# How young is 'too young' for selling?



## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Different people have different opinions on this.
And I just wanted to hear some, and see what people on here thought. 

I think 7-8 weeks is plenty of time for them to be ready. As long as they're weaned, strong, and have been on their own for a while I think they'd be fine going to a new home.

What are your opinions?


----------



## ian (Oct 3, 2008)

I reckon under 5 weeks is too young for does, maybe a bit younger for bucks as they are seperated between 3-5 weeks. It depends on the individual, if the mouse is strong and healthy and has had time without its mother so any digestive problems have made themselves evident since being on a solid food diet then they should be ok to go to new homes. I would say the majority of mice are properly ready to go from 6 weeks at minimum though.


----------



## windyhill (Jan 19, 2010)

I dont adopt out any mice under 6 weeks of age. Though I usually wait until 8 or more weeks.


----------



## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Yeah, anywhere under 6 weeks, and you're taking some risks, I think.

The reson I ask, is because I have some mice, that are about to be 8 weeks old, and I just worry that 'someone' at the show will stick their nose into my cages and say 'These babies are too young!  ' or something.

I really think 8 weeks, although they're still small, is a perfectly acceptable amount of time. 
I usually don't sell right at 8 weeks, but there is a show this weekend, and I'd like to bring as many mice as I can, that are eligible for selling.


----------



## windyhill (Jan 19, 2010)

As long as they are fully weaned, and ahve been eating/drinking on their own for a few weeks it should be fine.
Of course there may be those who say they look to young,etc, but you cant please everybody


----------



## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

It's true. You really can't please everyone.

I just wanted to make sure I wasn't in the wrong, because if someone questioned my mice like that, i might not know better, and I might think I really was doing the wrong thing, if I didn't ask.


----------



## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

I don't sell does under 5 weeks or bucks under 4.5 weeks, though they are usually older. By the time they are weaned and separated in the case of bucks, or 5+ weeks in the case of does, there is no real reason that they can't go to a new home. The creams for example, are pretty well developed by then


----------



## The secret garden (May 13, 2010)

I am happy to sell my stock from 5 weeks old, i find pale selfs are ready to go to new home by then.


----------



## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

I usually like to keep mice till around 6-8 weeks old at least to see how they develop.

Different strains of mice mature at very different rates, though. At 6 weeks, some of the smaller, more modestly-typed mice are in a totally different place than a 6 week old show PEW, for example.


----------



## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Yeah, it does depend on the mice. Tottally agree.

I have two different litters, as a matter of fact, from two mice that were sisters, and the SAME father. They had their litters together on the same day, but you can clearly tell them apart from one another, even though the colours are really random. One batch, is all slightly smaller, than the other batch. Veeeeery interesting.


----------



## Sarodentry (May 24, 2010)

You might want to look at your local ordinace, in El paso you cannot sell any animal under 8 weeks of age.


----------



## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

ANY animals? That's a bit absurd. Some animals are ready to go much earlier than others. . . Reptiles, for instance.


----------



## Sarodentry (May 24, 2010)

Yeah, I don't know how much it's in-forced here though lol.


----------



## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Well, I guess the majority of people, wouldn't be able to -tell- the difference.

Annnnd, now that I think about it, I guess reptiles would be considered a few weeks old once they hatch out of their eggs. I GUESS the time from the eggs being layed, to them hatching, counts?


----------



## Sarodentry (May 24, 2010)

Not sure, I know the reptile store/feed store here doesn't sell their reptiles until they are 8 weeks old to make sure they are feeding healthily. I feel lucky though, before I move away from here im buying a snake cause their pythons are only 30 dollars lol. I can't have snakes on post though, the military housing can be frustrating we can't even have ferrets. But we can have mice/hamsters etc. which is weird to me but eh, It should count as long as the baby reptiles are feeding good I think people should be able to sell their animals.


----------



## Oakelm (Oct 17, 2009)

I think the 8 week rule doesnt apply to all critters, to me this applies more to cats and dogs.  It is however illegal to sell an unweaned animal unless being sold with mum. But reptiles can be sold from the minute they are born or out of the egg (Snakes happen to be my other hobby). So maybe the 8 week thing for the snakes were just that stores policy to save on comebacks from non feeding snakes.

Back to the original question, personally once weaned and had a bit of time on their own then I am happy to sell them on, makes them about 5 weeks plus.


----------



## miss.understood (Apr 20, 2010)

My mice are usually sold or rehomed between 6 weeks and 8 weeks of age. It all depends on the litter. The last litter Millie had was a litter of 4, and they were really advanced and weaned much sooner than i had expected, so they were rehomed at about 6 weeks of age and are all thriving in their new homes


----------



## The secret garden (May 13, 2010)

Well i have just taken a 6 week old mouse to honley which is 220 miles away and won best in show got her back and she is still in perfect condition so 6 weeks is more than fine if your mice are in good condition and fit and healthy

xx


----------

