1 male / 24 female rat colony.

[Snake_Whisperer]

Has anyone had any experience with a setup like this? I am looking into a massive hutch to house a colony like this as I have had it with the 1/4 colonies in my garage. I am not too concerned if the turnover is reduced as I have food coming out my ears at the moment. Just tired of the amount of tubs it takes to grow out my feeders.

This unit i am looking at is 1600L x 700W x 1000H. It will require a few modifications of course but I am more concerned about the productivity of a 1/24 split. I will likely have 2 of these units for breeding, 2 smaller units for separation and growing. Love to hear the feedback!

Aaron

 

[Gizzard]

i wouldnt have much of a clue on that system ive only ever known breeding for food ( in high amounts ) is good in a rack system . But you better hope your one male is a stud to inpregnant all the feemales

 

[chondrogreen]

Those that keep them in bath tubs go with approx 2-5 males to 25-30 females.
A similar ratio would probably be good in that enclosure. Only issue I can think of is them chewing on the timber, or digging their way out.

ETA. Oh and seperation of pregnant females so the males don't kill the babies.

 

[Wild~Touch]

How would you catch them in that mansion...( I mean the size you need at the time)
Tubs is easier Easier to clean and more practical....Rats are destructive little buggers with timber
Cheers
Sandee

 

[Snake_Whisperer]

Only issue I can think of is them chewing on the timber, or diggign their way out.

Oh and seperation of pregnant females so the males don't kill the babies.

Yeh, the chewing will likely be a problem, I am tempted to duplicate this rig with Kube-Lok aluminium frame and FC sheet for wall and floor surfaces.

As far as separation goes, this is why I want to trial one male to 24 females. Should eliminate the baby killing!

 

[chondrogreen]

I think production will either cut right down OR the male will shag himself to death lol

 

[wranga]

think they will chew their way out of there. also you may find they will turn feral with having large numbers together in a large space. then catching them would be a real problem

 

[Wild~Touch]

The girls will fight for their turn and probably kill the poor boy

 

[Hetty]

Females kill each other's babies too. I don't think it would work well at all.

Males kill babies if they're not their own, but they usually won't otherwise. Females often kill each other's babies, especially when there are 3+ females with litters, and even if they don't, the smaller babies don't usually make it because there's larger ones in the nest.

And then add in that the male doesn't have unlimited sperm (at least, not over a short enough period to justify trying such a method of breeding).

 

[Jungletrans]

l have just set up a summer home for my rats under the carport at the rear of our house . Put together a flatpack , all steel chook pen from Bunnings . 5 ft high , 5 ft wide and 2.5 ft deep with the upper 2/3 of the front mesh . lt cost $180 and took half a day to erect . lt is on a concrete slab so they cant chew out . Have built 3 timber shelves around walls with ramps to use the space but havent figured out how to catch them yet . Just go in , shut door and chase them l guess .

 

[Snake_Whisperer]

l have just set up a summer home for my rats under the carport at the rear of our house . Put together a flatpack , all steel chook pen from Bunnings . 5 ft high , 5 ft wide and 2.5 ft deep with the upper 2/3 of the front mesh . lt cost $180 and took half a day to erect . lt is on a concrete slab so they cant chew out . Have built 3 timber shelves around walls with ramps to use the space but havent figured out how to catch them yet . Just go in , shut door and chase them l guess .

Lol, yeh, basically what I had in mind. Wife reckons it would be hilarious to watch me crawl in on hands and knees to start catching, and have the little mongrels swarm me!

Thanks for all the feedback, Think I'll go back to the drawing board. Still want to get my setup outside though. I have had timber problems with rats before, aluminum seems to solve that. If I can come up with something viable, I'll let you know!