Breeding rats for feeders

My males are pretty indifferent to the babies. They tolerate them, but don't really care for them. They walk on them and pretty much act like the babies aren't even there. I haven't ever had a male kill and eat babies.

I am producing a few hundred rats per week now and I have some colonized racks set up and this has been my experience.

I used to separate my moms and let them raise the babies up in their own tubs, but it is way way way too time consuming and it takes up way way way too much space when you start producing larger numbers of rodents.

Im new to rat breeding and been reading some here and there. I currently have soft furs that i breed which there easy to breed btw. Just leave the male and females in and let them do there thing. But domestic rats seem different from what ive been reading. To get started, my idea is a 1.3 ratio. Now should i keep all 4 together till they are pregnant and then remove the male? Or do i remove each female into there own containers till birth? Or can all 4 stay together all the time? Ive heard rats are very social animals and like having a companion which makes me think that pulling the male and leaving him alone would be a bad idea. Ive heard mixed answers which is why im asking.

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Originally Posted by PghBall

I leave my male in with the females and have never had a male cannibalise his own offspring. In fact, I have withnessed the males cleaning the pups and also sleeping with them keeping them warm.

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same here, havnt ever seen a male mess with the pups in a negative way. only clean them and help keep them warm while mom eat/drinks/sleeps

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Originally Posted by Clint Bundy

My males will kill the babies if they are left in with them. I have had it happen 100% of the time. I no longer leave them in. It happened to me twice and that was enough. I have a friend who breeds also and he has had the exact same luck with males.

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id think either something is wrong with both of you guys males and/or setup. might be time to recheck it

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Originally Posted by SnakeKB

To get started, my idea is a 1.3 ratio. Now should i keep all 4 together till they are pregnant and then remove the male? Or do i remove each female into there own containers till birth? Or can all 4 stay together all the time? Ive heard rats are very social animals and like having a companion which makes me think that pulling the male and leaving him alone would be a bad idea. Ive heard mixed answers which is why im asking.

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from the earlier posts it seems that either way you asked about will work I guess it is really up to trial and error for you

Currently I use a 1.3 ratio and pull my males I have 3 groups set up like this for now so all my males end up in a holding tub together I am trying to work it out where the males can just go from female tub to female tub every few weeks so I don't need to keep an empty tub for them. I keep my females together all the time and have not seen any problems with baby stealing or fighting over babies. I give them all a 2-3 week break between litters after weaning and that's about it

I just bought three females and I'm looking for a male to breed them with. My question is this, how do I prevent inbreeding? My first thought is to keep breeding the parents but after some reading, it seems like I can breed the mother 3, maybe 4 times if I'm lucky. Suggestions?

I remove my pregnant girls as soon as I can visibly tell they are pregnant or have just laid their litter of pups. I do not leave it to chance on whether or not the males will eat them. I have a birthing rack setup so that I can leave each mother to raise here pups until they are weaned and then return them to the breeding rotation.

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