Breeder becomes feeder

Dang it, I had concerns about this one pink eyed white (the only white I have) and she confirmed them today. Out of 10 babies, she ate 7 of them. They all appeared to be healthy, had nice milk bands and such. I fostered off the other 3 and gave her to my Macklotts for a meal. All the other babies are doing great and new mommas are as well. This is the first time I have ever had a rat eat her babies. Guess I will keep a close eye on the fosters to see if I see any problems.

It does happen sometimes though it's a lot more rare in rats than in mice. Sometimes it's just a nervous first time breeder, sometimes it is something she'll do with every litter. I've had a few that will get rid of the runt but that's generally done right at the moment of birth or shortly thereafter. They'll either consume them outright or toss them from the nest. I've learned when it comes to that, to allow the females to do their natural selection process. I've only had two females that went after their litters for no reasons I could determine and both were fed off.

Thats a bummer, sorry to hear it. I can't say I would have done anything different.

I usually wait until their 2nd or 3rd litter to pass judgement on their parenting skills... it is definately frustrating and saddening to see all those torn up little babies.

I agree. Weve had a few first-time mommas eat their first litters, but they are usually OK after that, so we wait to see. We have only had one that kept on eating them. Its pretty rare in rats.

That's what makes me wonder, she was fine with them for the first 24 hours. She has always been a bit "off" and not only do I have to be careful with her but very careful who I put her in with. She has been on the do I feed or don't I for quite awhile now and this was just the last straw. I think if she had a better temperment I would have tried again with her, but I really only want the strongest/best breeders I can have.

At least my Macklotts had a good meal, it is hard for me to find feeders the right size for her as I won't buy from most places around here.

It's definately a hassle to have one that just doesn't work well with the rest of the group you are happy with.

Even if I have 1-2 moms kill off most of their babies, I still keep em around. The way I look at it is that 2-3 babies is better than none and if she keeps doing it, I usually have 20+ moms nursing at a time to take care of the babies I get before she kills em.