Breeding rats.

[underunden]

My rats have bred for the first time since i got them, in january this year.
I have 16 babies. some at 2 weeks old and some at 3 weeks.
I will be selling them to pet shops( i enquired today and they said that they would take them for either reptile food or pets), but i am wondering how much is a good selling price, to sell them at once they have just weaned off their mothers?( approx. 6 weeks?) What is the average selling price of a rat of this age?

I am considering selling the white rats as reptile food, and the others with colours on them as pets. Is this a good idea? Or can you also sell coloured rats( white w/orange, white w/grey and white w/ brown) as reptile food?

Thank-you...
Jess,
any information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bez84]

All colours are fine for reptile food.
I havent sold to shops in a few years but all i got from them when i did was $1.50 - $1.75 for a tame 6 week old rat which in turn they throw into a tank with 50 others and slap a $12 price tag on them.
Not really worth the effort.
If your breeding for food just breed for yourself and sell excess to mates.
If your breeding for fun put a ad in the paper or petlink etc and sell them as pets for $5 or so.
Hope that helps.

 

[Kristy_07]

I agree. I bred rats as pets for years, and it was much nicer to meet the people they are going home with one-by-one than bundling them all off the to shop in the one go. Keep what you need for food, handling the others until 6-7wks, and put them in the paper if the mums haven't been handled much, watch out when you go in to handle the babies - I would take a snake bite over a rat bite any day!

 

[underunden]

Thanks everyone. That was helpful.
I think i will advertise on here or in a newspaper, as' for sale as pets'.

The mums aren't handled at all, so should i keep a female from this lot of babies, make her tame, and get a male, so that the offspring will be tame/tamer themselves?

At what age are baby rats generally weaned off their mothers? Is it just when i generally see them eating the food that the adults are eating.?

 

[Bez84]

Babies breed from tame adults are usually quieter (well mine are)
Wean at 6 -7 weeks of age and not just when there eating as mine do this as soon as there eyes open there nibbling food and ive weaned to early and had them die.
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[chickensnake]

At what age are baby rats generally weaned off their mothers? Is it just when i generally see them eating the food that the adults are eating.?[/QUOTE]

Usually at 3-4 weeks they are ok to be taken away from mum, i take them out at this age and have never had any probs

 

[orientalis]

Rats and mice should be weaned between 21 and 28 days old........According to animal ethics guidelines

 

[Kristy_07]

Babies will start to "practice" eating solid food around 3-4 weeks, but I personally wouldn't wean them until 6 weeks. If you are selling as pets, it would be better to wean at 7 weeks, for the same reason you shouldn't separate dog pups from their mother too early - it makes them more balanced, more social, and better pets. If your just breeding food, I'm sure this isn't as important

 

[underunden]

Thanks alot for helping me and posting very helpful information.