thinking a starting to sell feeders

Just want some thought im getting ready to expand and was thinking about expanding some to supply people in my area and surrounding areas. Just want to know if it would be worth while as in people willing to buy.Of course I would be doing rats and mice and might be starting rabbits and Guinea pigs this summer. any thoughts would be great thanks

I'd say do it. I think a deep freezer is the most important part of rodent breeding. If you have a truck and an extra hand, you can take the deep freezer to shows and sell off all your overstock. Most of the time, from what I have noticed, most rodent vendors are sold out before the show ends.

I'd research the market to see what the competition is before moving forward too quickly. You don't want to invest a lot of money into something that there is little market for.

Yea I was thinking going to some shows. I went to tinley in October and most sold out that Friday.
And don that's what I'm doing now in a sense is checking around to see if I could sell.course im doing it regardless for mow own collection now. And that's where the rabbits come in lol. But it wouldn't take much to step up the breeding for costumers yea know

I started the same thing a couple of months ago and it's moving forward. It's definitely worth checking on competition around fredricksburg. There are a few people who sell feeders. There are a few within my area too, but i'm not a "breed them by the thousands" kind of guy. First of all, it's always good to have some frozen just like Nick says. It'll help you through hatching time with the babies.

And as Don already said, definitely check out what's going on on the feeder market in your area.

Yea I have one freezer full now bout to pick up 100 ft GPs this week.yay but anyway yea iv been breeding my own for about a year or so now and as for comp for this area I only know of 2 people who sell feeders around here and I already supply her so she can re sell but I guess it's something im going yo just have to do and see what happens lmao

It'll help you to supply your own snakes and then some.. Nothing to get rich with but you'll get to meet people with the same passion for reptiles and helps pay for the rodent food as well.. good luck.. let me know if you get your hands on some ASF's..

I have been breeding rodents for over a decade. Everything everybody said is good. Some other stuff I would add.
Be careful who you let in your house. You may end up with no animals to feed after people stop by to get rodents!
If your going to breed more than a few tubs get an insulated shed with heat, ac, and a exhaust fan, but don't point it at your neighbors.
Don't count on customers, they follow the wind. I have done that in the past and they all seem to flake out after you are good to them.
I have tried selling to stores also, they all seem to think it's ok to lower the price they are willing to pay after you bring them the rodents.
Breeding rodents for anybody but yourself is full of trial and tribulations. In my honest opinion, do it for yourself and don't worry about the rest. If anybody is interested, sell to them.
OH, don't advertise ASF on CL, you could get in trouble. I have been told numerous times it's illegal in VA and that I could be fined.
Good luck.

yeah, to offer ASF's is a risky thing to do, especially on CL. It's kind of risky to ask for them everywhere..
And b_r is definitely right, check the people you're selling to. Meet with them somewhere first to see how and who they are.. exceptions are the people you know from VAHerps.
I haven't met anybody i wouldn't trust on this yet..

mamasmarco wrote:

.. exceptions are the people you know from VAHerps.
I haven't met anybody i wouldn't trust on this yet..

I dunno. Those public group masturbators have me a little concerned.

yea i have 15 tubs already going on my spare room. just about done with a 24' office trailer to move everything in to be able to expand. but yea i have been supplying my snakes witch i dont have all listed. but anyway them plus a few people nothing special just barely breaking even because id rather feed my stuff then sell and i dont have the out put to handle regular sales. but the plan is have around 60 breeding tubs at 1.4 ratio, atleast 10 grow out tubs and about 150-200 birthing tubs plus 2 decent sized chest freezers in all should call for a great get up lmao. plus rabbits to come this summer a must for my collection haha

With that kind of production you better have a way to move product. You will end up over run with rodents in no time. I have bred rodents for about the last 5 years. A few times I have stepped up production thinking I wanted to sell the extras and make a few bucks. It's hard to find reliable steady customers. Plus you will probably want to set some kind of minimum order so you aren't meeting 30 people a week for a 2 or 3 dollar sale. That's a lot of people to know where you are and what you have. Plus they will talk to there buddies. I now just breed for my own collection. If I get an abundance of rodents now I ask a few people I know if they need any. If they are good I sell them to a local wholesaler. With the wholesaler I come out about even but it worth it to me just for the convenience of it. I can walk in with 10 or 1000 of any size and will buy them on the spot.

Yea it will be nice I think figure the 15 breeding tubs I have now are over packed just trying to keep up with my snakes I have each at about 1.6 to 2.8 and so I should be running about 25 or 30 tubs but don't have the room until I get the office trailer done

Marco makes a very good point. I buy rats when I neglect to rotate breeders and end up with a slow down in production. I will buy from a local guy for three or four months until I get my production up to speed again. He becomes dependent upon me buying from him. My rat order is typically over $100 per week. That is a pretty good customer. However, that stops the day my production is taking care of my collection again. He has no warning of that and looses over $400 a month income. This has happened a couple of times over the last few years.

This is why it can be an iffy business. It is hard to gauge us customers needs because you do not know what we are doing to reduce our own costs.

100% agree with on that one man.always a pain to judge but a risk you must be wiling to take.of course I'm not looking to make a real business of it figure I need to expand anyway snug not go more them I need to have extra for myself and pick upa lil money in the middle of it lol but you do make a very good point on dependability of the customer

It can be very challenging. I've noticed I either breed to much or not enough, mostly not enough. Come hatchling time, if your working with balls at least, you are going to use up a lot of rats. This happens around the same time all my breeder girls are slamming rats like crazy, putting weight back on, and preparing for winter. I'm able to supply myself and 2-3 friends in the winter, spring and summer, however, come fall I'm trying to buy up whatever pinks and hoppers I can find. Also odd, no one else has many available during this time. The pet stores are out and any friends that breed are using up what they have. Here's the worse part, anyone that was depending on me for those three seasons, had to look elsewhere during a season that balls flourish IMO. If you find yourself in a position with too many rodents, you might be able to donate them to registered rescue and should be able to write them off. I would definitely not depend on your rodent income to pay for your rodent bills.

Also, if you aren't replacing breeder females monthly, they'll burn out on you all at once. Logs go a long way.

I keep great logs on my snakes. Can tell you just about anything. However, I'm not as good with rats. I think I've got a system now, but will have to work it out over time to see if it works.

I'd enjoy ball pythons much more if they ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Haha yea im like that with my retic on food lol. But yea a log book is a must I write down every time they go into shed and then when they shed ,meals ,when they take a dump, everything lol the rats I only track when I put them with males and when a litter it's both and the amount in init

Nick,
Do you have your rodents on heat? Mine always pick up now because I keep them heated. Not so much cooled in the summer and they tend to taper off if it gets too hot. My rats are doing awesome right now and I don't have any BP. I just end up freezing for next year.

I try and keep mine around 70 myself lower and production drops and I noticed when mine get above 80 its the same thing

I keep mine inside and they stay about 80 year round.

I keep mine between 65-80. I've found much lower or higher than that and my #'s tank.

I keep mine in the mid 70's and can't build racks fast enough right now.. thank god it's breeding season for the snakes though, helps me out raising breeders...

I think that as long as i can buy my rat food and bedding for the breeder rats and have a little extra (if none extra it's ok too..) i'm happy. You won't get rich from it but will always have the right size of feeders for your own collection..