# To remove male?



## dahowlers (Sep 17, 2013)

I wasn't sure where to post a breeding question, but it pertains to health so I figured here was alright for now. I've been researching breeding methods and for the most part I've seen 2-4 females per cage with a male, but then some sites say to remove the male after a while and some say to leave him in. What should be done?


----------



## athiena14 (Jun 20, 2013)

I've kept males in and had mixed results. My first male I had to get rid of because he would kill the babies two days after they were born, and had others that wouldn't touch them. Your other thing to think about is if the male is still in there when the babies are born then he will try to breed with the female again since she will be in season again for a bit after she has them.


----------



## Awaiting_Abyss (Nov 19, 2012)

Its nicer to the females to remove the male. They mate again during birth, so the females become pregnant again immediately. That can be pretty stressful (more stressful to some females compared to others of course) to the female to be pregnant while caring for a nursing litter.


----------



## dahowlers (Sep 17, 2013)

Thanks, I realized it was a bad question once I realized that I also found information stating that females should be given a rest period between weaning their litter and being bred again.

My second question is, since mice reach sexual maturity between 5-8 wks, at what age are they finished growing?


----------



## athiena14 (Jun 20, 2013)

not to sure, I had one that didn't stop growing until after she was a year old


----------



## dahowlers (Sep 17, 2013)

Interesting... Thanks again 

I have found a source that says females are typically sexually mature around 6 wks but that it's best to wait until they're 12 wks to start breeding them, what have other breeders found?


----------



## Fantasia Mousery (Jul 16, 2011)

It is not unheard of to leave the buck in for another litter (called back-to-back), but it's not something I'd start out with, and not something that should be done with just any doe. As mentioned, it's pretty tough for the doe.

Mice get sexually mature at somewhere between 4,5-6 weeks, depending among other things on size. Therefore, it's most common to wean at 4 weeks. Once I've weaned the bucks of a litter at 3,5 weeks, because they seemed a bit too interested in their sisters and mother. They were also very big for their age.
Normally, you don't breed a mouse until they are 12 weeks, to give them time to mature both mentally and physically. That doesn't mean they stop growing after 12 weeks, they certainly don't. They stop growing somewhere between 6-12 months.


----------



## dahowlers (Sep 17, 2013)

Very interesting, thanks for the help!

I've been considering breeding brindles, but are there any health concerns with choosing just one color? I just want to make sure since sometime in other animals doubling up on a certain color can be bad.


----------

