Largest litter?!?

Since I started my small breeding group consisting of 1.2 rats 7-8 months ago; my girls have dropped a litter each every 5-6 weeks. They've normally dropped 8-12 pups, but this time one of the girls dropped 16 babies. :O

I just cleaned their tub and placed them in a fresh tub and counted 16 plump pups! What could've caused the increase in pups all of a sudden? Diet is still mainly pellets, but occasionally we add some Granola and a hard boiled egg here and there.

My 2nd girl should drop any day now as well...:pinkele:

I have to admit they are no trouble at all to breed, this is our 9th or 10th litter we've had already. We even brought them in the house since temps have been in the mid 90's for a few months now. We use to change the substrate every 7 days, but now we do 5 day cage cleanings and at this schedule you don't even know we have rats.

Could the lower temperature have effected their number of babies? We keep the day temps at about 78F and the night temps at 75F compared to mid 90F outside during the day and low to mid 80's during the nights.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3..._5464Small.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3..._5466Small.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3..._5465Small.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3..._5463Small.jpg

Nice size litter! My female just had 13 as her first. Maybe it has something to do with the feeding. I give lab block, cheerios, rice krispies, oatmeal and leftovers including eggs . I wouldn't doubt that better quality food contributes heavily to it. I am sure others would know more about it than me though.

Hi Jaime, I know we chatted about rats, but when did you get a pair?
They sure are easy to breed, but I still couldn't imagine housing 100's like some on here. Unless of course I had a complete separate house for them along..LOL.

I may hold back 1.4 or even 1.6 next year as mine age and start getting closer to retirement.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ssscales

Hi Jaime, I know we chatted about rats, but when did you get a pair?
They sure are easy to breed, but I still couldn't imagine housing 100's like some on here. Unless of course I had a complete separate house for them along..LOL.

I may hold back 1.4 or even 1.6 next year as mine age and start getting closer to retirement.

---

I've had them for a couple months. I have 3.4 right now.(ended up keeping an extra male for company and my girl got attached to one as well). One of the females just gave birth last week and another is getting close. I am just doing it to supplement and to have experience so I can have pinks for the hatchlings next year.

I fed mine beneful (dog food)plus all kinds of other people food, including chicken with the bone, cooked veggies,swiss cheese crackers, mac and cheese, spaghetti, eggs, etc.,etc. When we went out to dinner, I would box up my leftovers and give em' to the rats.......hell, sometimes they even got steak or shrimp!!!! The average litter size of my rats was 12, but once in awhile one would pop a 16,17,or18. I have heard of 23 baies, but that never happened to me.

My highest number has been 14

How long does it take for rats to reach the "small" category? I'm thinking about breeding my own rats for skin, and mice for bones. Skin eats small rats, but i think she could take mediums. Bones is still on adult mice. How long for the mice to be "food"?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ssscales

my girls have dropped a litter each every 5-6 weeks. They've normally dropped 8-12 pups, but this time one of the girls dropped 16 babies. :O

I just cleaned their tub and placed them in a fresh tub and counted 16 plump pups! What could've caused the increase in pups all of a sudden?

---

I'd say temp could've played a role, they seem more fertile around 70 degrees, and diet could also be part of it. The first few litters of most females tend to be a little smaller, then they peak out after a they've had a few. I think my average litter size is about 10, but I think my largest was 19, and that was from her 4th or 5th litter.

I feed a rodent block that has formulated and tweaked for many years by a couple local breeders, and is in lab block form. It is locally produced by Intermountain Farmers Association (they produce a lot of different agricultural feeds) with a 3 ton minimum run, so i usually split a run with a few other breeders. I usually get about 1500 lbs at a time, which lasts me 5-6 months, and this is all I feed and I am happy with the results.

I couldn't imagine keeping my rodents inside (P U!!!!), my wife wouldn't even allow a small breeding group in the house, so I have an insulated 120 sq. ft shed out back I keep at 65-70 degrees year-round (AC in summer, heated by occupants in the winter :D).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shaffer

How long does it take for rats to reach the "small" category? I'm thinking about breeding my own rats for skin, and mice for bones. Skin eats small rats, but i think she could take mediums. Bones is still on adult mice. How long for the mice to be "food"?

---

All the live rats I feed are weanling size or smaller, so 4-5 weeks old tops. Any larger than that and they are raised-up to breed, or put down to feed as f/t. As far as mice, they will get to a good adult feed-off size at about 7-8 weeks.

-Evan

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jglass38

I've had them for a couple months. I have 3.4 right now.(ended up keeping an extra male for company and my girl got attached to one as well). One of the females just gave birth last week and another is getting close. I am just doing it to supplement and to have experience so I can have pinks for the hatchlings next year.

---

I got a great rat breeder 10 minutes away, but decided to try my hand at breeding a few to supplement. Now I only buy a few weaned rats a month to fill the gaps. All my BP's are on small rats now. I just wish BP's were more like Boas in feeding! I've got a cooler full of Frozen rats that last me 4 months! No muss, no fuss!

Usually they start out around 10 their first litter, or so, and move up to 12-15 average.


Right now my average size litter is about 13-16, and my biggest litter was 24.