The Timescale

My original plan was to produce a pair of litters every six months or so, mating a doe of around 11 months to an older or similar aged buck. This has gone up in the air a little for 2010, as I am beginning a second line and narrowing the focus of my previous plans.

I continue to prefer to let my does reach an older age before breeding. There are a lot of differing ideas about the ideal age to mate rats. It makes sense to me to wait until bucks are getting on for a year at the least, as any hormone related temperament issues have probably surfaced by this age. The best age for does is more open to debate. The myth that pelvic fusion occurs after a certain age has been debunked, different people give differing minimum weights for breeding does. I've read some interesting articles lately suggesting that by breeding does young we are selecting for early infertility, which is possibly linked to earlier aging.