Weaning the unexpected

[herpmanout82]

So... I have an unexpected litter of mice, and I am unsure at what stage I should remove wean them.

I think they were a week old when I discovered them, I had already separated the male because after 2 months of showing no signs of pregnancy from the female I thought they weren't going to breed.

A few of them just left their little hide and roamed around, until they noticed me and they quickly went back into hide. I did notice two had their eyes fully opened, while another was still blind but crawling about.

I have searched throughout the threads, and I have a guess that they are 21 days old?

oh I also found this site http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...c10fb297f9a367

[GoingPostal]

Sounds like younger than that to me, usually by 3 weeks they are eating/drinking on their own, all eyes open and running around a lot. Probably 2-2 1/2 weeks. The funmouse website has pics of baby mice to compare.

[Sandy_01]

Herpmanout82,
I am new at breeding mice but it seems to me that they open eyes at around two weeks old. I remove them to a spare tub at about 3 to 4 weeks (one tub for males and one for females) depending on if they are eating and drinking from the water bottle. If the male was in with the female when the litter was born, then it is likely that she is pregnant again. She may have more about 21 days from when the first litter was born. They are very prolific once you get them going.

[Jay_Bunny]

In my experience, they open their eyes around 2 weeks of age. I usually pulled them at 3.5-4 weeks of age. Any older and the male offspring could try and breed with their siblings or mother. The mother might be pregnant as well so make sure to keep all breedable males away from her or else she could get pregnant right after her litter is born. That puts too much stress on the female.