I just went through this same process. In the last 2 pages of forum posts there's a ton of information on rat colonies. You'll need to know how many rats you need per month and what sizes. A female rat can bare up to 15 babies in one litter. At about 4 weeks the babies will be a small size rat, and at about 6 weeks they'll be mediums. You'll need to consider having cages or a rack for breeding purposes as well as a place to grow up the rats when they are weaned from the mother at 3.5 weeks. In my short time breeding rats I've found it is definitely better to have a rack than breeding boxes. They are more space efficient and easier to maintain. You don't necessarily need to buy one, they can be built pretty easily. For bedding I suggest you find something affordable. I use pine shavings. For food you can use rodent block, or dry dog food (make sure the dog food doesn't have any dies listed in the ingredients). Personally I like to use the Mazuri brand "breeder" rodent block. It comes in 50 lb. bags for about $20. There are a bunch of good videos on youtube. Checkout the "rat barn" episodes # 1-8 by ralph davis (link below will get you started). Also check out his earlier videos on rat weaning.

Hope this helps, best of luck with your rats-
Anthony-
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