Should I just give up?

[Chuckels]

Yet another post of someone having issues...and what a coincidence your using dog food...

I really don't care for dog food as a staple food source. I see a lot of people on here stating this problem and they always are using dog food...I don't think its a coincidence. Some people have great luck with it, most don't. I think maybe its ok if they are not breeding, but for some reason nursing mothers don't do well with it when they have kits. I don't breed rats regularly but whenever I do I have great success and barely lose any babies,( some but nothing out of the ordinary) and they always produce fast. Whenever I bred rats I don't let the room go above 80(average temp of 78), keep them in nothing smaller then large mason tubs, and nothing else by mazuri 6f. Whatever is in this stuff works! I have pet rats still and feed them nothing but this and they are as healthy as can be. When I was breeding females didn't seem to have problems keeping them alive. Biggest problem I ran into was them fighting over the litters. Breeding rats shouldn't be THAT hard and if your having a hard time then your doing something wrong.

I have never had issues before using dog food. I'm pretty positive its my rats. Im getting rid of my current stock and starting fresh. I also bought a bag of Mazuri 6F (50lb) to see how it works. If it works like you say then thanks for the tip, if not, thanks for the constructive criticism.

Trey

[RichsBallPythons]

I use kent and mazuri 9F or 6F which ever i decide to grab at farm store.

[Jay_Bunny]

I live in Richmond, Va. I order my Mazuri through Fin and Feather (they are the only place I have found that can order in the 50lb bags)

[Animals As Leaders]

According to Mazuri's dealer locator there are two places you can go and one is 10 miles away. Sounds like your in business!

https://www.mazuri.com/Home.asp?Products=2&Opening=4

[snakeman13]

I use Mazuri 6F rodent breeder formula.
My hooded average 12 a litter, 24 breeding females,
my asf's average 17 a litter, 120 breeding females.
wont use anything else.

[chully]

Sorry to hear you're having so much trouble. My wife and I have been breeding rats on and off for a few years, though in the past year with our snake collection growing we're breeding a lot more. I have three racks comprising 6 breeding tubs with a 1.4 ratio, and 20 birthing large tubs (MacCourt 26x26x6's). This results in mostly 1:1 female/litter to a tub, but a few veteran & new mom's double up.

They're housed on pine pellet bedding covered in aspen shavings; this really keeps the ammonia down because the pellets absorb urine and the shaved aspen is nice bedding to nest in. I currently feed Rat Diet (Lab Diet) 5012 but I'm considering Mazuri 6F as a replacement due to the high protein content and some skin problems I see pop up with the 5012 necessitating the addition of fats to their diet. They also get (and adore) dandelion greens from our yard and any of our organic kitchen scraps; egg shells, watermelon, cantaloupe, apples, greens, etc.

Some of the new mothers have no concept of being a mom. I like to keep a veteran mom in with new ones, because the veteran will adopt an abandoned litter frequently, and the new mom gets a lesson in nursing. Additionally, they tend to communally pile babies and one mother will nurse giving the other a break. Maybe a silly notion, but it makes me feel better about them!

The pine pellets work so well, that we rarely have to change litter more than once a week. Sometimes at 5-6 days, but rarely.

I don't know what exactly it is we're doing right but we've had very low pinkie losses. We produced 12/12 litters during January, when temperatures outside were -30F, in the semi-insulated garage, around 34F. +1 to the person who previously said; rats do well in cold temperature, you just need to keep their water system flowing.

PS - I have a blue rat, veteran mom. Hasn't lost a single baby in all four of her litters. She, and all of her offspring are the most docile, friendly rats we own. Just my two cents.

[Jay_Bunny]

Well just as an update. I have not been breeding the rats due to trying to get the mites under control. I have checked with the store that orders my Mazuri in and they said they are closing down. So now I'm on the hunt for someone who can order Mazuri in. I checked the Tractor Supply store in my area and while Mazuri's site lists them as someone who carries it, the guy there said he couldn't find it, nor could he find it in the system. He did offer to email his Purina rep and see if its something they have to special order and he'll give me a call back (very helpful guy) as soon as he hears something back, probably by Monday.

So, if this store doesn't carry it, I'll have to find some sort of alternative. I know the reptile show has people who carry rat feed there, and while its not Mazuri (I recall it being Harland Tekland or something like that) its better than dog food. I might pick up a bag while I'm at the show.

As soon as the mites are taken care of, I'm going to try out the females I've been raising up. All of them are ready to breed, so its just a matter of putting a boy in with them. I'm also going to be making new enclosures so I can stop using glass tanks. I hate glass tanks.