December 2009

12/30:  New pictures posted on Dyna and Deek's Litter Page.  Health Tracking page is almost complete and will be posted by the end of the week.  Have a Happy New Year!!!

 

12/24:  HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

I don't have much time today, but I just wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday with the help of my friend, Violet (now Pickle!)  She was a death row pit bull whom I rescued and rehomed.  She now has a great life being spoiled by her doting parents :)  After the craziness of the holidays are over, I will be posting some big updates to the site.  Keep any eye out for a Health Records/Information page, new owner submitted photos, new gallery photos and new baby pictures of Dyna' little cuties.  They are getting HUGE :)

 

12/20:  A new litter has been born!  Congratulations to Dyna and King Dedede (Deek)!!!!  Dyna delivered a healthy litter of 4 on Dec 12.  All the bubs are doing very well, and are fat and round little ones!  Pictures have been posted on the Dyna X Deek Litter Page.  All babies are already reserved.  I have decided to add one more breeding to this month.  Rose will be paired with Waddle.  The waiting list will remain closed at this time.

Happy Holidays Everyone!!!

12/08:  Lots of updates today!  I apologize if you are awaiting an email reply from me, I have gotten very behind but Im working hard to reply to everyone.  Dyna is pregnant and due Dec 11th!!!  Her litter with Deek should produce black, siamese, and hopefully mink (and mink point siamese) in rex standard and double rex coats.  The waiting list is currently CLOSED.  I have enough adopters already lined up for Dyna's litter and I won't be breeding any new litters for 6 months after.  I will be revamping the adoption process and waiting list in that time.  I am also planning lots of site updates during that time.  New pictures of all the rats, a Health Tracking page, and more to come!  

Some changes to the My Rats pages.  I restructured the individual pages to make it easier to read and display.  Breeder and Retired rat pages are done, i just need to finish the pet only rats and make some new pages for the babies I kept from the summer litters.  Im sorry to anyone who applied, but I have decided to keep Kasugami and Moegami here for the remainder of their lives.  

The Rat Fanciers of the Lakes show was a wonderful learning experience and unique social event where I got to meet so many other serious and dedicated breeders.  Im so happy I went.  Rat Fanciers is sister club to NIRO, whose show will be held in May.  I hope to become a full member of NIRO this spring so I can attend the show and bring rats of my own breeding to exhibit.  One of the best parts of the show was meeting and bringing home my 2 new additions, BVR Wednesday (Dove Dumbo) and DAZL Ring-A-Ling (Russian Fawn Dumbo.)  The beautiful little girls were shown in RFL and Ring even took 3rd best provisional doe!  I took a bunch of pictures which will be posted on their own page eventually.

November 2009

11/12:  Short update today, as I am very busy preparing to leave for the Rat Fanciers of the Lakes Show.  I will be gone from Friday Nov. 13 to Monday Nov 16.  I will not have internet access during that time, but I can be reached via cell phone in case of emergency.  If you are waiting for an email reply from me, please be patient and I will reply as soon as I am able.  I updated the planned litters.  I do not have the time or resources to breed 2 more litters this season, so I will only be having one litter before the winter/spring break.  Also, Kiki and Kirby's babies have started to go home.  All babies have been spoken for at this point.  I still have 2 young males from a March litter available for adoption.  They are very sweet, friendly, large, squishy lap rat boys.  See them on the Available Rats page.

11/03:  I have made some changes to my plans for my Black eyed Siamese line.  I have decided to focus only on Seal Point Siamese alongside black selves.  I will no longer be breeding the Russian Blue side of the line.  They are very nice animals, but I just feel the Seals are my true passion.  Both the Siamese Line page and the Downunder Line page have been updated.  Lately I am finding myself becoming busier and busier with school, job, family and my own pets to care for.  That combined with my ever expanding colonies' growing expenses, means I will have a lot less litters born in the upcoming year.  2010 tentative breeding plans have been posted on the Planned Litters page.  A few young rats who have not been bred will be put for adoption.  I have a pair of young, sweet males for adoption on the Available Rats page.

Also, FHR underwent its first annual serology testing through RADIL.  I am very happy to say that the colony is healthy and doing well.  The rattery will continue to kept tightly closed  to ensure it stays that way!

October 2009

10/29: Happy Halloween!!!

Thank you Juliette and Florence for this photo of FHR PH Luna and friends!

Reservations have begun for Kiki's litter.  Be sure to check your email often if you are on the waiting list.  TheFarmhouse section of the site was finally completed!  I posted pictures of my dog, cats, horses and goats.  Now you can check out all the animals that make their home at FHR.

Have a great and safe holiday everyone!

10/21: Kyoto and Kirby Litter Page was updated.  The first individual shots of the babies have been posted!  Several changes to the planned litters page.  The number of litters born will be steadily dropping for awhile.  If you are interested in a particular future litter, I suggest going on the waiting list now.  Many updates are coming to the site, so keep an eye out.

10/14:  Kyoto and Kirby Litter Page has been updated with new pictures of the babies.  Sorry for the slow updates lately.  Lots of "life stuff" going on around here.  Also started working on the Farmhouse section of the site.  It will be complete by next update.

10/05:  Some very exciting new to announce!  Kyoto gave birth to 13 healthy eepers on Oct 1!!!  All the babies are doing great and Kiki has been an exceptional mother.  See the babies' first picture on the Kyoto and Kirby Litter Page.  Also, all of Rose's babies have gone home.

 

September 2009

September 23, 2009:   Lots of exciting updates today!  A new page has been posted - Incoming Rats - Be sure to check it out.  I am so excited about our future new additions!  I also will be attending the Rat Fanciers of the Lakes Show on November 14, 2009.  It will be my first rat show and I am thrilled to be there to spectate.  I can't wait to meet all of the beautiful show rats and their dedicated owners.  And last but not least, Kiki is expecting her second litter!  I have posted her weight gain chart on the Planned Litters page.  This litter should be extremely affectionate, laid back, and beautiful.  I am hopeful for babies around October 4th.

September 16, 2009:  6 of Rose and Eddies' babies have gone home.  Their 4 boys have seen the vet and have been scheduled for their neuters on Oct 1st.  Updated the planned breeding page as well as other small updates throughout the site.

September 10, 2009:  Wow, time does really fly!  Rose's litter has grown up so quickly.  All the babies have been reserved and 6 of them will be picked up this weekend.  4 of the males will be held an extra 3 weeks so that they can be neutered prior to adoption.

I have started looking for signs of Kiki being in heat.  I hope to have her and Kirby bred in the next couple of weeks.

September 1, 2009:  Sad news, Susie seems to have reabsorbed her litter with Eddie.  She is doing fine though, and has remained healthy.  I updated my Planned Litters page with my new thoughts for this fall's breedings.  

I will be away and unable to answer emails from Sept 3-7th.  I will be attending moe.down x in Turin, NY; I'm very excited for this famoe.ly event!  The ratties will be having their wonderful Auntie Amber coming to stay with them, so their routine will not be interrupted in any way.  I have known Amber for over a decade, and I trust her completely.  She is a very caring and competent surrogate mommy to the FHR ratties.

 

August 2009

 

August 27, 2009:  Sorry everyone for the lack of updates lately!  I have been ill, and its been rather hard to find the time to update the site.  Care and playtime of the ratties must always come first :)  I hope I will make up for my absence with this big update!  First of all, I have finally gotten to add pictures to Amber's Gallery.  Check it out, she is a great photographer and their are some awesome shots of the Farmhouse ratties.

 

New pictures are up on Rose and Eddie Litter Page!  The babies are over 3 weeks old already, how the time does fly!  Rose continues to be a doting and excellent mother, and all the babies are doing splendidly.

 

I have made some changes to the plans for my Siamese line.  I have decided to split this line into two for the time being.  You can read more about it on the Siamese Line page.  More pictures added to the Adopted from FHR page.  Other small updates were made throughout the site.

 

I also have a couple of exciting announcements!  First off, FHR's very first litter turned 1 on August 20!  Happy birthday to Mimi, Kiki, and their siblings!  Here is a great picture that Tweak's mom Barb sent me of him celebrating the special event!

 

And in more exciting news, FHR PH Luna was shown by her owner Juliette in their county 4-H fair!  Luna took Reserve Best rat in show!  Way to go Juliette and Luna!  Congratulations!!!  Here is a pic they shared.

 

 

August 15, 2009:  Rose and Eddie Litter Page has been updated with the first individual pictures of the babies!  Rose continues to be an excellent mother and the babies are developing wonderfully in her care.  Susie is gaining weight steadily each day and looks on track for an end of the month litter!  The Eddie X Susie litter page will be up shortly.

 

August 13, 2009: CONGRATULATIONS SAMANTHA, RUBY, AND PEBBLES!!!

Samantha is the first adopter to exhibit FHR rats in a show, and they did wonderfully!  Ruby (BES Dumbo) took home Best of Breed, and Pebbles was Best Reserve Rat!  Congratulations girls!!!

 

In other news, Kate's Gallery is now open for viewing!  I have added some of my favorite shots of my rats.  I will be adding to the gallery as time permits.  Also, updated the Adopted from FHR gallery.  Small change to the breeding plans page.  I am pushing the October breeding back to November, to give Amy a little more time to mature before breeding.

 

 

August 11 2009:  Rose's litter is 9 days old today and all of the babies are thriving.  Rose has been an exceptionally good mother.  New pictures have been posted on the Rose and Eddie Litter Page.  Also, Susie and Eddie have been paired.   While it is still early, I do believe Susie is expecting a litter due August 29!  I will be weighing her daily and will post her weight gain chart soon.

 

August 6 2009:  New pictures are up of Rose's litter.  All 11 babies are doing well and growing quickly! Momma Rose is doing an excellent job of caring for them all.  Colors and markings are starting to come through; I have posted what I can tell about each baby so far.

 

August 3 2009:  Rose had her litter August 2nd!!!  Mother and babies are doing very well.  All 11 look healthy and strong.  More information on the Rose and Eddie Litter Page.  All of the female babies from this litter will be reserved, but there will be some males available for adoption, get your application in soon if you are interested.

 

August 2 2009:  New pictures are up on the Rose and Eddie Litter Page.  No babies yet, but I did post pics of Rose, Eddie, and the birthing suite I made for Rose.  Tanks will no longer be used for any purpose in the rattery.  They are simply too cumbersome, heavy, dangerous (if the glass breaks) and poorly ventilated.

 

I am also starting to look for signs of Susie being in heat, and I plan to breed her with Eddie any day now!  I hope to post a pregnancy confirmation for her within the couple of weeks.  I expect very gentle, sweet, easygoing personalities all around from this pairing.  

 

 

 

July 25 2009:  Just a few quick updates.  Rose is gaining weight steadily.  Her daily weigh ins are being posted on the Rose and Eddie Litter Page.  Also, one change was made to the planned litters.

 

July 20 2009:  Exciting news!  Rose appears to be pregnant from her first pairing with Eddie!  Babies are due August first!  Im am so excited about the first Downunder litter here at FHR!  Also, I made changes and additions to the planned breeding page.

July 12 2009:  Big news- the first breeding for our Downunder line has occurred!  Check out the Current Litters page to learn more.  I am so excited about this pairing of Eddie and Rose.  Also, some new links were added to the Non Rat Link section.

June 23 2009:  Welcome to the new and improved Farmhouse Rats website!  I hope that you enjoy all of the additional information now available on the site.  I have posted new pictures of all of my breeding rats and my rattery.  There are several new pages on the site as well.  Check out the all new Rat Care section, which has pages on properly housing, feeding, and caring for your rats.  Under About FHR, you can find a lot of new information about me and the rats I breed here!

FHR is currently on spring-summer hiatus from breeding.  We are taking a 4 month break, from April - July there will be no litters born.  We are doing an extended QT to be sure our rattery is healthy, and so far it has gone really well.  I am also using this time to bond with my wonderful rats and to focus on my fall and winter breeding plans.  I plan to have the next FHR litters born in August.

I do have a very sad piece of news to announce.  PH Zelda passed away suddenly on June 21, 2009.  She had been a very healthy and robust rat throughout her life so I was shocked to lose her so quickly and so young.  She was a wonderful rat and will be greatly missed.