Do You Keep Track?

[Jay_Bunny]

Do you keep track of your rat's family tree? I plan on keeping a detailed family tree of all my rats, that way I know who is related to who and how closely. So, here is a question. How far back can you trace your latest litter?

For me, I can trace my current litter back to their parents since its my first time breeding rats. You can do this for mice too, if you don't breed rats. Just thought this would be something fun.

[littleindiangirl]

Yes, I keep track in excel and on paper copies. I really only have two generations breeding now, but the 3rd is already growing big.

[frankykeno]

Yep I keep track. I like to know which pairings produce for me best, whose related to who so I can keep my gene pool from getting too "muddied up" and I can bring in new blood when it's required. It also helps me to quickly figure out whose responsible if I start getting any less than perfect litters and may need to cull certain adults or pair them up only with certain other adult rats.

I think my current records on the computer go back between 3 and 5 generations counting the immature breeders currently growing up in the tubs. I had more information but unfortunately didn't have it backed up properly when my hard drive failed last year so I had to sort of re-build some of it solely from my own memory.

I currently use a program that is meant for show rat breeders and it took a LOT of fiddling around to customize it for my far simpler needs.

[Jay_Bunny]

I wish there was a program that was simple to use. Would Metzcal work for rats? I will be keeping track of my snake's records and such by paper and excel but since I'll be doing a lot more rat breeding than I will snake breeding, a program will make things a lot easier.

[frankykeno]

I'm not sure Jay. I wish I could get the Degei guy to do one for a feeder/breeder rat colony. His programs are so slick and easy to use.

[littleindiangirl]

ick about metzcal. I don't remember what it was, but for some reason it just would not work the way I wanted it to. It may have been something about genetics (I like to keep track of geno and phenotypes) and I did not like how metzcal was set up for it. I think it may have been too limited in options.

I prefer degei for it, but still, I have a better time of it with excel.

[Ginevive]

I keep track in a notebook. It is just easier for me to write things in the rat room as opposed to walking across the house to the computer But whatever works is great.