Breeding question

[ss10gotanks]

Ive been getting my rat breeding setup ready for a couple weeks now. Currently I have four 50 qt tubs each holding 2 females. Now im going to be circulating the male to the next tub every 2 weeks. By the time he he gets there i will have 6 tubs. (im buying them on a "Have money" basis lol) The post ive seen on these forums talks about having 12 female rats and cycling the male between them to get a litter every week. Which is what i need. However I dont want to have the females in a tank by themselves as that is kind of cruel to them. So i have them in sets of two. So does anyone have any ideas on how to plan a litter a week with 2 females per tub and circulating the male every two weeks? Or at least how to estimate

[ss10gotanks]

bump...

[starstrukk]

Just an idea, so no one is alone... I don't know how many rats you have, but this just kind of popped into my head. If you housed 3 rats per tub, and kept an extra tub empty:

Say you have A, B & C Females. and M Male.

A B & C are in their tub together.
Take B & C and put them in the empty tub.
Cycle in M.
Cycle out M.
Put B & C back in tub with A.

If you only have one male, it would work, but if you had two males cycling then you'd have to get a little more crafty to keep track of things and two extra tubs rather than one. This way, also, with the 3 females- you wouldn't have the scent of a strange female if, in case, you put female B into a tub with females A doesn't know. The smell of completely strange females could stress the pregnant female and cause her to abort.

[ss10gotanks]

i have 12 females in 6 tubs. and one male that i cycle every two weeks

[snakesRkewl]

Females do fine by themselves when they have kits, in fact I'm pretty sure they enjoy the time alone
Planning litters to coincide with another rat so they are paired up is a great idea but good luck with that, they don't follow the rule books any more than snakes do

[ptate]

You would be better off having the females housed individually in maternity tubs once they become pregnant.