# Food Bowls



## jammin32 (Jun 14, 2012)

Is it worth having food bowls for mice ?

I filled up my mice food bowls and within minutes the little so and so's burrow into it throwing it everywhere ! The next morning its vanished lol

They appear to be hoarding it somewhere secret 

I just thought it was a good idea to use bowls to keep it a little cleaner and fresher but my little ones tend to think otherwise :roll:


----------



## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

I used food bowls for my first trio of mice, and very quickly stopped doing that :lol: They'd throw half the food out and then pee in the bowl over the remaining food. Gross. Since then my mice have had their food served on the floor and it's so much better


----------



## besty74 (May 26, 2012)

so long as you don't overfeed you don't need a foodbowl, if you overfeed then there is a chance it would pile up and spoil.
I use foodbowls only for the cages my children want to help with because its what they like, i don't think mice care either way!


----------



## jammin32 (Jun 14, 2012)

maybe i will just scatter some in a corner for them instead then, is it best to feed them a little amount daily or a slightly larger amount once every few days ?


----------



## besty74 (May 26, 2012)

I feed everyday, you can check all is well at the same time.


----------



## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

Don't put it in the corners; that's usually where they wee. Plonk it down right in the middle 

I feed a double serving straight after cleaning out, then single servings until the day before cleaning out, then nothing the day before, and double after cleaning out again. I tend to overfeed (I'd rather throw out food than have hungry mice) so I know that last day will be spent eating leftovers.


----------



## jammin32 (Jun 14, 2012)

what about when it comes to feeding pregnant females ?
I guess it will need to be a little more than normal to prevent her picking on the babies ?
I will also think about putting in some bread soaked in milk if you think thats a good addition to their normal diet.


----------



## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

My nursing does have a larger serving, usually about half again. I don't think they eat any more than any other mice really, but better safe than sorry when there are delicious pinkies around to nom on!

Bread soaked in milk has been a staple food of exhibition mice for over a century


----------



## jammin32 (Jun 14, 2012)

oh ok thanks


----------



## MojoMouse (Apr 20, 2012)

Thanks, SarahY, that's such useful information! I've always used food bowls, and there's been SO much waste because after they've eaten some of it they sit in the bowl and pee. So I change the bowl and fill it with fresh food, sometimes up to 3 times a day. I'm going to follow the feeding regime you have, and see how it goes! I'd never thought of doing it that way before. (Amazing what useful stuff and great ideas you can get here on the forum in some discussions.).


----------



## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Mine do all the aforementioned things; I don't bother anymore. The little clowns crowd as many as will fit into any container/tube/box/canister. Some of them even drag any bowl away and try to incorporate into the nest.

I found a 2 week old baby curled up in a 2 cm diameter bottle cap. Big awwww...


----------



## MojoMouse (Apr 20, 2012)

Well, that confirms it for me - no more room service for the mice, with their dinner in bowls, on trays, with tiny silver cutlery and even tinier napkins, and me being the maid washing up. :/ I'll be scattering from now on. And it makes sense after all - mice forage for food in the wild! And they don't often pee in the middle of their enclosure - they use a corner, (or their bowl) so the food should last longer. This is great!


----------



## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

Cool! Your life will be so much easier


----------

