Want to start small feeder business

[Freakie_frog]

I produce between 500-1500 rats a week so take this for what its worth. If you're going to make money at it, know your margins. I can tell you how much it costs me to produce and grow a rat to any given size this number dictates my cost. Overhead + operating capital + profit / number of units produced = cost per unit. So for example:

Cost to produce a med. rat $.75 (food, bedding, water, medical, housing/hydration) + $.50 operating capital (this is to replace sipper nipples, gas for delivery's, insurance, pay employees) + 20% profit = $1.50 per rat. The more rats you produce and sell the more cost effective it becomes to breed them. Discounts on bulk food and bedding make it cost less per rat to produce so in turn the profit goes up and the price stays the same. If things change then either the profit goes down or the price goes up.

Learn what your margins are now before you start so you're making money out the chute and not struggling trying to figure out why you're losing money at it.

This is why so many people don't make money selling snakes they have no clue what it costs them to produce the animals and so in turn have no clue what they need to get for the animals to make it cost effective to breed them..

Here's a snake example. Super Pastel x Normal = 6 eggs

6 Pastels @ $50.00 each average = $300.00

Lets assume this is the parents first year breeding so a normal female and SP male we'll say 250.00 to buy the animals 3 years ago

rats to feed them for three years = $312.00 at 1.00 per rat
housing, bedding, water = $300.00 I averaged cause if you're using a rack then the cost varies so much
Incubation = 100.00 depending on method
Housing for babies = $300.00 again depending on method
food for babies = $9.00 for six babies @ .25 ech for 6 meals

So before any advertising or show equipment or vet cost it cost you 3 years and $1271.00 to produce 6 pastels.
So to make 20% on those animals you have to sell them for $255.00 ech. and every meal you put in them after 9 and every time you fill their water or change their bedding that amount goes up.

See knowing your cost to produce is a big help in knowing what to produce.

[Jay_Bunny]

I've never had to keep track of finances like that so there's definitely going to be some learning involved. I'm currently keeping track of all spending on an excel spreadsheet. How do you figure out how much it costs to produce a rat?

[Freakie_frog]

There is one time fixed cost: Racks, Sipper nipples, water supply lines, water buckets, tubs, building (building if you have one), breeder stock. all of this cost = x/12 we'll say $2500.00 ( this gives you a year yo pay off the first investment and make money from the start)
Then there is Overhead: bedding, food, water, electricity, mileage. This cost varies on the amount used and the cost for the item. = f so 200.00 a month for a smaller operation.
Then the is the number of rats a month you produce = R lets say 500 a month
Then there is Profit percentage you want to make = P say 20%

This is how I figure how much it take to get a rat to a weanling size before it starts eating food and drinking water. This includes holdback replacement breeder costs but no explosive growth cost.

So to figure out the cost per rat you take (we'll use fake nice round numbers) x/12 = 208.33; 208.33+f = 408.33; 408.33/R = $.82 per rat

Now lets say your production drops for just two weeks (here's where knowing your number helps)

( (x/12)+f )/250 = $1.63 or even worse your food cost goes up so thus Overhead increases

( (x/12) + 250.00)/R = now your @ $.92

So ( (x/12)+f)/R + Cpr) P = what you have to sell the rat for to make money

But if you don't mind changing x/12 to x/36 then it costs you less. After the 36 or 12 months then you've recouped your investment and the formula looks like this ( (f / R) = Cpfr + P) = price point per rodent.

It cost more to get a rat above weaned size because the have to have their own housing and food and water ect ect. but you just simply figure that into the x/12 and f values. So figuring out how many you plan to produce and knowing how many you can house up front is a huge deal .