Mentorship In Breeding

Mentorship in breeding

If you are considering breeding your rats there are many different aspects to getting started. What varieties will you breed? Where will your foundation rats come from? How will you go about selecting homes for their kittens? Will you rehome your retired breeding rats?

During the learning and research phase you will probably find you want to talk to other rat keepers, and breeders, to get advice, share ideas, and perhaps get potential breeding rats. Part of this process can involve finding a mentor.

What is a mentor?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a mentor as “an experienced and trusted adviser”.

In the rat breeding world the idea of formal mentorship is a relatively new one, although all established breeders will tell you they have always shared ideas and helped each other out. Whether you decide to enter a formal mentorship agreement depends on your level of experience, and your personal expectations from this relationship.

Working with one mentor

At the greatest extent mentorship involves working one-on-one with an established breeder, usually someone who has a registered NFRS stud name, who will guide you through every step of the breeding process. This can involve the loan of breeding rats, and hands-on help with every stage from mating, birth, rearing and homing kittens. If you have only been keeping rats for a short time this offers you the greatest level of support, and as you are working within the established breeder’s ethics it relieves you of any difficult decisions at this point. It also can remove the need to wait for rats to grow up before you can breed, as your mentor may have rats the right age about to be mated up, and may offer you the opportunity to raise this litter.

The disadvantages to this are that you may not really be fully involved in the process – the rats are chosen for you, and you will not have had the learning experience of selecting them as kittens, seeing them grow up, and making your breeding choices from the options available. A good mentor will talk you through all of these steps, and ensure you are happy with the decisions that have been taken, and the reasons behind them. By using your mentor’s waiting list and expertise you are not left struggling to home kittens and you will be building your own reputation for next time around.

Working without a mentor

Many people opt for a less formal arrangement, involving a support network of several breeders. For example, the breeder closest to you may offer practical help with birthing or kitten-rearing issues, but may not be an expert on the varieties you have chosen, so you may need to work with someone living further away to help you chose your parent rats. You may also find that your personal beliefs differ from those people you have chosen to work with. If you have been involved in the rat world for several years and are confident in your own ethics you may feel more comfortable stepping out on your own, to sink or swim on your own merits.

Whichever route you choose to begin your breeding you should still keep lines of communication open with other breeders you are not working closely with, via forums, or by chatting at shows. Even if your gut instinct is that you do not agree with another breeder’s point of view on a particular issue it is worth striking up a conversation about why they work the way they do, as remember they have probably had years of experience to reach the position they are at now.