Overall, the rats are doing well; we have several joining the Two Year Club this summer: EKO Chlotile Van Dankelein, WLLW Macy, and COVE Tequila Sunrise of WLLW.  SGR Little Spice Bear will be 2-1/2 on 9/2/09.

WLLW Harald Fairhair and WLLW Ingrid Ragnvaldsdotter welcomed their litter of 14 babes — 8 boys and 6 girls on 5/31!  I think this was my favorite litter to date: temperaments were outstanding, and colors were varied and fun to watch develop.  There were three hoodies in the litter, one stayed here at Willow Creek (a fawn rex) and two went to Blaze Craze Rattery to help with a marked breeding program there.  One of the mink boys will be staying here as well (breeding to an agouti girl whose dam is mink, to produce more cinnamons!), as well as their sister who was the lone cinnamon in the litter.

Another litter of ten has been born here to WLLW Finnegan and SGR Sky Lark; 4 girls and 6 boys.  We have the expected black, agouti, mink, fawn, and four “to be determined” colors — at this point, we believe them to be platinum agouti.  Going to get a 2nd opinion before making our “official” call on that, they are still young.    The interesting thing about this litter is that coat type has been separated along gender lines: the four girls are standard coats, and the six boys are all rex!  We are looking forward to seeing which of the girls will be staying here at WLLW!

We did say “good-bye” to SGR Fortunato, who had just turned two years of age in July, but had been battling a respiratory illness and just couldn’t shake it.  We tried several antibiotics and supplementing his food with good immune-building formulas, but he took a sudden turn for the worse and died in his sleep.  We are, as usual, deeply indebted to Sweet Genes Rodentry for another sweet boy and are saddened by the loss.  We are, however, comforted by the fact that we have his son, WLLW Love Is Blue, who is pretty much a carbon copy of his daddy.

Looking towards mid/late August, we are looking forward to Finnegan and Toasty’s litter.  Stay tuned!

* It seems to have become the norm to enter DOZENS of animals from one rattery in order to put the odds in one’s favor. This only wastes the judges’ and the club’s time; with so few ratteries entering shows these days, why put on a show for only one rattery (the one entering dozens of rats)??  Why can’t a breeder select the best from his/her rattery, and leave the rest at home?  What is the point of having judges examine 50-60 or more rats from one rattery?

When I took Best in Show at the 2008 NIRO show, I entered no more than 6 or 8 rats (if that many), taking only those I considered the best in my rattery. There was no need to take every good rat I owned; as a breeder, I am quite able to make that judgment myself.

* I am also aware of an incident of a fellow member who entered a young rat at a show that had already been sold as a pet, and then refused to deliver the rat to the person who had already paid for it because the rat had won a good placement at the show. (How unethical and dishonest is that, renigging on a sale?) Unlike some, I value my pet people!

* When I sell a rat to another breeder, it is a *breeding/show quality* rat, and not a pet quality rat that has no redeeming qualities other than “good temperament” — that ought to be a given! It also isn’t a sneezer right out of the carrier! 

* I am aware of preferential treatment of members by the board, and when asked repeatedly for explanation, they refused to offer one.

The “Northern Illinois Rat Organization” has lost it’s focus, IMHO. It’s board and membership is comprised of people no longer residing in the state of Illinois; indeed, the recent show wasn’t even held in the state! I expect when I go to a Michigan club’s show, I will travel to Michigan… but when I go to the Northern Illinois club’s show, I go to… INDIANA?  Part of NIRO’s creed is to educate the public on the joys of rat ownership, but their show, while held in a rented facility, was not open to the public. How is the public to be “educated” when they can’t even set foot in the show, the club’s one-and-only event?  Previously publicly displayed educational photo-displays were set out at the show (viewable from photos of the event), but of what use is that when the public wasn’t allowed to attend?

Rather than fight upstream, a new club was formed nearly a year ago, even before the most recent events. While other clubs have recognized each other for some time, linked to each other’s websites, and supported each other’s shows, the AARC has not been acknowledged. I wonder what scares them? Indeed, if the AARC did the work of putting on an additional show during the year, it would simply be another opportunity to champion rats. Yet, in spite of written introductions, and now NARR recognition, the AARC goes ignored.

For the above reasons, and more, I have decided to not renew my membership in NIRO; it is not the club I joined in 2006, and not the caliber of individuals I care to associate with.  My needs for association with like-minded individuals who share a devotion to the fancy and the opportunity to show my rats (eventually) will be met in the AARC.

As you may have already checked out the Litters Page, Harald and Ingrid were paired up the first week in May, and Ingrid has shown a slight weight gain indicative of pregnancy; I look for her to deliver at the end of the month.  My goal in this litter is to produce cinnamon and/or fawns in marked type, with some rex coats expected.  Other colors are also possible, but it is the cinnamons and fawns I will be shooting for.  There is still room on the waiting list for this litter as of the time of this writing, so please go ahead and fill in an application!

We said “good-bye” this month to a favorite of ours here at Willow Creek, SGR Storm Tracks.  Storm was to be one of our foundation boys and he did sire one of our litters, but his daughter never did conceive.  We do, however, have others here related to Storm from SGR, so the line is not lost.  That aside, Storm won his class at the 2006 NIRO show, and was just one of those squishy, loveable boys who steal your heart from the get-go and never give it back.  He will be missed, and I will be forever grateful to Sweet Genes Rodentry for allowing Storm to be a part of our lives.  Please see his picture and details on the Rainbow Bridge page.

The Siamese girls from our most recent litter, BVR Tavish x BVR Gaida are growing, and have welcomed their new cagemate from our co-breeding with Sweet Genes Rodentry: WLLW Love Is Blue x SGR Bell Curve which gave us SGR-WLLW Libertybell.  Actually, Libertybell is their cousin, as Tavish’s sister is Bell Curve’s mother… hope that isn’t too confusing!  Anyway, check out our Girl’s Page too, as many of our girls’ pictures have been updated this month!

Thanks for checking in on our blog this month; check back next time, I’m sure it will be exciting with another Willow Creek litter expected!

We said “good-bye” to two oldies-but-goodies, DAZL Mistletoe and SGR Lucky Charms; two elderly gals who were cagemates, so it was fitting that having spent the majority of their lives together that they were able to leave this world together also.  At 27 and 31 months of age, the quality of life just wasn’t there for them any longer and it was just kinder to help them over the bridge.

Two new boys have joined us from Sweet Genes Rodentry; SGR Pi and SGR Vector.  These two good-looking boys had been in pet homes but had been returned due to unforseen family circumstances and *I* was the fortunate one to be able to have first chance at them.  Especially exciting is (for me) is the fact that Vector is American blue (not a common color) and both carry Siamese; and if that isn’t enough, both have temperaments that are just over-the-top fantastic!  I absolutely have to take these boys out and give them hugs and squishes every day while doing my ratty chores – they insist upon it! 

Some of the boys residing here have done a lot of “growing up” over these winter months, and I have updated their photos, so check out the Boys’ page: SGR Fondue Too, SGR Just Might, and WLLW Harald Fairhair all have new portraits up, along with the new boys Pi and Vector (also known as “Max” and “Nico”).

Don’t forget… the All American Rat Club is holding a Rats of Spring Party in Naperville on April 19th!  I have assembled a box full of goodies (mostly rat-related, but not all!) for a raffle just to make things a little interesting and fun!  There will be refreshments and lots of rat talk – remember, this is not just for breeders, but we are encouraging all rat-fans to come and get acquainted!  See the website for details: http://www.allamericanratclub.org/news.htm  Hope to see you there!

Kathy/Willow Creek Rats

Mango’s litter is safely esconced in their new homes, and we remained secure in our decision to keep a darling little dumbo rex agouti girl, WLLW Toast The New Year, aka "Toasty".  We already have plans to breed her back to her uncle Finnegan this summer, with high hopes to get our fawn breeding program well underway.  Both Finnegan and his rex brother, Reagan, are soon to turn a year old and have been wonderfully healthy, strong bucks with gorgeous dumbo fawn hoods; I can’t wait to pass on those traits in my marked program.

We have another litter waiting to happen any day now, between BVR Tavish and BVR Gaida.  BVR Tavish has been in residence here for about a year and has been one of my favorite rats, for his wonderful temperament, health, and beautiful Siamese coloring.  Gaida is a sweet, outgoing Russian blue girl that is just going to make the sweetest babies!

Future breeding plans have been listed on the Litters page, but of course, they are subject to change as Mother Nature sometimes has her plans too.

A new page has been added under our "Recommendations" heading; check out the opportunity to purchase a Package Offer and save yourself all the shopping and assembly work when buying and setting up a new cage of rats from Willow Creek Rats!

We have a "guest" from Sweet Genes Rodentry; SGR Bell Curve is on honeymoon with WLLW Love Is Blue and will hopefully go home expecting a litter for SGR.  Debbie has been my mentor in helping me start my rattery and a very loyal friend! 

The All American Rat Club is growing and making plans for a "Spring Fling" rat people’s gathering.  Do your friends and acquaintences think you’re a little "strange" for having rats as pets?  Want to get together with people who *understand* you affection for these intelligent creatures?  Want to have your questions answered, and have fun with like-minded folks?  Then join this new club — it has an online forum (member’s only!), and you will receive a new member’s packet of goodies in the mail!  http://www.allamericanratclub.org/

Until next time,

Kathy

For those of you who use or plan to use Yesterdays News litter in your cage pans, here is a nice coupon from Purina (makers of YN):

http://www.yesterdaysnews.com/couponRequest.html

You are asked to fill out the info; once submitted you are given the coupon to print.

At any rate, the litter arrived on Friday, January 2nd, and Mango handled everything beautifully with the babies and herself doing very well.  Preliminary exam (very quick, while getting babies & mom settled in a clean, fresh igloo) looks like we have 7 girls and 5 boys.  Mango remained her sweet self throughout my handling the babies; she didn’t like them being moved, however, and proceeded to move them again herself so I decided to give her some time to adjust.  Check the litters page for photo and future updates.

We would like to wish all of our friends and rattie associates a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season!  Pictured below is URSA Gr. Ch. COVE Tequila Sunrise of WLLW, or “Sunny” as he is known to most.  Sunny is one of our favorite boys here at Willow Creek; he loves a good cuddle and has such a calm nature, I knew he was the perfect subject for this year’s “holiday portrait”.  We won’t show you the picture of him *biting* the tree, thinking it was some sort of giant salad just for him, LOL!

Kathy
Willow Creek

As you can see, we have updated our site!  What may not be quite so obvious is, we have also moved to a different server and visitors to the site will no longer experience those Geocities shut-downs due to bandwidth issues!  Yay!  All the credit, both for the new look and talking me into the new server goes to my niece’s hubby, Jim, the computer genius.  Jim is a degreed computer professional and knew how to set me up with a system whereby I could make additions and changes myself without knowing “html” or being a computer geek.  Jim even found the *perfect* web design that had a “willow” and a “creek”!  I have to say, this was painless… except for Jim’s emails as he was working on it that kept me in suspense, that said things like, “I’m having fun with this!”  Thanks, Jim!

Kathy
Willow Creek