Thank you for the very detailed response! It definitely seems it is plenty beneficial to breed ypur own!
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Thank you all for the responses! Looks like breeding feeders becomes a necessity when you have more animals. Ill have to start looking into getting some colonies started
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One thing to also keep in mind in order to maintain a colony you will have to always be cycling breeders and holding females. There is a bit of a science to it lol. A colony can crash as well so it always good to have an affordable reliable back up source. And honestly a large colony is a lot of work. So if you donât quite have a large collection yet it may not honestly be worth it.
One more quick point lol if you have a good relationship with some local snake breeders you can usually have no problem getting rid of your extras.
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I have 28 snakes currently, I grabed the 24 tub system however will not be using all 24 tubs, as i anticipate only needing to use 4 currently to produce a steady supply of 56 rats a month, any extras i will euthanize and freeze to build up a backup supply. The 24 growout system is definitely excessive to my needs, but when i eventually expand how many animals i have (especially id i start getting a bunch of clutches that dont move right away because im a new face) having the ability to expand to suite my needs will be worth it, and once i downsize, its as easy as retiring tubs that are no longer needed until they are needed again.
As for breeding, the 24 tub system will have enough space to seperate pregnant mothers out and see how they are producing and switch them around with other colonies to keep the bloodline fairly fresh. At keast thats my plan.
I have a local shop near me, so i can try and do some networking once i have enough stockpiled
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Congrats on grabbing an ARS rack. Rack systems like that are super nice because they utilize superior tubs that wont break down like black cement tubs and they slide much better on metal to plastic versus wood. They also wont absorb odors/stain/bacteria etc like wood can. I do prefer the stainless steel setup and tub sizes of the freedom breeder racks compared to ARS but both are outstanding.
You had asked about whether or not you would need both the âbreeding systemâ and the âgrow outâ system previously. A benefit to having the right size tubs for the specific needs is that only the optimal amount of substrate is needed for the specific purpose/amount of rats. For breeding tubs you donât need as much space because thereâs just less rats. In the freedom breeder rat breeding video the owner said they put sometimes as many as a 1.10 ratio into their breeding tubs. The grow out tubs are going to have a much higher volume of rats having a few colonies in there thus more space and substrate is needed. The maternity tubs also have this benefit. Smaller tubs are also easier to handle, clean, take less paper towels and disinfectant to clean etc. It helps efficiency across the board. One thing I really like about the lab style tubs I use is how easy it is to just pick them up and bang them on the side of the trash can to empty them, even full of substrate theyâre not heavy.
If you ever feel the need to expand I would consider getting a freedom breeder maternity rack to go with your grow out rack. You could use the grow out rack as a breeder rack with a nice ratio of approximately 1.10 (or more, the less males you have to keep per female the more efficient the operation) and also use it for grow outs. When the females are visibly pregnant you would move them into their own maternity tub and easily see what their production is and how good of a mom they are, accurately decide when they need to be culled (which will eventually come as they age even if theyâre great moms)⌠and also negate the downside of colony breeding where some moms will take other babies and end up with a loss. Iâve seen some moms who even kill other babies. This is not to say colony breeding is not a viable option, many people do it with great success and are happy. Heirloom breeding with maternity tubs is just more efficient.
Alternatively you could also get a pack or two of the lab style tubs that I use and utilize them as maternity tubs. Theyâre a little big but would certainly be far more efficient than trying to use a 70 series tub for a single mom.
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Some more awesome info! I dont think im at a point where i can afford to drop another 3k, so i think ill need to take a bit of an efficiency hit on this one. Definitely something once i finally start turning a profit to consider though :). I really appreciate all of the help and information! It all makes perfect sense how you explained it! I think it will work the way i have planned, but not nearly efficiently as how youve explained, so as soon as its feasible i will try to set it up as youve described 
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Since weâre talking about breeder pros and cons figured Iâd share. Cleaning rat tubs out on mondays. Moving moms then babies into temp tubs so I could clean. Rat mom clamped down hard af on my thumb right on the cuticle. Hole through my thumb nail and a quarter inch crack following to the end of nail. Probably going to lose this nail. Moral of the story handle them rats often. Get your hands in there as much as possible. Ive been bite before we all have but this damn rat tried to kill my thumb. So much more care goes into the rats. If I send five mins a day on my snakes Iâm spending fifteen on rats. Ofc Iâm in my snake room much more than that. Just saying that the rats are so much more of an investment. When we did this down south from me now. My brother would buy our feeders from the Amish for $.25. Now at $2-$3 you gotta make do on your own or cut back at the collection.
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Ouch! Good point though! For me im looking at 5$ a rat for feeders unless i breed my own, and thats before shipping
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I have found there is a big difference between bloodlines regarding aggression. The first bloodline i was working with the moms would nibble my finger whenever I would move them or their babies. My worst bite from either rat or snake came from a rat. I got in a new bloodline and they are completely different. I have never seen the smallest nibble and I have no fear of getting bit.
I have heard getting a good bloodline is even more important with asf.
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I culled every rat that bit me the first couple years and now youâd be hard pressed to find one that will. If they bite defending babies on their first litter I do give them a pass though.
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Thisâď¸was and is how I handle man biters lol
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What can I say, good things happen to good rats, and bad things happen to bad rats, right 
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Haha, on the one hand, i cant blame them too much for the bite, since im definitely going to be raising them to be food, so its kinda justified xD. In the other hand, if i happen to select the ones that bite me to be the first feeders, no harm no foul if it leads to less biters haha.
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Lets be fair about this, they are feeders, universally bad things are going to happen to them, though im sure the nicer ones live longer
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And get the privilege of passing on the genetics to the next generationâŚ
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I mean⌠i suppose its all how you look at it xD. Either way, its a necessity, so it must happen. As long as they are all cared for while alive
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Of course, care should not be different, just saying that correct line breeding will produce a better experience for you also.
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Makes absolute sense! I mean, its why dogs are the way they are, the friendly and trusting ancestors were bred on. You can see it in domesticated foxes too
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I used this guys awesome guide to build one. Only cost me about $125 or so and thatâs after Covid inflation on lumber. If you use bourse stall pellets and pine shavings from tractor supply there like $12 a huge bag and will last months even cleaning them out every week. Sounds like you need a small project so 4 tubs in one rack should do.
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