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Personally l don't believe it pays the average person to breed rats and mice as apart from the satisfaction l don't believe you can compete with some prices for example l sell adult mice for $1.50 each that are 9-10 weeks old thats just over 2 cents a day :jumbo rats [350+grams] for $7.00 each [in packs of five] that are 16 weeks old thats 7 cents per day for growing-up take into account your setup costs and ongoing feed plus the slowdown in breeding in summer because of the heat and l believe you will find it hard to justify unless you have a passion for it.....solar 17 [Baden]

have to agree with you baden, if i had too i would start breeding, but if you find a good supplier i just can't see the sense in rodent breeding - pay a little extra for your supplier, bulk buy and save the hastles. Much rather spend my time cleaning my snakes and providing them with some extra attention.

how many factor in the cost of their time, additional chest freezers and the power they use, co2 for culling?
 
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might not be worth it for the average person to breed to sell in small numbers but for your own food needs its well worth it
"well worth it"could you please explain your post in detail
as l percieve your post to say you can easily beat 2 cents a day for breeding l and l am sure others are keen to hear you do it....solar 17 [Baden]
 
yep crickets r the same up here.... pet shops r shooting themselves in the foot.... $8 bucks a box of crickets..... the breeder sells them to me for $3 a box and i travel about 1km further than pet shop.... ?????
 
as i said it probably only costs me 50c-$1 per week for feed and bedding to supply feed to my snakes
 
Additional chest freezers and cost of time only become relevant factors if you plan on going big. With a small scale thing it's easy.
I use a soda stream for culling and once it's sanitised it gets used for its original purpose so that isn't a big added cost either.
Baden your prices are awesome but I haven't found anyone in my area that supplies them for that cheap even in bulk. Anyway it's fun when you keep it small. They become like pets (well at least the breeders do anyway)
 
as i said it probably only costs me 50c-$1 per week for feed and bedding to supply feed to my snakes
MMMMM average 11 cents per day to to feed and change the substrate for a couple of colonies mmmmm
 
MMMMM average 11 cents per day to to feed and change the substrate for a couple of colonies mmmmm

thats 11c a day to produce about 16 young at a time, i believe the 2c per day you were refering to with your adult mice was per animal per day, 11c per day for 16mice is about .68c per animal
 
Additional chest freezers and cost of time only become relevant factors if you plan on going big. With a small scale thing it's easy.
I use a soda stream for culling and once it's sanitised it gets used for its original purpose so that isn't a big added cost either.
Baden your prices are awesome but I haven't found anyone in my area that supplies them for that cheap even in bulk. Anyway it's fun when you keep it small. They become like pets (well at least the breeders do anyway)
hey. you know what l love doing it as well l get up 4.30am seven days a week and feed twice a day and unlike other larger breeders mine have water bowls changed twice daily and get fresh fruit and veg at least once and most of the time twice daily
solar 17 [Baden]

thats 11c a day to produce about 16 young at a time, i believe the 2c per day you were refering to with your adult mice was per animal per day, 11c per day for 16mice is about .68c per animal
l am afraid l don't believe those costs over an extended period of growth and as you said you have only just purchased your mice a bit further down the track they may well be different when your mice reach weaner stage kept under reasonable conditions....
 
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I guess alot of it depends on where you are. Up here, I've yet to be able to find a supplier with prices like yours baden. I bought out the last supplies of 2 of the local big breeders who went bust recently, about a year apart, cost me a bit but filled the freezer.

It costs me $27 a 20kg bag for food, and $24 a big (not sure how much) compressed brick of bedding, so about $50, and that lasts me about 10 days with a few hundred mice. At prices up here, 10 adult mice costs $40 (at last check), I can produce close to 30 adults for the same price, plus a large number of every other size. It's not as cheap as buying in some areas of the country, but cheaper than buying within 400kms of my house....
I used to drive to mackay for snake food.
 
l am afraid l don't believe those costs over an extended period of growth and as you said you have only just purchased your mice a bit further down the track they may well be different when your mice reach weaner stage kept under reasonable conditions....

I'm not talking about wieners or larger i am talking about the size i am currently using which is hopper, small wiener at max, the only way the costs are going to change in this situation is if the feed prices go up. Of course as the mice get larger they will eat more and the costs will go up but i cant see it going up to the point of buying my feeders being cheaper
 
I haven't read through the whole thread, but as we are breeding our mice & rats as well, we are using pig pellets to feed them. You can get a big bag for quite cheap at the farmer supply store and lasts for quite a bit.
 
hey. you know what l love doing it as well l get up 4.30am seven days a week and feed twice a day and unlike other larger breeders mine have water bowls changed twice daily and get fresh fruit and veg at least once and most of the time twice daily
solar 17 [Baden]

Baden, I've heard reports that your rodents are the best around. I've heard a few tales from close friends of mine that your husbandry would be second to none. If i had to buy my rodents i would be getting them from you!

I must admit, it is nice knowing that all i pay for is some fruit and veg, bedding, rodent blocks, bread and a soda stream system to feed all my snakes. I know i've saved thousands of dollars in the years i have been breeding my own. As long as you do your research before you set up as to what feed to use (and source it so it's not bumped in price!!) what bedding is best, a decent place to keep them and tubs that they won't chew out of and TADAA! Cheap food. Personally i love looking after my ratties, the breeders live great lives and are better kept than most 'pet' rats i know. Not once have they suffered from myco or anything else, while working as a vet nurse i see sick little pets all the time the poor things.

(End rant) Breeding is very rewarding, i know breed for colour and temperament as well and enjoy playing with the genetics involved. It will save you money and as long as you have the time to spare it will give you a new hobby that is doubly rewarding.

That being said i have no problem gassing cute little ratties.
 
Now there are a couple of bigger breeders on here what are your thoughts on interbreeding? I know it could cause deformities in other animals but is this the case for rats? I think it would be so much easier to replace my breeders with their babies once they get a bit older. Plus for things like your selective breeding Shooshoo I'd imagine being able to pick them from your own litters would be more ideal too
 
One main cost of breeding your own rodents is the cost of feed. Does anyone grow their own grain for rat feed? That would be the way to save real money. I rekon those farmers must be making a fortune!
 
All the prices above sound cheap compared to this one!! ($700!!!)

Baden, do you ever do drop offs in Brisbane? I am keen to buy some pinkies (60 or so) and some Jumbo & Large rats (5 of each). I live in Ipswich, but drive to Taringa daily, just makes for a lot of driving if I then head out to Boondall.......
 
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I just found a breeder as pet shop prices seem to have sky rocketed. I get them for a good price now.
 
All the prices above sound cheap compared to this one!!

Baden, do you ever do drop offs in Brisbane? I am keen to buy some pinkies (60 or so) and some Jumbo & Large rats (5 of each). I live in Ipswich, but drive to Taringa daily, just makes for a lot of driving if I then head out to Boondall.

At my prices its pick-up ONLY....Baden
 
No problems Baden, just one way to find out, so I thought I would ask.... I may end up following the crowd out to you soon!
 
Now there are a couple of bigger breeders on here what are your thoughts on interbreeding? I know it could cause deformities in other animals but is this the case for rats? I think it would be so much easier to replace my breeders with their babies once they get a bit older. Plus for things like your selective breeding Shooshoo I'd imagine being able to pick them from your own litters would be more ideal too

I'm guessing that you mean in-breeding, siblings to parents ect......No it does NOT cause deformities, it would seem that the gene that causes in-breeding deformities does not exist in rats and mice.

It's interesting to note that the certified research breeders usually have 2 lines of rats. One line is referred to as in-breed and the other out-bred.
To get to the stage of a line being classified as in-bred they must have been in-bred for AT LEAST 200, yes 200 generations.
The medical research people love the in-bred ones as the DNA in all of them is 99.5% the same.
 
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