FaunaClassifieds - View Single Post - Any Tips On Breeding Mice Or Rats?
View Single Post
Old 12-01-2006, 12:24 PM   #8
looking1
Hello: After reading your help letter I thought I would give you my advice. I have
been raising rats for a year now with great success so I will give you what I have
learned.

First of all go to Home Depot and buy the small black cement tubs. We make a
2x4 frame with 1/2x1/2 wire attached to the 2x4 frame. Take a 1x4 split in half and
nail it to the full 1x4 in the middle which makes an upside down T for your sliders.
Attach to your 2x4 using a tub for your width for the lip to slide on. You can make
as many and as long as you want. Put about a gallon of pine bedding in which you
can get at your local farm elevator and you can also get your rat food at the elevator.
You run a 1x4 in the top of the 2x4 box you made about 6" wide to hold your rat food.
Then you go on the internet to Bean Farm and purchase 3/16 tubing, watering tips,
and tees. You put a plastic 26 or so gallon square heavy duty tub which you will
place above the rat racks. Run your tubing out of tub back and forth along the front
of each rat bin on the top of the 2x4 then cut each container and put a T in and run
tube with watering tip to rat container. They come with clips that will allow you to
clip to top of wire.

We put 1 male and 3 females in each tub. Babies are ready to leave mom and dad
when they are ready to run like little rats. If left too long they take all of moms milk.
They also will be ready to breed again. The moms will feed each others babies and
even fight over them. If a rat is killed no new replacement can go in until the tub
has no babies in it because they will kill it. Replace with the biggest male if female
put in a younger one so older females won't bother her then she will fit into the colony.
You might want to wear leather gloves when working with them because sometimes
they get nerous with their babies and may nip. Some of ours have ate a hole in the
front of the tub. They seem to like to see what is going on around them but the
adults never leave the tub but sometimes a baby will fall out. No problem just feed
him to your snake.

We have about 200 tubs of rats and are successful. If you have any questions just
E-Mail me. Raising rats is not a big deal. Don't let it get complicated. They just
need a temperature of about 75 degrees, the cube food, and water.

Good luck, Sharon /DBA/Boas with Balls (MICHIGAN)