Albino vs. Other Rats

Hi!

I'm starting over a new rat breeding colony soon and I wanted to know if I should have all albinos in the colony or mixed genetics. I just want to know why some choose to breed just albinos instead of others. I heard before that albinos may have larger litters but I'm not sure if that's accurate. I know some people like to have all their rats identicle so they won't get attached. Also I've heard recently about the genetic defects with rats, the silver ones maybe, I'm not very clear on that at all but that might have something to do with it. Just want some opinions, that would really help. Thanks! :)

Perhaps it's merely so other's (wife, children, etc) don't get attached to the "pretty rats". That was one reason why I used to raise normal Agouti (wild type) rats.

Rick

I will copy and paste what Becki said in another thread:

Quote:

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"safe" patterns include berkshires, hoodeds, pink-eyed white/Albino, siamese/himalayan, self, irish/english-irish, variegated/variberk. No blazes/wedge-blazes, no merling, no dalmation spots, no capped/split-capped, no possum, etc.

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If you need pictures of what all these are, please visit this web site AFRMA

It is true that rats with the high white, head spotting, blazes, lighting marks, baldies, banded, essex are at a higher risk for carrying megacolon (megacecum). The lethal white gene is a recessive gene that strongly correlates to the marks just stated.

It is also true that not all blazes, head spotting etc carry megacolon. The only real way you can prove it is by in/line breeding for a few generations.

If you have a pair of rats that throw a litter of megacolon, then chances are that BOTH parents are het for this disease, and they should not be paired together again. Any pups from either parent crossed with a non carrying rat, has a 66% chance of inheriting the spotting lethal gene. [if the "s/l" is indeed recessive]

It's a long arduous topic to discuss...