feeders

[jalisco milk]

Hey all I've been thinking of growing my own feeders and was looking for some tips and have some questions:how long does it take to produce full grow mice?how many babies do they have at 1 time?how do ya humainly kill em?and any other things i should look out for,thanks for ur help

[Linds]

It takes a few months from birth to adult size. More mature mice will get a bit larger over time as well (ie- retired breeders are generally the largest size available). Litter size depends on both genetics as well as proper care. Lab strains may exceed 20 in a litter, however fancy mice generally don't have quite as many. Mine seem to average around 14. There are several accepted methods of euthanization. CO2 chamber, airtight container, wacking, and cervical dislocation. I prefer the airtight container method and wacking (blunt force trauma).

There are plenty of things to watch for with mice. They are terrible parents and do not hesitate to eat their babies for one reason or another. If litters are repeatedly devoured, you will want to kill off and replace. Make sure they have a constant supply of water (from a bottle) and food. I feed mine mostly horse chunks and some sunflower seeds. Mice get fat easy, so you want to really watch the seed mix. They are generally pretty flighty (and bitey :rolleyes: ), and capturing young mice during cleaning is especially a pain in the butt. I can clean 4 tubs with 60 rats in the same time it takes me to clean out one small colony of mice. Also be prepared for the stink. They will smell regardless, so you just have to find a happy medium. If you clean too much they will overscent to compensate, and if you don't clean enough it is jsut filthy.

I run mine in a colony of 1.4 now. You never want to remove the male, as it can create all sorts of problems. (Especially) mice take some time to settle in to a comfort zone so-to-speak, and juggling them around can lead to decreased production and cannibalism.