Breeding mice questions

Hi
I have a few questions which I hope you can help me with.

1. Can you mix together mice from different litters and of different age, which are from the same sex?
2. Are there any early signs to know that a mouse is pregnant?

Thanks!

#1 - Sure you can. The best way to do it with minimal fighting/losses is to have a totally clean tub with clean things inside and put them all in at once. :) That way, no one has 'claim' to the territory and they have to start fresh, as it were. :)

#2 - hmm... not that I've noticed. The only real way to tell is when they look like golf balls. :D

I haven't had very good luck with this so I just avoid it. I will put males in with the father and females together with the mom, but that's about it.

Most of my breeders are two, three or even four, females to one male, and when they are old enough to sex all the males go together and all the females go together. Just works best for me.

Many thanks! :)

once you breed them for a while you will be able to tell which ones are pregnant the second they get bigger. i cant explain it because to untrained eyes they look normal, but it has never failed me when i go to the store to buy pregnant mice.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Beardedragon

once you breed them for a while you will be able to tell which ones are pregnant the second they get bigger. i cant explain it because to untrained eyes they look normal, but it has never failed me when i go to the store to buy pregnant mice.

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Well I fought it for a long time but I finally had to give in to my BP and try feeding live. I tried feeding F/T after the first live and again after the second live and a few months later its looking more and more like she is just not going to eat F/T. I quickly decided to breed, mice to start, maybe ASF's down the road. I like rodents as well so it just seamed like an extension of my hobby. (She is eating the live fine, in case that wasn't clear)

Anyway, my point....This young kid who works at the pet store I buy from will pick up mice and say, "nope shes pregnant, her too, oh this one is good". The owners says "This ones pretty big, is that ok." A week later I have 9 pups, 8 that made it to three days old from one female and 7 pups from the other.

So if you want to buy a pregnant female, find someone who can't tell or doesn't care and buy the biggest female you can see. Worked for me anyway.

I go to one place that has I think six ten gallon tanks full of mice, all colors and sex. I grab all of the huge about to pop females and then once I have them all I go for the ones that look normal but I know are pregnant and are normally at the golf ball stage a week or two later.

Two months of doing so and all of my females getting prego at my house I have this!

YouTube - Mouse Barn

I try and keep the sizes similar, stops fighting quite so much.
I am saving loads of pinkie mice at the moment, so what i have now is 1.10 boxes.. these are chucking a lot per month, there are about 10 boxes of these.
Have my 1st eggs due to lay soon, so really pumping out the babies in time.. actually really like doing the mice, great fun lol..
and now i have royals, i have rats too..