Pulling males or females is personal choice. On my pet lines I prefer to pull the males ... this allows the females to help each other out with nursing. There are a few things to watch out for ... like the princess ... who will just pawn the litter off on the other female(s) and not do any nursing ... if you find one of these she'll need to get put into her own enclosure with a litter.

Male rats breed in about 2 seconds ... they then check themselves and chase her down again. This can last for hours or until the female starts putting her foot in his face. I've noticed that certain foods will put the male into an amorous mood ... It seems to be peanuts (unsalted), chicken, turkey, fish, or pasta ... they are all high energy food and this may be the reason.

Hair starts to thin out on females with age ... If its starting to look thin she is probably more than a year old ... however you can get this same trait with rexes or double rexes.

Put them back together about 4 weeks after the litter is born ... thi should put the rats at about weaned size where they are starting to eat and drink on their own.

Bryan