# Males together...



## mousery_girl (Nov 13, 2011)

Really really want to keep my boys, so if anyone has kept them together happily let me know. They're babies when will they change


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

They will change around 3 months old. Sometimes earlier. 
There have been times when boys can be kept together peacefully, but there is no 'magic' formula to get this to happen. It's all luck and chance. If you want to keep your boys, you should be prepared to separate them, because 99% of the time, you will have to, or they will kill one another.


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

> Really really want to keep my boys, so if anyone has kept them together happily let me know.


I doesn't matter if anyone else has kept their boys together; those boys aren't related to yours and bucks who will live together are a very, very small minority. You need to be prepared and accept the reality that it rarely happens.


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## maddeh (Jul 14, 2011)

I've got two pairs of boys that are 8-9 weeks old and still living together fine, but they are kept in my bedroom and are under a watchful eye (and ear) incase any fights break out. I will separate them at the first sign of real aggression but I feel so sorry for males that have to be kept on their own, which is why I'm planning on getting a pair of female multimammates for my stud male 

Edit: Reread this and it sounds like I'm promoting keeping males together but I'm not! I am fully aware that this is likely to be very temporary! Just incase anyone reads it how I just did


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## tinyhartmouseries (Dec 30, 2010)

I had a pair of brothers that just never fought, ever. That is it. Unless you are always home, i wouldnt trust them, as males can kill each other in about 3 seconds.


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## m137b (Sep 22, 2010)

I think you'll find many stories of the rare incident when it worked, I've had a few myself, and since I've had hundreds of mice the couple times it's worked mean nothing to the many of times it hasn't. I have lost animals due to the naive notion that I could catch them in time or since their sire's got along that they would. If your keep them together past 5 weeks, realize the chances are not in your favor. If you want them together indefinitly and are not comfortable risking their lives for it, have them neutered. That is really your only safe option.


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## kittygirl991 (Sep 16, 2011)

you can house them together... but sometimes they will fight, but if you keep an eye out for them it should be alright... its best if there from the same litter and babies, or kept together since birth or introduced at a young age...


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

kittygirl991 said:


> you can house them together... but sometimes they will fight, but if you keep an eye out for them it should be alright... its best if there from the same litter and babies, or kept together since birth or introduced at a young age...


You have been told many times you are incorrect. Please do not put other people's mice in danger. :| 
They will almost ALWAYS fight, and often kill one another. It is not a recommended practice by any means.


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## kittygirl991 (Sep 16, 2011)

well, ask any mouse breeder, they can, it may be rare but they can be kept together, and its funny, most male mice i have come accross, be it a pet shop or in someone elses care there kept together and happy


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

I think its down to the males indivigual personalitys weather it would work or not, but due to having more males not get on i no longer risk it.

Ive kept a group of 5 virgin males tougher in the past, they lived tougher for over a year untill i bred one (which took ages as he wasnt intrested at all) and put him back as i didnt know better and he attacked his cage mate so badley i had to have him put down. Befor this i had some males tougher and one male attacked the others and one boy allmost lost his tail and testicals. i picked up a new boy around 7weeks old and he was with his 2 litter brothers and they were arguing untill i took him out and sent his brothers on there way to where they were going. I kept 3 brothers tougher untill 12 weeks when one started bullying the other 2. I had a bunch of boys i sent off tougher and they were fighting in the box befor leaving. had a babie male i miss sexed as a female get bitten by a male. So out of the 6 times ive had males tougher its only worked once.


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## MoonfallTheFox (Nov 12, 2011)

Again. My buck was "saved" from a pet shop COVERED in wounds. It is never EVER worth the risk. Bucks should be kept apart no matter what, if they seem lonely, they can be neutered and moved in with a colony of does or they need more attention.


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## maddeh (Jul 14, 2011)

The males I have together are very docile and have never been separated and are under a watchful eye/ear almost 24 hours a day, and it is only due to this that they have been together to this age. However, one male has now started bullying another (no damage has been done but after observing them for quite sometime I noticed that the one being bullied is much more subdued, almost submissive, when the other male is also out) and have decided its time to separate them. I do not have enough experience with keeping males together to go against the overwhelming evidence given here that it was a bad idea to keep them together this long, and I don't want to provide another horror story! 
KittyGirl, I understand that you want to be a part of these forums but you must listen to the experienced breeders on here if you are going to be accepted! They are a very friendly and understanding bunch, and are more than happy to help you, but you cannot give others on here information that could endanger their mice! 
Keeping males together would be extremely common if it was known to work well, but in practise it is much safer for the mice to be apart. Again, this is why I am getting some multimammates/ASFs in order to provide some social interaction for my males.


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

The majority of cases involving males together, end in bullying, injury, or death. 
It is not in any way recomended. It is pure luck to get a set of males that will stay together, and it happens very rarely, it's not something you can plan for, it just has to happen. Even all-male colonies that stay together for a year, could one day start fighting.


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## tinyhartmouseries (Dec 30, 2010)

> well, ask any mouse breeder, they can


Um. Aren't you here getting chastized by many mice breeders? What more proof do you need?


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