Last modified: Sunday, 29-Jan-2012 00:40:43 GMT
My rats do not always have perfect health throughout their lives. Their main worry is chronic respiratory disease, which seems to affect a few rats from each generation. Thankfully I have not bred down from any of those who subsequently developed this problem, so anticipate that the incidence will fall as time goes on. We have also had some mammary lumps on the females, but again those that I have bred down from have had them late in life (or not at all) and I hope to push this age back to the point where lumps do not occur during their lifetime.
Inbreeding Coefficient: 0.0%
Parents:
Dam Kitty was doing well when I last heard towards the end of 2009, lifespan unknown at this point.
Sire Diggory died aged 31 months.
Kittens:
Sherbourne - HLD at 22 months. Died at 24 months with haemorrhage from ear.
Avon - SDAV at 8 months, died suddenly at 14 months cause unknown.
Cole - respiratory problems from 25 months. Put to sleep at 27 months with severe respiratory disease.
Blythe - Head tilt at 8 months from neck injury. Speyed to stop bleeding at 21 months. Neck tumour removed at 25 months. Put to sleep at 27 months with suspected brain tumour.
Arrow - Mammary lump removed at 25 months old. Put to sleep with internal tumour at 26 months.
Swift - Put to sleep at 18 months with abdominal tumour.
Kindred Spirit - Died aged 11 months from abscess-causing infection.
Poetic Justice - Died aged 14 months from abscess-causing infection.
Smartie - Put to sleep at 25 months with mammary tumour.
Waffle - Head tilt at 3 months. Put to sleep at 20 months due to undiagnosed illness following leg injury.
Arwen - Died suddenly at 19 months, cause unknown.
Galadriel - Put to sleep with a suspected brain tumour at 26 months.
This litter had an average age of 21.32 months, which is extremely disappointing and reflects the number of early deaths. Subsequent litters are already improving greatly on this.
Inbreeding Coefficient: 0.7%
Parents:
Sire Barnaby had a large abscess removed from his abdomen at 19 months old, and was put to sleep at 24 months old with a mass in his abdomen and an infection which appeared to have spread from a facial abscess into his brain.
Dam Blythe is the daughter of Diggory and Kitty. She suffered from a head tilt due to nerve damage caused by a nasty bite to the side of her neck during re-intros to her cage group after her litter. She was put to sleep at 27 months with a suspected brain tumour.
Kittens:
Kitinen - Died at 28 months of no obvious cause.
Aurajoki - Mammary lump removal at 23 months, pts at 28 months with severe uterine bleeding and major weight loss.
Janhijoki - Mammary lump removal at 14 months, head tilt at 21 months, died at 28 months of no obvious cause.
Kalajoki - Mammary lump removal at 16 months. Respiratory infection at 19 months, subsequently chronic. Second lump at 21 months. Put to sleep at 23 months due to respiratory issues - necropsy found abscessed lungs, suspected Corynebacterium kutscheri.
Merikarvianjoki - Wheezy on occasion from 21 months. HLD at 25 months, off his feet at put to sleep at 26 months.
Simojoki - Neutered at 18 months for hormonal aggression. Signs of hld at 24 months.
Tornionjoki - Ageing and losing weight at 21 months. Skeletal at 26 months and put to sleep suffering from respiratory distress.
Kirk - Very bad reaction to sutures at neutering at 18 months. Put to sleep at 21 months with respiratory disease.
Spock - Neck abscess at 16 months. Bad reaction to sutures on neutering at 18 months. Put to sleep at 29 months with HLD, lack of appetite and a nasty ear infection.
Lister - Died at 28 months during an op to investigate a wound.
Scratty - Died at 15 months, unknown cause.
Luigi - Put to sleep with suspected heart failure at 26 months.
Nancy Peanut - Died in Summer of 2010. Cause and date not provided.
Aisla Robertha - Healthy and doing well at 24 months. No recent update, so discounted in calculating litter lifespan.
None of this litter were bred from. The average lifespan was 25.13 months.
Inbreeding Coefficient: 0.0%
Parents:
Sire Sherbourne is the son of Diggory and Kitty. He was a lovely boy who has had no health problems through most of his life, but showed slight signs of hind leg degeneration at 22 months old and died two days before his second birthday.
Dam Grace comes from a line which has good resistance to respiratory infections, but some history of mammary lumps. She was born in June 2008 and had a tiny mammary lump removed at just under 26 months, living to just over three years. Grace is a really special rat who has passed her lovely temperament down to her descendants.
Kittens:
Wandle - Vaginal bleeding - spayed at 19 months. Put to sleep at 25 months with a facial tumour.
Effra - Slight wheeze at 16 months, responded to meds. Put to sleep with respiratory distress at 24 months.
Moselle - Slight wheeze at 16 months, responded to meds. Noisy breathing again at 21 months. Put to sleep at 26.5 months with respiratory distress.
Thames - Coat out of condition at 16 months. Wheezy at 17 months, subsequently chronic. Put to sleep at 21 months as he was struggling to breathe and was exhausted.
Tyburn - Tail kink. Testicular tumour at 20 months, died from complications following operation.
Brent - Slight rattle at 17 months, responded to meds. Put to sleep at 26 months as he couldn't breathe.
Ravensbourne - Put to sleep at 25.5 months after becoming immobile with bleeding from his ear after a week of leg weakness. Suspected undiagnosed ear infection.
This litter all caught an infection at 16 to 17 months. It didn't seem to be serious, and cleared up completely in all of the rats except Thames.
The average lifespan for this litter was 24.23 months. Most of them died/were put to sleep with respiratory problems.
Inbreeding Coefficient: 26.2%
Because there is the possibility of a problem with the Diggory x Kitty litter and all my subsequent litters are descended from it, I've bred down only through Sherbourne. This has the dual effect of reducing the chance of the problem (if there is one) being passed down and also of testing for it.
Parents:
Sire Tyburn died at 20 months after an operation to remove a cancerous testicle, dam Effra was put to sleep at 24 months with respiratory disease.
Kittens:
Amber - No problems until 19.5 months, when she was found to have an inoperable uterine tumour and put to sleep.
Lea - Very slight respiratory noises on occasion. Respiratory problems due to allergy to fabric conditioner at 16.5 months. Put to sleep after severe weight loss at 17.5 months. PM found abscessed lungs, probably due to Corynebacterium Kutscheri.
Moss - Breathing slightly laboured after exercise from 16 months onwards. Losing some weight at 2 years. Suspect that she's managed to partially beat CK.
Derwent - Healthy and doing well.
Trent - Severe head tilt at 2 years. Losing a lot of weight but still lively.
Dante - Slight head tilt from one year onwards. Losing weight but still happy at 2 years.
Tesla - Dominant and bullying some cagemates. Very sadly died during spay to address behavioural problems. Swollen ovary, swollen uterus and pale liver.
Apollo - Noisy breathing most of the time, not serious. Not holding a good weight. Died at 17.5 months from respiratory problems.
Oscar - Respiratory problems at 2 years. Losing weight.
Samson - Inner ear infection at 16 months. Slight head tilt and weight loss. Died from ear haemorrhage at 16.5 months.
The lifespan for this litter is looking fairly poor, with several of them dying at an unacceptably young age.
Inbreeding Coefficient: 26.2%
Wandle and Effra are sisters, so this litter is also checking against passing down any problems from my first litter.
Parents:
Sire Tyburn died at 20 months after an operation to remove a cancerous testicle, and dam Wandle lived to 25 months, when she was put to sleep with a facial tumour.
Kittens:
Amelie - Died at 23 months.
Domino - Died following a failed accidental pregnancy, age unknown.
Juno - Died at 23 months.
Nero - Died at 19 months.
Busby - Rattly on occasion.
Mercury - Noisy breathing sometimes. Died at 17 months from respiratory disease.
Toulouse - Died at 20 months following chronic respiratory problems.
Bede - Died at 22 months with suspected kidney failure.
Lily - Infection at 10 weeks old. Recovered quickly with antibiotics. Died at 23 months.
Tilly - Infection at 10 weeks old. Put to sleep.
Mog - Mammary lump at 23 months.
Mitzy - Died suddenly at 23 months, cause unknown.
Rory - Respiratory infection at 10 months, then intermittent/ongoing, not responding to Baytril. Put to sleep at 18 months with worsening respiratory problems and swollen eye/haemorrhage.
This litter is doing very, very poorly. Only two of the twelve have reached two years old. Thankfully, for the line at least, I haven't bred down from them.
Inbreeding Coefficient: 26.2%
Parents:
Sire Ravensbourne is completely healthy and has never shown any problems, and dam Effra was put to sleep at 24 months with a nasty respiratory infection. They are both from the Sherbourne x Grace litter.
Kittens:
Tamar - Spayed at 18 months following bleeding.
Dart - Healthy and doing well.
Torridge - rattly episode, responded quickly to meds.
Ashburn - Wheezy at 16 months. Chronic rattle from 22 months.
Culvery - Tail kink. Wheezy at 16 months. Chronic wheezing from 20 months.
Otter - Healthy and doing well. Neutered at almost 10 months for hormonal issues.
Stoli - Healthy and doing well.
Betty - Snuffles at 8 months, responded to antibiotics. Neck lump, treatment unsuccessful. Put to sleep at 10 months.
I managed to part with two of the does from this litter, but dithered long enough about which bucks to keep that I got too attached and kept all four.
Inbreeding Coefficient: 26.2%
Parents:
Sire Ravensbourne and dam Lea were both completely healthy and had never shown any problems at the time of mating. Lea developed severe respiratory symptoms at 16.5 months and was put to sleep at 17 months. The PM revealed abscessed lungs consistent with Corynebacterium Kutscheri infection. Ravensbourne is from the Sherbourne x Grace litter, and Lea is his niece from the Tyburn x Effra litter.
Kittens:
Willow - Mammary lump at 10 months, probably triggered by having a litter. Wheezy at 16 months - cleared up quickly with meds.
Harper - Healthy and doing well.
Cherwell - Wheezy at 17 months. Seemed to have cleared, but died unexpectedly overnight with bleeding from mouth and nose. PM revealed abscessed lungs.
Marley - Healthy and doing well
Pickle - Healthy and doing well
Pan - Healthy and doing well
Poseidon - Healthy and doing well
Desire - Healthy and doing well
Delerium - Healthy and doing well
Inbreeding Coefficient: 32.1%
Parents:
Sire Trent and dam Dart are both completely healthy and have never shown any problems. Trent is from the Tyburn x Effra litter, and Dart is his half sister from the Ravensbourne x Effra litter.
Kittens:
Mackenzie - Healthy and doing well.
Logan - Healthy and doing well.
Annan - Healthy and doing well.
Diamantina - Healthy and doing well.
Darkling - no problems.
RBA Essex girl - no problems.
R Silver Essex girl - no problems.
Barney - no problems.
Jonah - no problems.
Mikhil - no problems.
Pipit - no problems.
Ronald - no problems.
Inbreeding Coefficient: 32.1%
Parents:
Sire Derwent and dam Tamar are both completely healthy and have never shown any problems. Derwent is from the Tyburn x Effra litter, and Tamar is his half sister from the Sherbourne x Effra litter.
Kittens:
Fitzroy - Healthy and doing well.
Georgina - Neck abscess at 5 months. No recurrence.
Coral - Healthy and doing well.
Contra - no problems.
Lydia - no problems.
Dorcas - no problems.
Agouti Essex girl - no problems.
Contra - no problems.
Arrow - some wheeziness at 12 months.
Dandelion - no problems.
Hugo - no problems.
Archie - no problems.
Inbreeding Coefficient: 32.1%
Parents:
Sire Derwent is completely healthy. Dam Willow had a mammary lump shortly after her litter, probably triggered by the pregnancy hormones. She also had a wheezy spell at 16 months which cleared up quickly with meds. Derwent is from the Tyburn x Effra litter, and Willow is his cousin from the Ravensbourne x Lea litter.
Kittens:
Shansi - Healthy and doing well.
Cholet - Healthy and doing well.
Quetta - Healthy and doing well.
Alexandria - Healthy and doing well.
Botany - Healthy and doing well.
Atlanta - Healthy and doing well.
Stepney - Healthy and doing well.
Tomsk - Healthy and doing well.
Tobermory - Healthy and doing well.
Twiglet - no problems.
Acorn - no problems.
Truffle - no problems.
Boris - no problems.
Erik - no problems.
George - Respiratory infection at 6 months.
Bungle - Respiratory infection at 6 months.
Zippy - Respiratory infection at 6 months.
Inbreeding Coefficient: 0.0%
Parents:
Sire Ambrose and dam Dart are both completely healthy and have never shown any problems. Shunamite Ambrose is from Shunamite Rats, and Dart unrelated and from the Ravensbourne x Effra litter.
Kittens:
Thessaly - Healthy and doing well.
Heidelberg - Healthy and doing well.
Alderney - Healthy and doing well.
Adelaide - Healthy and doing well.
Wellington - Healthy and doing well.
Bungo - Healthy and doing well.
Orinoco - Healthy and doing well.
Bulgaria - Healthy and doing well.
Although it does seem that I'm making some progress on the lifespan, it's by no means clear cut, with the third litter doing less well than the second and the fourth and fifth not looking promising. I'm finding it hard to back select with the numbers I'm able to keep, so much of the progress if there is any will be due to selecting for the health of the parents and general good husbandry. I'm trying to keep more from each litter with the hope that it will help. We'll see. I really don't know if I'm making a difference at this point.
Ratty Corner is the home of Brandywine Stud, NFRS Registration 2011-04
Last modified: Sunday, 29-Jan-2012 00:40:43 GMT
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