# Nannies



## ccoryjohnn (Jul 2, 2010)

Hey guys, I've been trying to do a lot of research on nannies and I wanted to get your opinions, experiences, and as much info you can give me :3
Here's my stituation: I have 3 does, the one is currently in my male's tank and hoping for a litter. All 3 of the does have lived together... peacefully (knock on wood!) And I just want to know what kind of roles the other mice are going to be taking on and what they'll be doing for her during all this.


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

Most mice do fine with nanny, but they also do fine without. More than one nanny sometimes means the babies get picked up, carried away, and shuffled around a bit much. If you're going to use a nanny I'd use just one.


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## bels10 (Sep 28, 2010)

In my very limited experience with my first litter I had a non pregnant nanny(I call her Aunty  ) with Mum and litter of 10. I found Aunty was very helpful at keeping babies warm when Mum needed a break and she was always plumping the nest and keeping babes in check. Aunty is now pregnant and I'm hoping Mum will return the favour!


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## ccoryjohnn (Jul 2, 2010)

Okay. It won't hurt if there's two in there though, right? I'd hate to have to leave one of my females in a tank alone by themselves. Do nannies bring the mother food...?


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

No, she gets her own food. It's ok for her to leave the babies for a while. They're kleptothermic at that age which means they pile on top of each other to stay warm while she's away so they're fine while she goes out to get food.

Sometimes two nannies can cause more problems than they help, but it really does depend on the individual mice. You might want to let her birth alone, and that way the potential nannies don't have to be separated.


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

There are risks and advantages to using nannies. I personally have rarely had a problem with nannies...I've even had litters born in large groups of females and not had problems. Usually I just have one nanny though. In my experience the babies seem to grow slightly quicker and/or be a little thriftier if there is a nanny to mind them while mom's away. I could be imagining that.....but regardless, I like to use a nanny.


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