​Varieties – Part One: Harley Davidson? Harley Quinn? What exactly is a Harley you ask?

Harley in the rat world is a long haired variety.
The original ‘Harley’ as she was named, was discovered in 2002.  She promptly gave birth to a litter of babies and it was presumed she had been impregnated by a sibling prior to being purchased.  She gave birth to 5 babies, 4 of them inherited her long coat.  Her owner went on to test breed and document her findings.  

Odd Fellows Harley - 2002

The coat is long, soft, fine, and there is no undercoat.  Some lines tend to have very wispy, sparse coats, other have quite luxurious locks.  Some Harleys do suffer from skin conditions so you should talk to your breeder about their lines and if they have any issues with hair loss, scaly skin or dryness.

​My own Harley lines were imported from Canada and I have my original ‘Georgie 2.0’ Line and my new Austrian Line.  Georgie 2.0 is a gorgeous seal point Siamese with a fabulous thick coat, no sign of thinning or breakage.  He hasn’t had any skin issues and he has the sweetest temperament.  Those of you who have emailed or visited the rattery know he is my Spokesrat, and personal heart rat.  If you have a Georgie baby, consider yourself extremely lucky.  I am in the process of working with his progeny to produce an American Blue Harley line.

ROAR King George II - Georgie 2.0

The new Austrian line has proved to be big, sturdy, sweet and also have great coats.  I have had one carrier to carrier pairing that gave me 3 Harley babies, one of which is a roan.  I will be seeing how she keeps her color, if she does, RROW will have a Roan (Husky) line in it future.  I also have a litter on the ground from Harley x Carrier pairing, I will be posting on their progress once I can determine how many Harley she produced.  Mom is Valentina and dad is Basileus, watch for photos soon.
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RROW Empress of India - Roan Harley - 13 weeks old.

​In case you were wondering, Georgie was so named because once I learned there was such a thing as a long haired rat, all I could think about was brushing his long hair, and the Bugs Bunny and Abominable Snowman cartoon popped into my head – I’m going to name him George and love him and squeeze him…… the name stuck.   

Get your own 'George' to love and hug and squeeze and brush at RROW today!!!!