breeding rats

[unknownclown]

hey there :)
At the moment we have 1 big cage that all the rats roam in and 1 where I put the females once they look like they are pregnant to give birth until they are weaned. Theres usually 1 or 2 females with litters at a time in there.
I am wanting to up the amount of babies we have so we can have more for our snakeys to eat and was wondering if it would be best to get a couple of tubs and do a 1 male to 3 or 4 female ratio instead of what we have going on now. Or would it be pretty much the same results with more space taken up to to the extra tubs?:rolleyes:

[exwizard]

Currently, we have 12.78 breeders. Each male gets his own tub while we rotate the females depending on their pregnancy status. This way we avg 3-4 females to each male while the rest are in the nursing tubs until weaned. By doing this we have a constant flow of pinkies all the way up to XXX large and with 14 snakes, thats more than enough to keep them happy. The excess we sell to those who need them. To answer your question, if you want more babies increase the number females and you will get the results you want.

[unknownclown]

hm... at the moment we have 19, 3 of those males the rest females are you saying that it would be more productive to separate them in thier own breeding bins then or just up the female count?

[exwizard]

By giving each male their own tub, you eliminate the fighting between males and its easier to keep track of each ones production. Id say your ratio of 3.16 is a good one to have. That gives each male apr. 5 females to keep him busy. If you want increased production, increase the number of your breeders overall.