Potential new breeder looking for suggestions

[Skittles46]

My husband and I are wanting to start a rodent feeder business and we thought we'd look to the potential consumers for initial advice. I have a couple questions and any advice is welcome.

What all should we provide, where would you recommend starting (what animal)

How large would be reasonable to start with on a limited budget, yet still be able to at least support it initially?

Anybody in Oklahoma looking for anything in particular? I know there are some breeders here already, just thought it might be worth an ask.

Thanks for any advice you have!

[LadyOhh]

Rats and mice for sure. ASF maybe??

You will have to put in a LOT initially. I'm not sure exactly how much, but I think you need to think about your own budget first to see what you CAN before determining how much you SHOULD put in.

I would suggest contacting Becky at www.wfreptiles.com. She just started a Rodent Business here in my area this past year or so. She would be a good person to talk to.

[Brimstone111888]

Rats and mice for sure. ASF maybe??

You will have to put in a LOT initially. I'm not sure exactly how much, but I think you need to think about your own budget first to see what you CAN before determining how much you SHOULD put in.

Very good advice! Start by figuring out what you can afford to put in then do that.

Rats seem to be the easiest to breed. Mice are tricky and I have seen a lot of mothers killing their young, where as rat are pretty reluctant.

Also rats would give you a larger customer base by using rats. Full grown rats can be fed to larger snakes, along witht he babies can be fed to almost any snake, besides some tiny baby corns. On the other hand full grown adult mice are barly even enough of a meal for a small ball python. To me in a business sense, rats would be better.

[littleindiangirl]

Quality products speak for themselves!
Above all, feed them right, house them well, keep them clean, parasite and illness free, and you can can't go wrong in my book.

[twh]

as with any new business make it work on paper first,if the numbers don't work then don't invest,better to fail before you invest than a year down the road and lose your A$$.

i agree with heather on the rats and mice.IMO ASFR's are here to stay,offering them frozen for shipment would be a first i believe.i think the market for them is bright.

checking with established breeders gives valuable insight,however be mindful that they may view you as future competion. as paul simon once said:

you need to be coy roy.....
you need to make a plan sam..
jump on the bus gus

[Skittles46]

Rats and mice for sure. ASF maybe??

You will have to put in a LOT initially. I'm not sure exactly how much, but I think you need to think about your own budget first to see what you CAN before determining how much you SHOULD put in.

I would suggest contacting Becky at www.wfreptiles.com. She just started a Rodent Business here in my area this past year or so. She would be a good person to talk to.

I guess the question of how much we should put in was more of how much you would have to put into to, before it is at least self supporting.

Thanks for the suggestions and the contact!

Also, can a rodent business be run without shipping or will that eventually be something that needs done in order to continue growing?

Thanks to everybody for their help and suggestions.

[frankykeno]

Also, can a rodent business be run without shipping or will that eventually be something that needs done in order to continue growing?

That would depend on your local herping community really. Are there enough people within a reasonable distance to you that need a good feeder supplier? Is there a regular herp show that you could vend at every month? Herp groups?

You would likely have to ship F/T prey at some point to make a go of it. Then you have to consider humane, bulk euthanizing of the rats, proper freezing, proper label and packaging as well as the skill to ship frozen rodents even in hot weather.

My best advice if you get into breeding any rodents for feeders is to get good foundation stock, care for them right, feed them right and you'll get top notch offspring. Herpers are getting more discerning about prey and not willing to accept scrawny live rats, f/t prey covered in feces or inconsistency in quality or size. Suppliers know that if they want our business, we need the best prey they can offer or the business goes elsewhere.

[hoo-t]

Where in Oklahoma are you?

One or two thoughts -

There are somewhat frequent shows in Tulsa (actually Broken Arrow), OKC, and Dallas/Ft. Worth (Arlington). The OKC and Arlington shows are owned at least in part by a feeder supplier (Pet Snake Snacks), and he may not be willing to allow a competing feeder supplier into his shows. (I don't know that, just speculating) I've also seen him at the Broken Arrow shows. Otis is a super nice guy, though. You might want to talk to him. There are a couple of LARGE scale reptile breeders in OKC. I don't know where they get their feeders though.

You're gonna have to sell a LOT of rodents to make a living at it. I think in order to do that, you'll need to find some clients that are willing to buy from you exclusively (large scale) or go mail order with frozen. If you go mail order, competition may be stiff. There are a number of big rodent suppliers out there that have a pretty faithful following.

Also keep in mind that Big Cheese is in the Dallas/Ft Worth area and considered to be a high quality feeder supplier.

So, do your research. Talk to large and mid scale reptile breeders about potentially being their exclusive supplier. Find out if you even CAN get into the local shows. Good luck!

Steve

[monk90222]

That would depend on your local herping community really.

Don't forget birds of prey also. Or local animal rehabs or zoos...

[Skittles46]

Where in Oklahoma are you?

We're in Stillwater, basically halfway between Tulsa and OKC (hour drive from either).

Otis is a super nice guy, though. You might want to talk to him. There are a couple of LARGE scale reptile breeders in OKC. I don't know where they get their feeders though.

We'll check into talking to Otis, thanks for the heads up on the other 2 shows, all I had found was the Broken Arrow one.

You're gonna have to sell a LOT of rodents to make a living at it. I think in order to do that, you'll need to find some clients that are willing to buy from you exclusively (large scale) or go mail order with frozen. If you go mail order, competition may be stiff. There are a number of big rodent suppliers out there that have a pretty faithful following.

I figured it would take a LOT to actually make a full living at it. We're in a nice position with that, in that my husband still has a VERY flexible full time job as far as being able to pare it back slowly but still keep other income as we need it.

Also keep in mind that Big Cheese is in the Dallas/Ft Worth area and considered to be a high quality feeder supplier.

We'll keep that in mind, right now we're leaning towards a larger supplier with good feedback from his customers in Norman, as its closer.

Thanks!

Don't forget birds of prey also. Or local animal rehabs or zoos...

Thanks for the advice. We've checked on those, the rehabs basically are volunteer positions and try to get wholesale rates, but might be an option for cleaning out at some larger point.

The zoos and the University here (and in OKC) require you to have a USDA license which we won't have yet. Birds of prey is a great idea though!