Rodent feeds for breeding shorten lifespan?

[amon]

I've heard rumor that rodent feeds (like those lab blocks) especially for breeding groups helps increase the number of pinks but tends to shorten the life of the parents?

Anyone has any info or idea on this?

Thanks.

[MDB]

I have never heard of this, I have heard though that it does lengthen the life span

[ThyTempest]

Seriously, does this even make sense....you feed your rats rat food and it shortens their lives? No...I dont think so...although breeding rats/mice etc will tend to not live as long as non-breeding rats/mice etc.

[m00kfu]

Breeding itself shortens a rats life, and the more often they breed, the more taxing it is on the rats longevity. The goal of high quality rat feed is to provide everything a rat needs to thrive and breed well. Just because they die sooner does not mean the food itself is the direct cause of the shortened life span, but because they breed.

Look at fancy rat keepers. They recognize the value of a quality lab block in a rats diet like Mazuri or Harlan, yet their animals can live for up to 4 or remarkably even 5 years, because their main goal is to breed for companions and may only breed a rat once it's whole life, not to produce as many as possible.

It's the stressful lifestyle we put on rats to raise our feeders that shortens life span, not the food itself.