hey hun! I breed my own rats and mice as well and I find first time mommies do really well with an experienced mom to help them out..... I have multiple tubs set up like this:
Tub 1 and 2 ~ breeder males one in each
tub 3 and 4 ~ Females 4 each based off of how well they get along
tub 5 ~ Future breeders ( super sweet girls that share the same qualities of their moms
Tub 6 ~ Grow out babies that are 4.5 - 5 weeks old are put here for a few weeks then future breeders removed and feeders divided by sex so no unwanted litters
I keep the males in their own tubs and introduce a female to their tub for about a week each since I can't always be there to see if they have done the deed or not....this gives me a chance to see if there are any signs of pregnancy before trying again. Also even females who haven't had a litter have taken on helping the new mommies and experienced mommies with feeding and caring for the young....so far I haven't had any bad luck aside from a female I picked up having been already expecting and being too old leading to her not making it through birthIn the end nothing is wasted though I always have something willing to eat.
my mice well there are two tubs
tub 1 ~ females with or with out babies and one male to play as dad...I do not introduce a new male when any females have babies with another male cause he will kill them
Tub 2 ~ feeders basically excess males since my litter contain mostly males
Hope this helps a little
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