# Rescued Some Baby Wild Mice! - UPDATE



## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

Well was at work in the averies feeding the birds, bunnies and gpigs. I had just fed everyone and was about to get out some meds for one of the animals and i saw a little baby mouse climing the mesh by the bin. It saw me dropped down and ran off, so i followed it and it led me right to the nest. So i got a tub and gently tipped the big box over so i could get at them. Inside the box was a little bird carryer cage so i took that out and behinde it was the mum but sadly she was dead, so i caught up 3 out of the 4 babies. the forth had run off and i could not catch him and eventualy lost sight of him and couldnt find him. But ill check the nest tomorrow and see if he comes back.
So i now have 3 babies in a tub with food and water and lots of shavings and hay. By the look of it mum was still feeding them so dont know if they will be able to eat the food, they look about 2-1/2 weeks old comparing them to my fancy mice litters. If the do survine ill take them home and look after them untill they are bigger and then release them in the fields by the farm. If the dont look like they are going to make it they will have to be put down.

But they are soo cute! Will get a photo tomorrow.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

What fun! We have nests of wild meeces near our compost area, and they are the fattest sleekest wildies you'd ever imagine, living on the left overs from the mousery. We compost all the used aspen shavings etc. It makes the best mulch/fertilizer in the world when we add the kitchen compost to it. We layer it with dirt, then kitchen waste then mousie stuff, etc.

We are politically correct in our gardening; we use only the People's Choice; Mousie Dung.

I have rescused little meeces from the shovel and kept them for a bit. They are way too jumpy to hold onto, they practically fly out of the tank when they get big enough. I am surprised to see the wild variation is shades of agouti. there have been occasions where I see as many as seven or eight adults meeces scattering off in different directions. With the better diet, they look a lot gifferent than the ones we see in the house.


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## Gill (Sep 16, 2011)

Back in the summer, I rescued a woodmouse from next-door's cat. I put her in the bath (having nowhere else suitable), along with lots of newspaper, wild bird seed, and a bowl of water. I intended to release her the following morning but, when I went to get her, I found that she had given birth to four babies. Regretfully, the babies all died a week later. I don't know if it was because they were premature, or because the mother was stressed being in captivity.
The doe seemed quite happy with a diet of wild bird seed, supplemented with seasonal green veg and berries. She appeared quite healthy when I released her, so the same food would probably be OK for your wild mice. I bought one of those grass nesting pouches (£2-99 from Homebase) which, once she had modified it - ie she chewed a hole in the top - she deemed an acceptable nest.
Hope this info is of some use.


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

thanks guys, these one look like my little runt girl, we had a problem with there mum ripping open feed bags a while ago so stopped keeping spair bags out there so there has been less food around for them the last few months, unlike the wild mouse in the mammal and exotic room who keeps ripping open bin bags and spredding it all over the floor! been after him for months now but he is too smart to go into my humane traps.


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

photos


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

So adorable! What happened to the third one? Are there colors really that different, or is it just the way the camera took it?


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

the third one is ok, just didnt want to hadle them too much. Yeah its just the lighting.

The forth baby i couldnt catch was found dead at work, but at least these three will make it.


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

Today was release day! they have gotton bigger and now seem to be hiding and running from me where as when they came home they would just site there and look at me. I took them about 5miles away to a side road next to fields and farmland and took some extra food for them. 
Heres the last photos of them.
Befor








After









It was kinda sad letting them go but im glad they did well and hopefully they will make it through winter. ray


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## AnnB (Jan 14, 2011)

Well done, I hope they live long and happy lives in the countryside.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Nice! We tipped our two bigger composters over the weekend, and, as usual there was a lot of scurrying as about a dozen wildies were evicted. I couldn't resist trying to snatch one of the littlest, don't quite know why...must have been a cat in a previous incarnation.


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

lol moustress.

Tipicaly the morning after was the coldest its been in a while and went to -2'c! it was warmer last night though.


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