Brandywine Coral x Kropotkin Gabriel

Kropotkin Gabriel (Pearl: a/a m/m Pe/pe) x Brandywine Coral (Cinnamon: A/a D/- m/m Rb/rb) Mated: 7th November 2011 Due: 30th November 2011 Born: 1st December 2011 Coral is being mated to Gabriel as an outcross, to add some more Kropotkin scrumptiousness to my line and with luck give my rats better resistance to respiratory disease. The pair are related through their great grandparents, Kropotkin Ludwig and Kropotkin Fatima. Gabriel initially came to me as a companion for Hector, as I don't want to add pearl into my lines, but he's such a gorgeous, healthy boy and if I mate him to Coral, who is cinnamon, I can select out the pearls for homing out. I was planning these matings for December/January, but seem to have suffered from a slight abscence of patience, plus the thought that they'll be a nice age for getting them socialised and used to different people over the Christmas holidays. Coral is a beautiful doe from one of my January 2011 litters, so will be around 11 months old when she has her litter. She's cousin to Annie and Dee, who I am mating up around the same time. She is cinnamon, carrying self and Russian blue. She's the best choice to mate with Gabriel, as I don't want to introduce pearl to my russian blues, and I'll be able to tell which are pearl in this litter. Gabriel is a little character, licky and loving to hands but with a tendency to attack stockinged feet. He was a year old in November, and is pearl. Expected Varieties: Mating Gabriel and Coral should produce cinnamon, cinnamon pearl, pearl and mink babies in about equal proportions. Actual Varieties: 2 x cinnamon, mink, pearl. Number of Kittens: Four surviving. Litter Family Tree Kropotkin Ennis Cinnamon Pearl + Kropotkin Clannad Mink Kropotkin Fingal Pearl + Kropotkin Leonora Pearl Brandywine Tyburn Black + Brandywine Effra Agouti Brandywine Ravensbourne Agouti Essex + Brandywine Effra Agouti Kropotkin Mozilla Pearl + Kropotkin Octavia Pearl Brandywine Derwent Russian Blue + Brandywine Tamar Agouti Essex Kropotkin Gabriel Pearl + Brandywine Coral Cinnamon Produced using the Ratty Corner Family Tree Generator

Diary

Monday 7th November - mated

Coral was in season this evening and spent the night with Gabriel.

Thursday 17th November - 10 days since mating

Coral has gained about 30 grams since she was mated up, so I'm fairly confident that she's pregnant.

Sunday 27th November - 20 days since mating

Coral is looking beautifully round.

Thursday 1st December - 24 days since mating/0 days old.

The babies are finally turning up. Coral's having them in full view, but I can't see how many are underneath her. There are at least ten, but some of them not moving much and don't look good.

Evening: We have six survivors at the moment. Keeping fingers crossed.

I'm afraid there aren't going to be enough babies for everyone on my waiting list, but I haven't checked sexes properly yet so can't tell anyone for definite. I'll know for certain how many of each sex once they're 10 days old, and then I'll begin contacting people.

Monday 5th December 2011 - 4 days old

We have photos. I think there are three girls and a boy, but I may be wrong. It's happened before!

DOES			BUCKS
Photo	Description		Photo	Description
	Pearl girl			Mink boy
	Cinnamon? girl
	Mink girl

Wednesday 7th December 2011 - 6 days old

They still look like three girls and a boy. Coral is being wonderful and helping to feed the babies again, and her babies look much better now they're not competing as much against twelve bigger babies. There's now a big nest that both mums can fit in at once.

Friday 9th December 2011 - 8 days old

Their colours have suddenly become more obvious. We have a cinnamon boy, mink girl, cinnamon girl and a girl who I think is pearl but could be cinnamon pearl.

Saturday 10th December 2011 - 9 days old

Monday 12th December 2011 - 11 days old

DOES			BUCKS
Photo	Description		Photo	Description
	Pearl girl (going back to her dad's breeder)			Cinnamon boy (Montrose)
	Cinnamon girl (going back to her dad's breeder)
	Mink girl (Marmion)

Thursday 15th December 2011 - 2 weeks old

DOES			BUCKS
Photo	Description		Photo	Description
	Pearl girl			Cinnamon boy (Montrose)
	Cinnamon girl
	Mink girl (Marmion)

Sunday 18th December 2011 - 17 days old

They're growing up very fast.

Thursday 22nd December 2011 - 3 weeks old

DOES			BUCKS
Photo	Description		Photo	Description
	Pearl girl			Cinnamon boy (Montrose)
	Cinnamon girl
	Mink girl (Marmion)

Tuesday 27th December 2011 - 26 days old

Coral no longer seems to be helping with the feeding at all, so Dee is effectively raising all 16 babies.

Thursday 27th December 2011 - Four weeks old

DOES				BUCKS
Photo	Description	Weight		Photo	Description	Weight
	Pearl girl	65g			Monty	67g
	Cinnamon girl	76g
	Marmion	80g

Monday 2nd January 2012 - 4.5 weeks old

I have videoness of the girls. The boys were crowded into a corner of their cage eating an egg, but the girls were all over their cage so we got a good video.

Thursday 5th January 2012 - 5 weeks old

Monty has caught up with the others, but little pearl has dropped further behind.

DOES				BUCKS
Photo	Description	Weight		Photo	Description	Weight
	Pearl girl	100g			Monty	116g
	Cinnamon girl	120g
	Marmion	117g

Sunday 8th January 2012 - 5 1/2 weeks old

I've moved photo day to Sunday as it's hard to get daylight photos during the week.

DOES				BUCKS
Photo	Description	Weight		Photo	Description	Weight
	Pearl girl	106g			Monty	134g
	Cinnamon girl	134g
	Marmion	136g

Thursday 12th January 2012 - 6 weeks old

They're all looking lovely. I particularly like the cinnamon girl, I wish I was keeping her as well as the mink girl. Ah well. I'll weigh and photograph them again on Sunday.

Sunday 15th January 2012 - 6 1/2 weeks old

Pearl girl

Cinnamon girl

Cinnamon and Pearl girls

Marmion

Monty

Monday 23rd January 2012 - 7 1/2 weeks old

The girls and mums have now moved into a double height cage, which they are greatly enjoying. Monty and his cousins have now moved in with his dad Gabriel, his uncle Hector and two other big boys. Intro's went exceptionally well and they all look very happy together. The cinnamon and pearl girls will be going to their new home in two weeks time.