Hi All,

So, I have a breeding setup (mostly) done, but I have a few questions about it. I currently have 6x Sterilite 17571706 66-Quart ClearView Latch bins for breeding, and 4x Sterilite 17641704 110-Quart Clear View Latch bins as growout bins.

I currently have 2 males (unkown age but definitely old enough to breed, got from petstore), and 5 females (approx. 7 weeks old).

Approximately how many rats do you think I could safely house in the growout bins, assuming I don't want to change the bedding more than 2x a week at most? -It would be helpful to know at each growth stage, or at least a ratio for each (eg 1 medium rat=2 small, etc.)

Once my first generation grows up, would I be able to house 2 females per breeding bin safely? (I am planning on reducing to 1 male at this point, and put the male on a 1 week rotation through all 6 bins)

Also, for future reference, how many asf's would I be able to have in my growout bins (as I may start breeding them too in the future).

And, for any Canadians out there, have you found any better places to buy feed/bedding online than chinchilla.ca? I can't do local because I live in the middle of nowhere, and the closest pet/feed stores charge a ridiculous amount for small bags of super high protein and fat content lab blocks (and I am not screwing with a 'balanced' mixed food diet)


Just for reference, I am setting up rat breeding as a way to offset the costs of raw feeding my cat and ferrets more than anything else, and I have been told I am pretty much guaranteed all my excess stock will be bought.

These questions are mostly so I can more easily figure out my costs a bit better, and how much space I need (as well as have an idea how how many rats to cull at what age range).