Thinking about breeding mice

[Egapal]

I leave him alone. Males are smelly and aggressive. The less you have the better. Don't feel bad for the little guy. He has to stay by himself for a little while and then he gets to hang out with two females for a few weeks without having to fight with other males for their attention. If you still think he will be lonely get him a wheel or something. I don't give mine one because they just stink that all up too but, your mice, your call.

[GoingPostal]

Males go by themselves if they aren't being "studded out". You can't keep them with females you don't want pregnant and you can't keep them with other males when they are sexually mature like that, they will fight, injure and possibly kill other males.

[susi´s trainer]

most breeders here house their breeder male(s) together with one or more neutered males, keeping them alone would be against the animal welfare law...
but it's not that common in the US, isn't it?

quite an informative site about male mice behavior and neutering:
http://das-maeuseasyl.de/doku.php/en/behavior/male_mice

would this be an option for you?

[nixer]

most breeders here house their breeder male(s) together with one or more neutered males, keeping them alone would be against the animal welfare law...
but it's not that common in the US, isn't it?

quite an informative site about male mice behavior and neutering:
http://das-maeuseasyl.de/doku.php/en/behavior/male_mice

would this be an option for you?

are you sure about that?

many just leave the male in with the females and babies.
some just swap the male to another tub with females that are ready to be bred. i leave my male with the females and babies.

[BPBandit]

Some males act diff. and mice do stink. You will need more tubs if you plan on not inbreeding. I let mice keep doing what they do best and thats populate till they cant. No retire plan needed. In the wild they last 5months, in your home 2years. Females can become pregnant at two and a half weeks old and I choose to not leave them with females nor males do to the fact that they become stress or act off fear and eat the young(although some may do fine its just not a risk I take). As far as diet I dont choose one just your regular ol' lab blocks. I put a vita-C drop in the water for the ladys and they seem to do great.

[Egapal]

most breeders here house their breeder male(s) together with one or more neutered males, keeping them alone would be against the animal welfare law...
but it's not that common in the US, isn't it?

quite an informative site about male mice behavior and neutering:
http://das-maeuseasyl.de/doku.php/en/behavior/male_mice

would this be an option for you?

Ok so a few comments. I do not see anything wrong with keeping a male mouse by itself for a few weeks vs feeding that mouse to a snake and buying a new stud for 2 dollars at my local pet store when the time comes. There is no way I am paying to have a male mouse neutered. This falls under the category of doing all I can reasonably do for my animals. With the majority of the people on the planet killing the mice in their homes I find it to be an unbelievable waste of time an energy to sterilize one. So lets break down the options

1.) Keep the male mouse with other males. (Cruel as they will fight and injure each other)

2.) Keep the male all by his lonesome. (Cruel cause he is lonely)

3.) Feed off the male and get a new stud when needed (Promotes inbreeding if you use a juvenile male you have or promotes a petstore raising mice which is 1000 times worse than the conditions I raise mice in)

4.) Neuter a male for a cage buddy. (Costs way more than 2 dollars and I could never live with myself if I got a mouse neutered while simultaneously breeding mice to feed to my snake. I would much rather donate the money I would have spent to get local stray cats neutered.)

Thats all I found for options and option 2 sounded like the best to me. If you just can't stand the thought of that male mouse being all alone. You could build a basket out of quarter inch hardware cloth large enough for the male to live in. Put that in the cage with the females. That way the male can socialize through the mesh but not breed the females. I would not put the male in with the nursing mothers though as the pups could get through the mesh.

[nixer]

Ok so a few comments. I do not see anything wrong with keeping a male mouse by itself for a few weeks vs feeding that mouse to a snake and buying a new stud for 2 dollars at my local pet store when the time comes. There is no way I am paying to have a male mouse neutered. This falls under the category of doing all I can reasonably do for my animals. With the majority of the people on the planet killing the mice in their homes I find it to be an unbelievable waste of time an energy to sterilize one. So lets break down the options

1.) Keep the male mouse with other males. (Cruel as they will fight and injure each other)

2.) Keep the male all by his lonesome. (Cruel cause he is lonely)

3.) Feed off the male and get a new stud when needed (Promotes inbreeding if you use a juvenile male you have or promotes a petstore raising mice which is 1000 times worse than the conditions I raise mice in)

4.) Neuter a male for a cage buddy. (Costs way more than 2 dollars and I could never live with myself if I got a mouse neutered while simultaneously breeding mice to feed to my snake. I would much rather donate the money I would have spent to get local stray cats neutered.)

Thats all I found for options and option 2 sounded like the best to me. If you just can't stand the thought of that male mouse being all alone. You could build a basket out of quarter inch hardware cloth large enough for the male to live in. Put that in the cage with the females. That way the male can socialize through the mesh but not breed the females. I would not put the male in with the nursing mothers though as the pups could get through the mesh.

you forgot the part where its not illegal

[tweets_4611]

You could build a basket out of quarter inch hardware cloth large enough for the male to live in. Put that in the cage with the females. That way the male can socialize through the mesh but not breed the females. I would not put the male in with the nursing mothers though as the pups could get through the mesh.

Quick side note....the can still breed like this. Even having two cages butted up next to each other they can and will breed through the cage...



I hadn't ever thought of fixing mice...Not really an option for me, but interesting nonetheless.

I'm really thinking that I may set up two small breeding groups (1-2 or 1-3) so when I bring up a new male or female I have the option of not inbreeding them. I'm going to start checking around and seeing what tubs I can find around here and see what kind of set up I can make work.

Where do you guys get your mice to start your colonies? I know I'm not getting them from PetCo...

[Egapal]

you forgot the part where its not illegal

Can you please site the law that makes it illegal for me to keep a single male mouse in a cage by itself. I am having a hard time finding that one. A link would be nice if its not too much.

[nixer]

Can you please site the law that makes it illegal for me to keep a single male mouse in a cage by itself. I am having a hard time finding that one. A link would be nice if its not too much.

im not the one that said it was illegal

see post #13