Welcome to the FarStar Rattery!  I wanted to take a moment and explain outside of adoption policy, color and conformation who I am.

Who I am:

My name is Kirstin (KEER-stuhn) and I am the owner of the FarStar Rattery.  I am currently in the Veterinary Technology program at Baker College in Cadillac.  I also lifeguard and teach swimming lessons and water safety at a nearby pool.  I have owned rats since 2001 and have been breeding since May of 2004.

I am the president of the Rat Fanciers of the Lakes (RFL) and member of Northern Illinois Rat Organization (NIRO) and love to participate in the rat shows that NIRO holds.

All of my rats are registered with the North American Rat Registry (NARR) and I believe that it is a wonderful and an absolutely necessary tool for breeders.

I had always wanted a rat.  I envisioned myself with rats when I left for college.  Of course I always pictured it as two white rats in a small ten gallon with a wire wheel. I soon realized how wrong that idea was.  As soon as I found myself in a suitable housing situation (i.e. not a dorm) I started my research and was on my way to purchasing my first rats.  My first rat came for a tank at a pet store.  She was the typical black hooded with a nasty personality.  My second rats came from a breeder after much research.  It was those rats, Fay and Phara, that led me to believe that rats were absolutely wonderful pets.

I breed to the standards set by the RSA.  I will not sacrifice temperament and health for pretty rats.

I am focusing on mink and pearl merles in self markings with standard ears and working on adding in the satin coat type.  I am working on a light, clean pearl color with distinct merle spots.  

A lot of my rats right now carry American blue, Russian blue and occasionally RED.  For awhile my litters are going to be throwing platinums, doves and havanas.  I am not trying for those colors, but they will pop up along the way.  I also have the siamese in some of my stuff and will have siamese show up now and again.  The pointed rats will not be great examples and again, its not what I'm breeding for (if you are looking for good meeze and himi rats, check out my links page).

I absolutely love Martin's cages.  I have never had a problem with these cages and armed with my scumbuster and my shop vac, I've always been able to get these cages really clean.  I highly recommend Martin's for anyone who's looking for a quality cage.  All my rats are in Martin 680 cages.

My pregnant rats are placed in modified sterlite tub cage a few days before their due date and remain there for the first week, week and a half of their life.  When the babies start to walk around, I move them into a Martin's 660.  Boys are seperated out at 5 weeks and all babies are ready to go at 6 weeks old.

All rats are kept on CareFresh, TekFresh or Sani-chip bedding with litters being raised on TekFresh White or Carefresh Ultra.

I feed my rats Harlan Teklad lab blocks.  I have noticed a big difference in the rat's overall condition after I switched them over to it.  I feed the girls 2018 and the boys get 2016.  When I'm out of the Harlan I use Purina's 5001 and found that to be a good substitute.

Even since I started owning rats I wanted to breed them.  I knew that I could contribute to the fancy as a whole and I was utterly in love with the animal.  I began researching my options to begin breeding.  I was very lucky to find a breeder to mentor me.  I feel that in this day there are enough decent breeders and pedigreed rats and no one has to start with pet store rats.  Yes, rats from pet stores make wonderful pets, but when you know absolutely nothing about their family background you can have no idea what scary problems are lurking.  I am more then happy to elaborate on this subject, if anyone is interested, but I don't want to turn this section of the website into a lecture on ethical breeding practices.

I have come a long way since my first litter and still have a lot to learn.  I am dedicated to learn everything I can about these wonderful creatures.  I want to thank Emilie from Echo Rattery and Sarah from Lone Star Rats for putting up with my incessant questions and my late night phone calls.  I especially want to thank Gabriel from the Bao Varakhii Rattery.  She has been a continuing source of information and support, as well as being a dedicated friend.  =)