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Veterinary Treatment
Any rat in our care that becomes ill receives
the veterinary treatment it needs. We will always try all avenues available to us to treat/stabilise a sick rat before considering
euthanasia. Any euthanasia is done humanely at our vets and if necessary post mortems carried out to determine the
cause of death.
Culling
Brecklagh do not condone any form of culling,
of kittens or older rats.
It has been generally recognised that with a suitable
and plentiful diet, kittens can grow to their full potential even when from a large litter.
Aside from this, we consider all of our
rats to be pets first, regardless of their breeding potential. We could not possibly consider killing any of our rats for
any reason, be them young or old. All babies brought into the world at Brecklagh are special and are members of the family.
Habitats
All of our rats are kept in suitable cages and
are never overcrowded. All cages have hammocks and beds for those lazy days, and we try to make as best use of the space using
levels, tubes and other cage items. All cages have a base of Finacard cardboard litter with SafeBed - a paper wool product,
as bedding in igloos, etc.
All cages are wiped down daily and are thoroughly
cleaned every week.
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Diet
All of our rats are fed a diet based on the Shunamite Diet
formed by Alison Campbell. This comprises of a rabbit food base, with added cereals, pasta and dry dog food. It has been found
to be the best way of supporting life and growth in rats. As well as dry food all rats get a daily helping of fresh fruit
and vegetables.
Pregnant rats are fed on their usual diet but in unlimited
amounts to support the growth of kittens. Once born, both mother and kittens are fed on an unlimited heavily supplemented
diet of both dry mix/veggies plus high protein foods such as egg, chicken, EMP, etc.
All rats have added vitamins in their water at least
once per week.
Handling/Playtime
All of our rats are handled daily and get daily 'out time'
to play out of their cage.
All kittens are handled daily from birth to ensure
they grow up to be well rounded, friendly rats before they leave for their new homes.
Health Tracking
In order to improve the health of our lines, we will ensure
that follow ups on all kittens homed from us are carried out. This will enable us to ascertain the health of
the kittens throughout their lives and allow us to breed towards better health for future litters.
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