How to wean??

I'm just wondering how you guys go about weaning your rats. Mine are approaching 4 weeks which from my research is around the time it should be done. Do you simply just remove the momma rat?

I take out Momma for extended periods of time but if you don't have that kind of free time I just remove her or the pups.

Curious here too.

After they open their eyes are they good?

Wait till they start bouncing around?

No on opening eyes! That happens at 2 weeks old. They need to be 4-5 weeks. I start giving them cheerios and small treats around 3 weeks old. They will start chewing on them. At 4-5 you will start seeing them drink our of the water bottles and hang upside down on the hardware cloth to get to feed. This is usually the best time to wean. I put them straight into my feeder/holdback/growout tubs at this point.

Regards,

B

You can wean rats starting as early as 3 weeks of age, some people do it at 3 weeks so do it at 4 weeks (depends on what works for you and your colony), just removed them or remove the mother. At that time they will be fully capable of eating and drinking on their own.

2 weeks of age at which they open their eyes is TOO early as they still need their mother.

Here are some quick stats when it comes to rats http://ratguide.com/breeding/basics/statistics.php

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Originally Posted by Simple Man

No on opening eyes! That happens at 2 weeks old. They need to be 4-5 weeks. I start giving them cheerios and small treats around 3 weeks old. They will start chewing on them. At 4-5 you will start seeing them drink our of the water bottles and hang upside down on the hardware cloth to get to feed. This is usually the best time to wean. I put them straight into my feeder/holdback/growout tubs at this point.

Regards,

B

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B has got it down. IMO this is the way it should be done. I take mom out for a few hours after they hit 3 weeks. Mom needs a break and I find when I do this she is ready to breed much faster.

I agree you can do it early but I've found my rats grow faster and get bigger if I leave them with mom that extra week or two. If you wean early, they will grow slower.

Regards,

B

Most rats will be ready right at 4 weeks. Some take a while longer, some not as long. 9 times out of 10, 4 weeks is the right number.
You can also tell they are about ready when their nose gets pointy. That means they are eating more and nursing less..
I pull my feeders out at the monday of the 4th week, so that's either just shy of 4 weeks, or just over depending on when they were born. If I'm bringing it up for a breeder, I leave them in for an extra 1-2 weeks. this has been my recipe for 20 years+...

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Originally Posted by bokuza

B has got it down. IMO this is the way it should be done. I take mom out for a few hours after they hit 3 weeks. Mom needs a break and I find when I do this she is ready to breed much faster.

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To go along with what you said I've recently started keeping my moms in tubs alone or with other females whose pups I just weaned for at least a week before I reintroduce them to a male to get some fat reserves back on. I'll be curious to see how this works but I bet they get pregnant faster and have healthier babies. Some of the moms get so skinny feeding the little buggers.

Regards,

B

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Simple Man

To go along with what you said I've recently started keeping my moms in tubs alone or with other females whose pups I just weaned for at least a week before I reintroduce them to a male to get some fat reserves back on. I'll be curious to see how this works but I bet they get pregnant faster and have healthier babies. Some of the moms get so skinny feeding the little buggers.

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Move your pups around... If you have a tub with a few females, you can foster some of the babies around to keep them a little more fit and trim...
I use my females for about a year up to 18 months and then retire them, but during that time they are constantly breeding.