Dalmatian Downunder Line
We have had the Downunder gene off and on since 2010 and have added Dalmatian to the line in 2017. Downunder is a Dominant Spotting gene that adds spotting to the belly. The mutation was discovered in Australia in 1998 by Cindy Cairns at The Rodent Ranch and imported to the United states in 2002 by Connie Perez of Rat Genesis. My current line was imported from a European breeder by Bobbi Jo Zammit of Rambling Rats in Ontario, Canada in 2014. I have worked with various branches of my current DUs for a couple of years now and am happy with them. Dalmatian is also a Dominant Spotting gene which causes unique spotting patterns and silvering of the color. Dal can sometimes be found lurking in feeder/pet store lines here in the U.S. and I believe this particular line began as a feeder line in California. For more information on Downunders please follow these links:
http://web.archive.org/web/20050306080932/http://therodentranch.net/page6.html
http://dreammtnfarm.com/rattery/Aussieinfo.htm
The combination of these Dominant Spotting genes is very pretty and the genes are equally lovely on their own so I cannot lose with these litters. They complement each other quite well and are so much fun to work with.
Health so far has been very good. I see few respirstory symptoms and have only seen one mammary tumor in a DU doe to date. No other health conditions such as Congestive Heart Failure, Zymbols Tumors, even Abscesses have been noted as of yet. They seem to be robust until elderly.
Temperamemt in the DU side of the line is good so far. I don't see rat or human aggression in either line, but the Dal side tends to be flighty and not enjoy handling if they aren't handled a great deal from birth. I'm working hard on that because I like my rats to be genetically easy to handle and ridiculously people friendly. Both lines can use improvement there, but that's true of most lines and every breeder has different preferences for dispositions. Just have to make them my own.
Overall I am happy with this line and I am so very excited about it's future! My hope is to breed in Dwarf soon. Tiny speckled rattos.
http://web.archive.org/web/20050306080932/http://therodentranch.net/page6.html
http://dreammtnfarm.com/rattery/Aussieinfo.htm
The combination of these Dominant Spotting genes is very pretty and the genes are equally lovely on their own so I cannot lose with these litters. They complement each other quite well and are so much fun to work with.
Health so far has been very good. I see few respirstory symptoms and have only seen one mammary tumor in a DU doe to date. No other health conditions such as Congestive Heart Failure, Zymbols Tumors, even Abscesses have been noted as of yet. They seem to be robust until elderly.
Temperamemt in the DU side of the line is good so far. I don't see rat or human aggression in either line, but the Dal side tends to be flighty and not enjoy handling if they aren't handled a great deal from birth. I'm working hard on that because I like my rats to be genetically easy to handle and ridiculously people friendly. Both lines can use improvement there, but that's true of most lines and every breeder has different preferences for dispositions. Just have to make them my own.
Overall I am happy with this line and I am so very excited about it's future! My hope is to breed in Dwarf soon. Tiny speckled rattos.
Essex Line
Essex, formerly known as Robert's, was discovered by Sheila Sowter in an English pet store in 1996. It is a fading gene that gradually leeches the coat of color over time. Essex rats are born with head spots or blazes and Berkshire-like belly markings without the presence of other markings. With Capped they are called Baldies and with Variegated-like markings some of the prettiest patterns emerge. Usually they are lighter in color than their siblings from the time coats come in and their color changes as they age. I find that the more markings they have the lighter they get and I hear the rate and degree of fading is completely random. While it has been said to cause Megacolon when paired with some other marking genes, on it's own it is safe and can be safely combined with H Locus genes (Self, Irish, Berkshire, Variegated, Capped, etc.). The line I have was imported from Nikki at Rattery CreepyCritters in the Netherlands by Bobbi Jo Zammit of Rambling Rats in Ontario, Canada back in 2014 and it has been outcrossed several times since then. I have crossed them onto my Silvermanes in order to improve health in the SMs in my rattery as well as Dwarf.
Health in this line is good. These rats are robust, huge in size, and are good milkers and mothers. I see very few health problems in young rats and older rats are typical for well bred lines. No tumors yet which is always gratifying.
Temperament is good with people though as yet inconsistent with rats. I have had one doe that was flighty with me and ended up violently aggressive toward other rats for no obvious reason. Her siblings were all fine and I have not seen the issue again since, but it certainly has made me cautious. In the end her breeder and I decided it was the likely dam's line and we both ended that particular line. Otherwise I have had no trouble from them.
Health in this line is good. These rats are robust, huge in size, and are good milkers and mothers. I see very few health problems in young rats and older rats are typical for well bred lines. No tumors yet which is always gratifying.
Temperament is good with people though as yet inconsistent with rats. I have had one doe that was flighty with me and ended up violently aggressive toward other rats for no obvious reason. Her siblings were all fine and I have not seen the issue again since, but it certainly has made me cautious. In the end her breeder and I decided it was the likely dam's line and we both ended that particular line. Otherwise I have had no trouble from them.
We have both RED and PED blah
Fawn Line
Merle Line
My Merle line came to me in 2016 from Dayna Holmes of Saffire Rats in Michigan. I adore this line for it's wonderful temperament and gorgeous colors and splotches. Health and temperament are good and I expect them to only get better. My only real concern with them is size. They do tend to run small compared to some of my other lines, but that is far from the end of the world.
I do have Merle in my Velveteen line (AKA Bama Line) and have been working with the gene constantly since 2010, but strictly for Merle I prefer this line from Dayna.
I do have Merle in my Velveteen line (AKA Bama Line) and have been working with the gene constantly since 2010, but strictly for Merle I prefer this line from Dayna.