Small litter

[sinclair]

My second female just gave birth and only had 3 pinks. She didn't even really look pregnant and the litter caught me by surprise. Do they sometimes just have small litters their first time, or will this doe probably never have average sized litters?

[shadowsnakes]

Maybe be a small producer or may have bigger litters in the future. Make sure she has appropriate food and breed her again, hopefully you'll have more pinks.

[Kat_Dog]

What are you feeding and how old are your rats?

My first 2 litters were only 4 because I was feeding a brand of rat feed that isn't well-known and it was getting old. Mazuri is $40-$50 here for 20lb, and that's more than the grain-free I feed my cat, so I went with something cheaper... it was a mistake...

I changed over to Native earth last month and my latest litter(last night) was 14 pups!

[Stewart_Reptiles]

First time mom can have small very first litter and of course older females as well. Question is which category does she fall in.

I tend to retire females soon as they produce less than 6 babies and I always hold back females from large litter 14 and up, and of course proper nutrition and temps are also a factor.

[MonkeyShuttle]

First time mom can have small very first litter and of course older females as well. Question is which category does she fall in.

I tend to retire females soon as they produce less than 6 babies and I always hold back females from large litter 14 and up, and of course proper nutrition and temps are also a factor.

Does the mom pass on her good baby making genes?


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[Stewart_Reptiles]

Does the mom pass on her good baby making genes?


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They do which is why you do not want to hold back from small litters or from known bitters. , you want to hold back from your largest litter and your sweetest females.

[sinclair]

What are you feeding and how old are your rats?

My first 2 litters were only 4 because I was feeding a brand of rat feed that isn't well-known and it was getting old. Mazuri is $40-$50 here for 20lb, and that's more than the grain-free I feed my cat, so I went with something cheaper... it was a mistake...

I changed over to Native earth last month and my latest litter(last night) was 14 pups!

I am feeding them Mazuri 6F. I found a place near me that sells a 50 pound bag for a little less than $30 including tax. I split it into 10 ziploc gallon freezer bags and have it in the freezer. I assume my rats are pretty young. I bought them both at Petco as "large" rats. Hopefully it's just her first litter that is small. The other rat had a litter of 13 and culled it to 11.

[Kat_Dog]

Do you know how much she weighed when you paired her? I wouldn't breed a girl under 200 grams.
Also, "large" isn't a very good measurement... they could be anywhere from 6 months to a year old depending on how often your store sells rats and females should really be bred before they are 9 months old.
If she has another small litter, I wouldn't keep her as a breeder.

[black06gt]

Saturday I had a 1st time mom rat die from birth complications she only had 1 pup, I think one of the pups got stuck and prevented the rest from being born. She's the first one I've had have any problems. She was around 290g / 5 months old when I put her in with the male. I also feed Native Earth 18% Protein and a mix of seeds/oats/veggies once a week. I believe genetics plays a major roll in the size and health of the litter and mom. The female that died was from a local breeder who breeds for feeders not pets. Most of the other females I have are from local breeders who breed for pets and they seem to do better with litter size and are a lot friendlier except for a evil dumbo eared female I have lol

[MonkeyShuttle]

Saturday I had a 1st time mom rat die from birth complications she only had 1 pup, I think one of the pups got stuck and prevented the rest from being born. She's the first one I've had have any problems. She was around 290g / 5 months old when I put her in with the male. I also feed Native Earth 18% Protein and a mix of seeds/oats/veggies once a week. I believe genetics plays a major roll in the size and health of the litter and mom. The female that died was from a local breeder who breeds for feeders not pets. Most of the other females I have are from local breeders who breed for pets and they seem to do better with litter size and are a lot friendlier except for a evil dumbo eared female I have lol

Sorry for your new momma lose


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