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Cage With Mother 2-3: Best to keep together but i pair at a time for healthier stock. Female may nest anywhere in cage with mother 2-3. Close opening between floors of cage with mother 2-3 and keep male away from female when young are born.
Gestation averages 21 days. Number in litter varies with age and size of female. Young are born pink, naked, and blind. Eyes open in 10 days, after which young become active about cage with mother 2-3. Rats mature at 3 months. Advisable to separate sexes when young are about one-third grown. Females may be left with mother, but males should be placed in separate cage with mother 2-3; rats interbreed readily, but healthy stock is maintained only by mating mother with sons and father with daughters.
Transfer fledgling to cage with mother 2-3 when it becomes active. Use commercial canary cage with mother 2-3 for young jay; large bird cage with mother 2-3 for crow and magpie (see Part IV). Cover cage with mother 2-3 bottom with thick layer of bird gravel. Place limb with sturdy branches in cage with mother 2-3 as perch. Train pet to use cage with mother 2-3 for headquarters by keeping food and water there.
cage with mother 2-3 is needed only for confinement at night and for mother with young. Pet at home may be given freedom in an enclosed yard but must be watched; otherwise, it will dig itself out of its yard. Pet in classroom should have run of rooms; confine to cage with mother 2-3 at night to protect it. |
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