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Breeding rats

radera5

radera5

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I have just started breeding my own rats. I have 3 litters the oldest being 12 days old. I have been reading as much as I can about weaning the babies from mom.

My question is what do you all feed your babies? I have read that around 14 days old most will begin to open their eyes and roam. Some people have said they will begin eating at this time on their own. (Or soon after)
So do you switch them right to rat feed/ dog food? Or something wet?

Thanks for any and all help in advance!
 
I give mine treats like sunflower seeds, fruits, vegies, crackers. I keep them on their regular diet of rodent block though so they dont get too used to their treats.
 
Thanks Beanie and Shadera! That is what I was wondering.

I have a few babies that are looking like they would be into some of the rodent block I have so I will try it out.

Thanks again!
 
In between 2-3 weeks old, I will take a few pieces of rat food out of the dispenser (because the babies can't reach it) and toss it in the litter. I haven't noticed any having interest in it until 3-4 days before they hit three weeks. It's good to wean them on food before you wean them off milk. When you switch dogs or cats from one food to another, they say to slowly add the new food to let their body adjust, so I can only assume this would help their transition.
 
I've never tracked the exact ages of babies when they wean, it's difficult to keep up with when you have 60-80 breeding females, I just let the moms handle it.
I use separate birthing tubs for each pregnant female and when the young look like they're big enough to feed themselves I'll pull the mom and put her back into the breeding tubs.
They're pretty good about working it out for themselves.
 
Thanks again guys.

Clay: I was kinda thinking the same thing. My head was telling me "their rats!", "They will figure it out" ;) I did want to make sure though.

Thanks for the input from everyone.
I figured this has been talked about before but I could NOT find a thread with this info for the life of me.
 
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