Congratulations on making your pairing choices for your first generation of rats! I am pleased that you are selecting for conformation and personality in your stock. It is a good start to work out any skeletal type issues over the next few generations. Inbreeding and linebreeding are the best tools, when used wisely, to ensure success in your colony. Outbreeding is nice when adding in new genes, whether they be genes for better hips, larger eyes or even a new color! Color is the last of your concern right now though, you can change color easily within a few generations after you fine tune your "base."

When I breed, my rats (I always breed 1.2 in case one of my does is a horrible mother or unable to nurse, the latter being fairly common in some hairless lines(though I do not breed hairless due to a higher probability for poor liver functioning, according to several studies I would reference if I wasn't on my mobile device) are marked with vanilla extract (distracts from other colony smells) and introduced in neutral ground. Whether this be a cage neither have used or something as simple as your bathtub or a large slotted plastic bin style cage. Place them together in the late evening, as rats are more active during the night and early morning. I leave my group together for two weeks to insure successful breeding then separate all three. My male gets washed with no-tears baby shampoo, dabbed with vanilla extract and reintroduced to