A N N O U N C E M E N T
We, at Imagine Rattery, believe in full disclosure. We have constant open channels of communication with the breeders we work with as well as our adopters.
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide one on one feedback to a select few breeders, so we have decided to make this particular announcement public.
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We received 2x breeding pairs of rats from a well-established breeder in 2018/2019. These rats were to be used to start our very own Chocolate line.
1 buck was chosen to be the founding buck of the line, he was chosen based on conformation, temperament (at the time), and his linage. The buck was monitored and only bred twice (3 weeks apart) after 6 months of age.
Following the second pairing, the buck began displaying severe hormonal aggression. He was subsequently humanely euthanized and the babies of the line were carefully monitored.
Babies from the first pairing are now approx 9 months old and have not any signs of HA. Unfortunately, 2 bucks (that were sent to 2 of our sister rattieris) from the second pairing have shown signs of HA and have been euthanized.
Please note that NONE of these bucks were sent to pet homes. 2 bucks and 2 does from the second pairing were kept and sent to sister ratteries. We did not adopt out ANY babies to pet homes as we knew that it would be irresponsible to do so, especially when working with a new line.
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So what does this mean for this line?
It's simple. The line will be discontinued immediately. It is the ETHICAL and RESPONSIBILE thing to do as breeders. Only one rattery ever bred the rats (before HA became apparent in the bucks). We are working closely with this rattery and providing all the necessary support. We have advised that they humanely euthanize all the bucks from their current litters.
We will be watching our current bucks very closely and NO bucks sharing this common ancestor will be adopted out to pet homes for the next few generations. Not until we can be sure that we have bred away from the HA.
Adopters who have a buck from this common ancestor will be notified. They will are welcome to return the rats to me should they experience any issues or if they do not wish to keep the rats anymore.
If you are not contacted it means that you do not have a rat that shares a common ancestor. But you are still welcome to message us with any questions or concerns you might have. _____________________________________________
This is why we made the announcement in 2019 that we would not be adopting out to the public until we were confident in the babies we produce.
OVER SOCIALIZING AND MASKING TEMPERAMENT is how these problems arise.
This is not the first time us, or our sister ratteries, have experienced issues with rats originating from these lines. It just means we have a lot more work cut out for us.
OPEN AND HONEST COMMUNICATION is how we can resolve these issues. Unfortunately the original breeders of these lines have left me with no way of contacting them, and emails sent in the past go un-answered.
*If the breeders are reading this. Then I beg of you to please contact me via email so that we can update you on these issues. This is not an attack. We are just trying to notify you on what's happening with these lines. imagine.rattery@gmail.com
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We are working on 6 lines and only 1 has been affected by these issues, so there is no reason to panic if you are on the list to receive one of our current rittens.
We will never send out rats that we are not confident in. We strive to produce healthy, well-tempered rats ❤️ and will continue to do so as this is what ETHICAL BREEDERS DO.
Thank you ✨
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Picture credit:
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Originally written by Imagine Rattery on 27 March 2020
https://www.facebook.com/imagineratterysa/photos/a.182950725728534/508429879847282/?type=3&__tn__=-R