I
get a lot of questions and e-mails about how I home my rats so this page has been
created to explain how and why I do things. Please bare in mind this isn't a "process"
that all breeders do, this is just the way I do it.
If you decide that you
do want to home some rats from me, the first thing that you will need to do is
to fill out an application form. You can get a form by e-mail me (lisa@rct-rats.co.uk)
and requesting one. This form isn't a "test", it is more for me to learn
about the new owners - how much knowledge they have and how they plan to keep
the rats. I do have some basic requirements which must be met to have rats from
me. I am willing to advise anyone on any of the questions on the form and offer
assistance and guidance to ensure these basics are met.Kittens
are homed from the age of 8 weeks and this all depends on how the kittens have
developed to when I feel they are ready to leave. Kittens are homed to those who
have been on my waiting list the longest. Occasionally, people do drop off the
list for various reasons so I may have kittens available sooner.
If you are
offered kittens and for what ever reason you do not wish to take them, you will
moved to our next planned litter in the same position you were at. (So if you
were the first person offered, you would be the first person on the next litter).
The homing process
1. Once I have kittens
born here at RCT, I will e-mail everyone on my list to let them know that we have
kittens and to confirm everyone interest in having some.
2. When the babies
are around 3 weeks old, I will confirm with people if they have been successful
or not in homing kittens. Those who haven't will be moved to the next planned
litters.
3. When the kittens are 4 weeks, I will offer people kittens to choose
from pictures off my website.
4. When the babies turn 6 weeks, I will advise
when the babies will be ready to leave and if appropriate, will arrange a collection
date & time. If the kittens aren't going to be ready until a week or two later
then I will normally arrange collection around 7 days before they are ready to
go. I do ask that people are respectful and stick
to the date/times agreed. I work full-time as well as having other commitments
and I normally arrange for the agreed times to fit around both parties. Homing
FAQ's Why can't I choose first, you
said I was the first on the list?
As the breeder, I need to make sure that
I select the best rats from the litters to ensure that the rats I breed are the
healthiest and of good type to carry the line forward. I will always get first
pick of all the litter born here.
If I "borrowed" a buck from another
rattery, they may also get to pick any kittens before kittens are offered to people
on my waiting list. Why can't choose rats that
I want?
I normally group the rats into pairs/trios before offering them
for homing and try and make sure that everyone on my list gets a least one of
their chosen variety to try and make it fair on everyone. This also prevents the
people near the bottom of the list being left with two identical rats, which isn't
very fair either. This can vary on some litters as sometimes you can get a whole
liter which is completely different so I can then offer people on my list the
choice of kittens.
| 
