I think I started around 6 or 7.

--- I would breed rats, for the reason you stated. I do have a tub of mice for my "princes and princesses" of the group, and are good for hatchlings as well. Never tried ASF's.

---I personally recommend investing in building a nice rack - even if you dont use all of the tubs right away, you will sooner or later.
I say this b/c I messed around with individual tubs from walmart (cutting the tops and inserting mesh) - and hated it. I felt like I was wasting time and space, and have had escapies. It could definately work for you, as I know it works for some others here, but I personally would just go ahead and build the rack if you're serious. I built this little friend : http://www.arbreptiles.com/cages/rat_rack/ratrack.shtml, without the watering system (i just stick water bottles through the mesh)
and LOVE it. It has Adequate ventilation (the key to your smelly issues), and it takes me like 10 minutes to clean the whole thing (with one empty tub to put the rats occupying the tub im cleaning). I did split the design in half (4 tubs high, 2 wide) just because of my attic design. I think it cost me all of $65 or so, and is well worth avoiding the aggravation of anything else. ** if you put mice it it, you need a smaller mesh, as wee ones get out of the bigger mesh - haha, trust, i know

---I put 2 females in each tub, and circulate the male once a week. I made it a habit to remember to switch the male when I feed snakes. By the 7th tub (7 weeks), it's time for the first tub to start again. Gestation is about 23 days or so.

---if you dont feed live, search this site for the co2 chamber designs. I've never done this before, so Ill let the experts explain that to you.

--- feeding a bunch of rats is a lot cheaper than buying them. I have my walmart rat food trip down to a science, and takes me longer to stand in line than to actually get the stuff in my cart. I spend about $30 i think, and it will last me 2-3 weeks. Is the sticky still there for becky's mix under feeders? It's been a while since i've been here I pretty much stick to that mixture -

How many snakes are you feeding? Im sure we would be happy to help you get started with a setup, how many to start with, a schedule, things of that nature