I suck at breeding mice?

I'm having problems getting my mice to actually breed. I've had a lot of cannibalism between the breeders and of course babies. I've noticed it usually seems to be the male that dies. I have auto watering set up along with a water bottle as a back up because I thought they weren't drinking but I have had to refill water bottles frequently. I have been feeding Doggy Bag Dog food and I know it's working for my rats no problem but my mice aren't taking to it maybe? I breed in medium litter pans and have tried anything from 1.2 to 1.5 and rarely have any success... any suggestions?

I had some cannibalism too but I feed off any moms that eat babies. Since culling my collection down quite a bit I have not had any cannibalism for the past few rounds of litters.

Dog food isn't preferred for any rodent breeding IMO. Lacking stuff or too much of other
things can cause cannibalism. Too much fat or protein or not enough can cause cannibalism from what I've read.

Lack of water can also cause cannibalism but it sounds like you have that figured out.

Wish I could help more! I'm hoping to convert the last of my stubborn mice eaters soon and get rid of mice entirely. I prefer rats in every regard.

Regards,

B

I wish I had more options other than dog food but for the drive to get rodent feed and also the cost of it, I'd be spending more to breed than to just buy... Is there maybe something I can supplement with the doggy bag? Peanuts? Sunflower seeds?

I had problems with mice and ASF's on Doggy Bag which is not the case with rats.

I tried feeding Innova dog food and have not had any problems with the mice and ASF's perhaps because it is a higher quality food.

The clerk at Tractor Supply said he wouldn't feed Doggy Bag to his worst enemy. The rats do fine on it but it really is garbage.

I'd try something different.

I order Native Earth 4018 from nationalpetpharmacy.com They have flat rate $5 shipping. I ordered 200lbs of feed and it was still $5 to ship! That makes it around $20 for 40lbs of TOP NOTCH feed. You might want to consider that.

Regards,

B

Keep in mind you could also of gotten mice that were inbred for generations. When this happens they will not breed and just develop tumors and or die.

Mine have hit the peak and i been feeding off all the breeder males and holding back the younger ones. I have 5 new groups going but havent produced yet.

What's been said before...
I don't use dog food for rodents, I use a quality rodent block, no supplements at all. On the rare occasion that I do get a cannibal mouse, she becomes a snack for a lizard or snake.

Also, you didn't mention if it was a new or established colony.... Mouse colonies can take time to get going. Sometimes a couple of months. Just sorting through the females that will accept other females and males can be time consuming. ONce you get a colony well established, don't change anything. If you need a new female or male in the colony, grow one up from the colony, or you could be back in the same boat.

As for keeping "new" blood going, try to get you rodent stock from different breeders... Less tumors and deformities.... I get new blood every few months just to keep from inbreeding too much. Usually, a tub of 5-8 females to one of my males.

Thanks for all the input I appreciate it all. The Native Earth food is definitely worth looking into, around 25.00 for a 40# bag of actual rodent food isn't too bad especially if it's shipped to my door. As for the colonies I've tried everything from starting from weaners as a group, or even bringing in a newbie and it all has seemed to fail me. So far from what I've gotten as responses the food is the problem. I may just get a small bag of rodent food and try with a small group see if it works then jump up to the big bags....

You don't have them in the same room with rats do you? A lot of people have bad luck breeding mice in close quarters to rats. However this is not always the case. Just sometimes fixes things. Wasn't sure if you breed rats too.

I do breed rats and they are in the same room. I have heard different stories that it makes no difference, if they are bred together and used to each other's scent from the beginning that it makes no difference. The breeders I've gotten mice from also breed rats in the same room as well. So it's something else to try, moving them out of the rat room...