Baby rats and introducing veggies/other food

So, recently I was blessed with the wondrous thing of fostering baby rat boys. (2) c: I have no idea how old they are, it was a sporadic rescue of 29 babies from being euthanized. They're very tiny and fit right in my hand.

Edit: after looking at the baby development thread they look around the 3-4 week mark. 5 weeks at best s:

Currently, they're on soaked oxbow and multi-grain baby cereal.

I was just wondering when I could start introducing them to veggies, (peas, carrots, lettuce, spinach etc). And what I should start with since I don't want to upset their tummies, their poops smell bad enough as it is.

On an slightly related note, how do I stop them from pooping in their water dish. -____- It's so annoying having to refill it 2-3 times a day. (they do have a bottle but they don't really know how to use it/don't have tongue strength to)

Oooh, you are helping out with that huge rescue in Outaouais. The rats are so lucky that OPR was able to take some in.
Ok, so for your babies, I would wait till they are about 7 weeks old before introducing veggies. I think these rats were malnourished so best to go slow. Also, make sure they have hard blocks available to eat as well, it will be good for them to start chewing.
As for the poop in the water, that's a challenge... you might have to wait until these guys are no longer scared and picking one or two corners to do their business. A few tips, don't place the water dish under a ladder/ramp or under a shelf. Place it in the middle with nothing hanging over head. That will at least avoid falling poop bombs. lol

I have 4 of the Outaouais girls and they have started eating some Oxbow blocks. I started by soaking it in water and mixing it in with the baby food and now they eat the hard block on their own. They have also figured out what a water bottle is for and have been using that over the water bowl.

I'll place some dry blocks as well, I was advised to soak them since they were trying very hard to eat the dry food given to them but they had to bite really hard to eat it. :c Poor bubs.

I have the water bottle in there just in case, I've tried showing them it gives water but they're more interested in nipping my fingers and sneaking out of the cage. Lol.
Oh boy, I'm going to have to wait a while before they poop in a corner. Right now EVERYWHERE is their pooping domain. -___- food, water, sleeping area, no where is safe from them. They recently discovered how to tear newspaper too so I'm in for rough nights.

lol Ya, babies are pooping machines!