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Jordan700 · Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 1:20 am Post subject: Breeding age

What’s the most common age that a rat starts going down hill? Or does it just depend on the rat? And I know that with cows (and humans) that after time a males sperm count also falls with age.....so should I dump older male rats also?

deborahbroadus · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 10:05 am Post subject:

From my experience as long as they are climbing the females they are earning their keep. But this is something to find out about. I will research and get back to you. Laughing

deborahbroadus · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 11:20 am Post subject:

I found this link. May help, can't hurt:

http://www.ahc.umn.edu/rar/MNAALAS/MiceRat.html

deborahbroadus · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 12:04 pm Post subject:

Found the information for you!

http://www.freewebs.com/gmt_26/breedingages.htm

Both male and female rats are sexually mature at the age of 5 or 6 weeks, However, because they are not fully grown it is not recommended to begin breeding them until they are 3 - 4 months of age. The longer you leave a rat before you try breeding her, the harder it will be for her to conceive, therefore if you plan on breeding them it is recommended you do so as soon as possible to prevent birthing complications.
For health reasons the recommended age to stop breeding a female is one year. After that point there would be too much stress on her and could lead to birthing problems, defects, or death on both the mother and babies. As she reaches menopause (around 18 months of age) her cycle becomes irregular and her littler sizes decrease as the risks of birthing problems increase.
As for males, they are able to reproduce well into old age.

Female rats tend to be sexually mature at 6 weeks, however is not recommended until 3 to 4 months.
The longer you leave a rat before breeding her, the harder it will be for her to conceive. It is recommended you start breeding her immediately after the recommended age.
For health reasons the recommended age to stop breeding is one year. After that, there would be too much stress and could cause birth defects or death in both mother and babies.

As the female reaches menopause (About 18 months) her cycle becomes irregular and her litter sizes will decrease. There is also a risk of her not being able to deliver.
Males are sexually active until old age.

TAZMOM · Joined: 17 Oct 2006 Posts: 363 Location: Bellville, OH

thanks for the info deb! Laughing

RonCrawford · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 8:48 pm Post subject:

Good post Deb.

Jordan700 · Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 5:52 pm Post subject:

Thanks Deb. Very Happy

deborahbroadus · Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 7:41 pm Post subject:

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