Possible Rack Design and Birthing bin Questions

[PigsnPythons]

I think that most people recommend each female having her own birthing bin, typically how big is that bin?

Also, I'm considering building a rat rack that would have two different sized bins, ex.

_____BIG_____
_LIL__ __LIL__
_LIL__ __LIL__
_____BIG_____

So that I can have the little bins as birthing bins and the big bins as breeding, growup, and female rest bins. This way I can fit my rotation into a shorter rack (I'm 5'2" so a 6+ tall rack is going to be an issue). Does anyone see any possible issues with this? Assuming I can find them the smaller bins would be roughly half the size of a medium concrete mixing tub (I'm going to have the big tubs slide out lengthwise instead of width wise ....so the width of the little bin would be roughly half the length of the bigger bin).

Also, is a birthing bin of that size going to be too small during the last week or week and a half of weaning? Would it be an option to move females that have litters that are 2+ weeks old to the same big bin? Assuming no more than two females per bin? Or do you still lose babies even at that age?

Also, if you are planning on replacing a retiring breeder with her daughter, from which litter do you typically try to hold back a female?

Thanks!!

[tomfromtheshade]

My advice for anyone just starting out is to use petmate litter pans for breeding and birthing bins. You can make your breeding rack 4 tubs high and 2 tubs wide. Use the Jumbo litter pans for the breeding tubs.

Use medium litter pans for the birthing rack. Make the birthing rack 6 levels high and 4 levels wide.

Run 1.3 rats in the breeding bins and then you have 24 bins for you birthing females.

When you need grow out bins you can make a rack with the concrete mixing tubs from Homedepot.

[suzuki4life]

if you can find decent mortar tubs...you can't beat them for the price...I recommend using them and giving as much space as possible

[tomfromtheshade]

if you can find decent mortar tubs...you can't beat them for the price...I recommend using them and giving as much space as possible

If you plan on breeding on a large scale you can't beat the mortar tubs. They are the least expensive way to get a lot of space in your rodent room.

If you are just doing things on a small scale I think that the cat litter pans are the way to go. They are more readily available and their consistency is better as far as the measurements and quality go.

The Jumbo Petmate litter pans are bigger than the CB30 duplicate boxes that Freedom Breeder and ARS use in their racks for breeding.

I really wish that I could find a place that would do a small run of custom tubs for me. That way I could really do what I want with my breeding and birthing racks, and especially my holding racks. There are just NO good tubs available for holding racks. Something 48" x 24" x 5" would be great. Any of the tubs that are large enough for a good amount of rats are always too tall for the little guys to get to the food and water.