orfen baby rats

Question
Hi I'm a small animal breeder and I was given to female rats one was pregnant and one had her baby's the next day any way the first rat that had her baby's a week before she took over the other ones and now shes not feeding them because the other ones are older. they where born Sept 26 and theres only 3 left out of the 5 she had i want to save them they have fur and there eyes are open there just over two weeks old. what should i feed them i have been giving them homo cows milk that's all i have and the stuff at the pet store i cant afford was wondering if there if there was something else i could feed these baby's or if cows milk its ok. please help i don't want them to die i know since they are older they have a good chance to live.

Answer
Denise;

In the future, when you have a litter born, separate Mama from the other female to avoid this happening again. Its more common than most people think.

Two week old babies have just begun eating solids, so some softened lab block, soft cheerios and things of the like are good to offer them. In the meantime, until they hit about four weeks old, you'll need to offer them milk replacer -- KMR and Esiblac are good brands. Buy the powder and mix as much as you need -- the directions are on the bottle. Offer them replacer every few hours and let them eat until they refuse. Sometimes they won't even bother trying to nurse out of a syringe or bottle and you can lay out a little bowl for them to lap out of. Make sure you sanitize your bowls between meals, as Esiblac and KMR both are prone to mold quickly. Try to avoid lactose-based milks (cows milk, etc.); as most animals, as they age, are lactose-intolerant.

Good luck saving these kids.