The Rat Ranch

[mungus]

Any female rat not producing at least 10 weaners per drop is snake food.
I'm getting 12 -14 per litter at the moment.

 

[trippz]

thanks mungus i most of my fems are having their first litters so i dont expect too much from them

 

[wokka]

Any female rat not producing at least 10 weaners per drop is snake food.
I'm getting 12 -14 per litter at the moment.

There is a compromise between numbers and wean weights. Optimum litter size will depend upon what you are trying to achieve.

 

[pythons73]

Nice set-up,ive only got a dozen tubs and im producing 120-160 per months,more than enough for what i need...

 

[wokka]

Surely you're knocking out more than this Warwick?

When I was breeding, we were producing right on 10 per month per female, with the averages spiking to 13 occassionally.

There is a lot more to breeding rats than simply ratio's and diet. I think a lot of people invest the time and money into breeding large numbers of rodents but limit themselves on their lack of research. Often less tubs that are managed well will produce more young than jamming as many tubs as you can into a shed and just concentrating on the number of females you can have dropping litters.

If you have had 60 offspring from a 60 week old female then I think that ok across large numbers considering they dont drop their first litter until 4-5 months,

 

[Mrs I]

Thats great, depending on where you live you may need some sort of air conditioner in summer ??

 

[trippz]

im in melbourne so will have to wait & see how nasty summer is

 

[Kimbully]

That last pic has a lot of rats in one tub!

 

[Noongato]

Yeah i hope they dont actuallly live that cramped, poor buggers.

 

[kupper]

grow out tub im sure

 

[trippz]

does this help kimbully? that first pick was a close-up in the tub. i would never over crowd. i understand there are some ppl who do this i dont.

 

[trippz]

thanks kupper

 

[nocturnal_pulse]

i have actually been and purchased some (frozen) rats off this chick and i can tell you the setup is great....as for all the rats in that tub obviously she has taken a pic of them huddled in a corner the "grow out" tubs are about 1.5 meters x 1.5 meters the are huge with lots of room.....the rats are all very health looking and are fed top quality food and well cleaned out ........ funny how from one little pic you all can start ripping someone ...... how many rats do you know jump up to give you a cuddle when you go near them...none im sure they all scurry away and try and hide under each other just like in the pic.....

 

[Noongato]

Ahh ok
Yeah i believe rats at least need comfy living conditions, since their life is sacrificed to feed another.
You got a wide variety of colours there too.

 

[coree2009]

stunning mate your set up is wicked good job

 

[trippz]

Thanks coree & nocturnal pulse. When i have enough to feed my snakes i will be able to help others out. It seems some pet shops have poor quality rats & cant keep up with stock so should be interesting to see where im at by christmas.

 

[kupper]

most out my way are from matts rats and they are pretty good ,

 

[mungus]

There is a compromise between numbers and wean weights. Optimum litter size will depend upon what you are trying to achieve.

Very true wokka, but the 3 females that dropped the 14 babies, all survived and were in very good condition - not even a runt......:shock:
I keep the females from such litters and find that each generation their getting better and stronger, just introduce new males to network at times.
At the moment i have 7 females with 89 weaners [ will seperate them in a few days ]
Mate, got to be happy with these results.
Have another 4 girls ready to drop with the next generation to come through in another month.
If you have 20 good breeding females and 4 or so males, you average about 60 or so weaners a month. That keeps most collections going, especially if you throw a few quails in there for good measure.
At the prices of rats these days [ justified, as to the time and costs in producing them ], you would be crazy not to breed your own - simple.
Aleks.

 

[Reptilia]

Youve got a good setup trippz. Well done. Should have purchased opaque/clear tubs for a few reasons but theyll do the job.

I remember several years back when there were only 2 or so rodent suppliers in vic and rats were about $15 an adult. now there are a heap of suppliers and you can get an adult rat for about $6. Its great!.

 

[wokka]

Very true wokka, but the 3 females that dropped the 14 babies, all survived and were in very good condition - not even a runt......:shock:
I keep the females from such litters and find that each generation their getting better and stronger, just introduce new males to network at times.
At the moment i have 7 females with 89 weaners [ will seperate them in a few days ]
Mate, got to be happy with these results.
Have another 4 girls ready to drop with the next generation to come through in another month.
If you have 20 good breeding females and 4 or so males, you average about 60 or so weaners a month. That keeps most collections going, especially if you throw a few quails in there for good measure.
At the prices of rats these days [ justified, as to the time and costs in producing them ], you would be crazy not to breed your own - simple.
Aleks.

Aleks, my point is that if you are trying to produce pinkies then litters of say 18-20 may be desirable, but when aiming at weaners there is little point in aiming for a litter size over 12. Litter size is highly heretible!Big litters are not necessarily desirable.
As an aside; Do you recommend that budgie owners grow birdseed. It only takes a few seeds and a bit of dirt and water.