Culling small mice

My mice are almost of age to be culled. How does one cull a fuzzy??

I have several snakes that like new mice friends and give them hugs :gj:

Or co2.

Freezer is the best way.....and before people get mad

Mice under the age of 10 days are resistant to CO2 and could take up to 50 min of exposure to CO2 before being effective and therefore freezing is recognized as an acceptable method of euthanasia by the AVMA

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Originally Posted by Deborah

Freezer is the best way.....and before people get mad

Mice under the age of 10 days are resistant to CO2 and could take up to 50 min of exposure to CO2 before being effective and therefore freezing is recognized as an acceptable method of euthanasia by the AVMA

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I did CD because they were just over 10 days :3

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Deborah

Freezer is the best way.....and before people get mad

Mice under the age of 10 days are resistant to CO2 and could take up to 50 min of exposure to CO2 before being effective and therefore freezing is recognized as an acceptable method of euthanasia by the AVMA

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Is there a time when rats should be culled in the freezer or are they separate and need co2 all the time? I guess it's kind of moot since balls usually start on mice and then move to rat pups, but I'm still interested to know.

Also, does it matter what kind of freezer? Like between the manual and auto defrosting freezers?

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Originally Posted by bks2100

Is there a time when rats should be culled in the freezer or are they separate and need co2 all the time? I guess it's kind of moot since balls usually start on mice and then move to rat pups, but I'm still interested to know.

Also, does it matter what kind of freezer? Like between the manual and auto defrosting freezers?

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Small rodents (rats, mice, gerbils, ASF ...) under 10 days of age are all hypoxia resistant as mentioned above so freezing is recommended.

After that you should use CO2, cervical dislocation is also a method that is used but it will depends on the size of the animal and the number of animals that have to be dispatched.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Deborah

Small rodents (rats, mice, gerbils, ASF ...) under 10 days of age are all hypoxia resistant as mentioned above so freezing is recommended.

After that you should use CO2, cervical dislocation is also a method that is used but it will depends on the size of the animal and the number of animals that have to be dispatched.

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I just use CD because it was less complicated and free :)

I use cervical dislocation on mine, but I'm only culling weaned mice 16-19 grams or older atm. I accidentally broke one of my feeding tongs, so I'm using one half of it as a rod to hold them in place, and I quickly place the rod on their neck and pull by the base of the tail in one fluid motion. 9 times out 10 there's not so much as a twitch out of them, so it kills instantly. You just have to be sure you pull with the proper amount of pressure, and doing everything quickly so they're not startled into residual muscle spasms, but even if there's a kick or two they're dead so long as there isn't a heart beat. I can cull 20 mice in under 5 minutes, so long as I'm not having to chase them down.

I did also cull my adult ex-breeder male in the same fashion, and it worked well. He was well into advanced old age, and could barely move and was hunched from what was probably arthritis. I couldn't bear to see him like that, so I culled him immediately. I've had him 8-9 months, and he was an adult when I got him, so at least 4 months old. My females are quickly deteriorating, too, so they may be next. :( They're still going relatively strong, so I'm hoping they'll improve a bit and live a few more months. They're even older than he was.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CloudtheBoa

I use cervical dislocation on mine, but I'm only culling weaned mice 16-19 grams or older atm. I accidentally broke one of my feeding tongs, so I'm using one half of it as a rod to hold them in place, and I quickly place the rod on their neck and pull by the base of the tail in one fluid motion. 9 times out 10 there's not so much as a twitch out of them, so it kills instantly. You just have to be sure you pull with the proper amount of pressure, and doing everything quickly so they're not startled into residual muscle spasms, but even if there's a kick or two they're dead so long as there isn't a heart beat. I can cull 20 mice in under 5 minutes, so long as I'm not having to chase them down.

I did also cull my adult ex-breeder male in the same fashion, and it worked well. He was well into advanced old age, and could barely move and was hunched from what was probably arthritis. I couldn't bear to see him like that, so I culled him immediately. I've had him 8-9 months, and he was an adult when I got him, so at least 4 months old. My females are quickly deteriorating, too, so they may be next. :( They're still going relatively strong, so I'm hoping they'll improve a bit and live a few more months. They're even older than he was.

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Okay I think the spasms must be from me hesitating. Next time I'll be swift with it and fluid. Because I was nervous I think