Separating a mouse family
Ok, I have a trio of breeder mice that gave me 27 babies at once! They are now over 21 days old, but still seem rather small to be weaned.
Should I leave them all together until next weekend or go ahead and take the parents away now (they have their own tub ready for them)? If I separate them now, should I give the little ones some cooked oatmeal and fruit baby food in addition to the normal block and mix for a few days to make sure they can all eat?
On that, does anyone know how long a small batch (say a cup or so) of cooked oats will stay good in the fridge? :)
Re: Separating a mouse family
You can give them one more week with their moms it won't hurt!
Re: Separating a mouse family
Id just leave them in there for a little longer. I let my rats stay with mom up to 70 grams, where as 50 is cut off for a lot of people. Get some big ol healthy feeders though.
Re: Separating a mouse family
I've never looked at the number of days babies have been with the mom(s) before removing them, but rather how big the babies are and if I've seen them eating food and drinking water for themselves. =)
Re: Separating a mouse family
Thanks for the replies. I'll go ahead and leave them in, then...even tho 30 mice are a challenge to keep clean. :)
Yeah, I am more concerned about size than days as well. I suppose that since the litter was so large, not everyone could nurse as much as they might have.
Thanks again! Wanted some peace of mind and expert opinion.