# Whats the worst part of breeding mice in your opinion?



## pro-petz

Whats the worst or hardest part you find having to do whilst breeding mice?

Worst part for me is constructing all the new racks for my new mousery, hardest is deciding on the pairings especially with limited stock to work with at the moment.


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## Paradigmatic

Worst part I've encountered so far is just finding some good stock to start breeding with. :lol:


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## Serena

worst part is the comments of the people around me. they just don't understand.
second in line is smelly bucks and costs of neutering.


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## DaisyTailsMousery

Culling is the hardest part for me. It's so sad, but I believe it's necessary.


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## WoodWitch

The hardest part for me is continual disappointment. Breeding for exhibition means one must be fairly consistent in producing litters but mice do not always want to do as YOU want them to. They will refuse to breed, they will be bad mothers and you might lose a litter that you had high hopes for, a respiratory infection means the loss of a mouse you had high hopes for; any little thing can set your big plans right back. Of course the joy in the best parts of breeding mice outweigh the disappointment of the worst parts


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## Cordane

Being ok with culls just going in the garden.
I always liked the idea of overseas that culls can go to feed snakes, I don't have that luxery..


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## WoodWitch

My cat gets all mine and that's all he eats! He is a very lucky and healthy cat and his fur improved remarkably when his new diet came in.


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## PPVallhunds

getting new mice and holding reserved mice, I hate it as I constantly worrie that something will happen to them like they escape or get sick. Also culling but I dout anyone likes it.

but the best bit is when your hard work pays off, you have some good mice and watching them win nice rosetts and then excitedly waiting for the judges write up.


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## PPVallhunds

WoodWitch said:


> My cat gets all mine and that's all he eats! He is a very lucky and healthy cat and his fur improved remarkably when his new diet came in.


well some people sware by raw feeding there dogs.


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## WoodWitch

I know nothing about dogs but it suits my cat and I'd definitely recommend it


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## littlelovesmousery

Like WoodWitch said, I think the disappointment. I so badly want to improve my type & markings and yet sometimes it just seems like litter after litter of nothing even worth keeping.


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## HemlockStud

> The hardest part for me is continual disappointment. Breeding for exhibition means one must be fairly consistent in producing litters but mice do not always want to do as YOU want them to. They will refuse to breed, they will be bad mothers and you might lose a litter that you had high hopes for, a respiratory infection means the loss of a mouse you had high hopes for; any little thing can set your big plans right back. Of course the joy in the best parts of breeding mice outweigh the disappointment of the worst parts


I have to agree with this!


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## sys15

the culling, my god, the culling. i don't mind culling on an individual basis, and i don't mind culling juveniles at all. but i'm in a period of aggressive selection and am culling massive quantities of weaned or nearly weaned mice. i feel like i'm running a death camp for mice.


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## SarahC

I also agree with Woodwitch and I'm not keen on the many hours I spend outside at this time of year either.


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## gyri

My space constraints make it difficult. When I'm hunting for recessive genes and I get a litter where I don't know which youngins carry which genes and have to choose 1 to become a breeder and hope for the best its real frustrating to find out later the chosen mouse is not a carrier of the gene I wanted. I have no emotional attachment to the young mice, most of them become feeders, but when my breeders get old and start having health problems its hard to let go of them.


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## tinyhartmouseries

> i feel like i'm running a death camp for mice.


 This this this. It sucks to take a litter of 15 down to 4, it sucks to cull because I bred a biter, it sucks to "play God". I enjoy so much of breeding, but culling really bothers me, still.


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## Cordane

Despite the fact that I have already commented..
I feel rather odd about the fact that culling pinkies does not bother me.. Once they open their eyes though, I'm screwed..

So thats the next worst part, culling the hoppers and onwards.


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## tinyhartmouseries

I am pretty screwed once they fully fur up, then my heart melts and culling that last time really can be upsetting! I think there's the idea that "serious breeders" need to be very steely and pragmatic about culling, but I am not remotely afraid to admit that it sucks for me, even after 4 years.


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## Mc.Macki Mice

the worst part for me is having no buissness so no one buying anything then...what do I do? Local big company pet stores don't take in outside pets??


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## DaisyTailsMousery

Mc.Macki Mice said:


> the worst part for me is having no buissness so no one buying anything then...what do I do? Local big company pet stores don't take in outside pets??


 I have the same problem -_- I have ads on craigslist, hoobly, and lots of other buying/selling websites. I also have pics of them on tumblr, deviantart, etc. saying they're for sale and nobody wants them! Most of mine end up going to snake owners which is stll hard to find around here. Petsmart and Petco don't take them either. It's so frusterating!


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## littlelovesmousery

Cordane said:


> Despite the fact that I have already commented..
> *I feel rather odd about the fact that culling pinkies does not bother me.. Once they open their eyes though, I'm screwed..*
> 
> So thats the next worst part, culling the hoppers and onwards.


I always feel a little bad culling pinkies but they are so young, but they are the only age that I can actually cull. Anything once they start getting fur is culled by my husband. He loves the mice as much as I do, but he doesn't have a problem culling them. I can cull a mouse in a medical situation without any problem because I know it's what's best for them to prevent suffering, but other than that, I can't do it.


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## Shadowrunner

The worst part for me is when the cherished ones get really old.
Or the occasional dead mouse that you find but don't know why.
Or if they get sick, it makes me feel super guilty.
It doesn't happen often, but it still sucks.

Culling doesn't really bother me anymore, except when it's really little babies, or babies just weaning off.

The disappointment when they have all bucks or miscarry. That sucks too.


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## icedmice

Few things are equally as bad.

Culling weak or sickly mice - I will never sell one that is not the best we can produce.

Cannaballism - Thankfully, rare but I have has situations where a mother had eaten her offspring or a cagemate has begun to devour it's recently deceased buddy.

Fact that bucks more often than not cannot be caged together.

That mice are not as popular as they should be, poor public perception. A mouse is an ideal animal for modern lifestyle, it requires little attention, is cheap to keep, it doesn't require much room, and they are relatively short lived so are not a 10-20 year commitment!

All things considered, reasons I LIKE mice is much longer  .


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## lifelongcannibal

definitely cannibalism for me, as I do not cull my mice because they are feeders. It is so disappointing to pick out mangled pinkies from a doe's cage. thankfully doesn't happen too often, usually only when i had first time moms together. now for first litters i always house females alone when they give birth.


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