did that... supposedly had very long lines, stemming from Ottawa. But her rusting was not the worst of it, I'm afraid. She had very bad lungs.

 

[Annbritt]

It's very normal for rex rats in Denmark to get a bit bald as they grow older, so people are aware, that it can happen. We don't see it as an important thing, because health and temper comes first, and there's still a lot there to work with, before we start concentrating on the coat.
Also, I mainly have reservations for pet rats from this litter, not from other breeders, so they are only going to pet homes, who don't care whether the rex gets a bit bald, when it comes of age.
You must understand, that rat breeding in Denmark is still very new, and we don't have the best materiale to work with, and it's not everyone who can afford to import rats from other countries.