By putting the females in birthing tubs it allows you to
- Know what female produce what and whether there are issues with the offspring or if it is time for the female to retire.
- Cut down on loss, rats are great mothers however because they are so great they will fight over babies causing serious injuries and or death.
I have all my females birth individually in a small birthing tub and once the pups are stronger (5 to 7 days old) the females are placed in communal nursing tubs, depending on the litter size and age it will be between 2 to 3 females per tubs.
I produce a few thousands each year, now if you produce 10's of thousands you can take a 5 to 10% loss and not care about what female does what I guess.
I breed the way I do for efficiency.
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