# capturing wild mouse for breeding



## Cereal Killer (Nov 23, 2014)

Has anyone done this? I want to breed my mice for intelligence characteristics, so I thought I would build a bucket trap ... that only catches mice which are smart enough to avoid the trap. Maybe with electronic triggers?

What I worry about is:

1. Diseases/parasites. Here I thought that I will capture a male anyway and put him separate to the other mice with a female isolated with a double fence for 5 days, so the female can prepare ovulation. Then I put them together and let them mate. Still .. could that be too dangerous? I am especially worried about fox tapeworm, which somewhat is prevalent in my coutry.
2. That they won't cope well in a cage with the wild genes. Is that a major concern?


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## Ruth (Jul 3, 2014)

I'd be worried about disease but also that hybrids are normally a nightmare to handle. I would just selectively breed from domestic mice as can't see the benefit at all of breeding from a wild. Also remember intelligence isn't just genetics its also environment.


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## Cereal Killer (Nov 23, 2014)

Are there any resources I can read up on regarding wild/fancy hybrids?

From my understanding of breeding, I will combine the two of a different kind. But within a few generations I can select towards one or a few basic characteristics from one of them to manifest in the other, so to speak. So I can make a strong wild mouse which has the cunning to avoid a bucket trap but is a pacifist (I have a pacifist male mouse). I do not entirely agree with the breeding choices people have made before me.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

I have wild mice x fancy mice.They've been interesting,no particular issues other than being flighty and/or shy.


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## Miceandmore64 (Jul 16, 2013)

Yes. Wild X fancy are interesting but often come out wild colouring. Would also be worried about disease and stress of the mice.


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## bellamousey (Dec 18, 2014)

It would be a risky endeavor, but if you do decide to go through with it, I would make sure to quarantine the wild mouse very carefully. Although I am just getting back into mice and haven't had to yet, I would normally carry out the quarantine in a completely different room for at least a couple weeks. With a wild mouse I might wait as long as a month before letting him anywhere near the rest of the mousery, but that's just my opinion.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

Miceandmore64 said:


> Yes. Wild X fancy are interesting but often come out wild colouring. Would also be worried about disease and stress of the mice.


The fact that they would be agouti as f1s is irrelevant to long term plans.The does will be fancy mice and the offspring 50/50 with ever lessening amounts of wild blood so stress levels are not really a valid point either.Disease /pests apply to buying in other peoples domestic stock as many of us have found out to our cost.Quarantine is the sensible route in both scenarios.Unless breeding for the pet market there isn't really a valid reason not to if you wish to mix in wild blood or a strong argument for mixing it in.I'm pleased with what I've got from the cross.


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## Fluffnstuff (Nov 29, 2014)

Honestly, one of my mice (who I don't post pictures of) is a deer mouse, living in a fancy mouse colony. The colony was built up as company for her, as the result of advice from a wildlife rehabilitator. I am not going to say that she is the same as a wild house mouse, because she isn't - but she is probably more fundamentally different than one, given that she's a different species.

I honestly don't even know what to make regarding arguments of stress levels. She was 2-3 weeks old when we pried her away from our cat, she lives in a tank with other mice as a pet, and she's LESS stressed/friendlier than my crankiest girl, and on par with all but the very, very friendlist (who is a smoosh ball who bruxes if you look at her and wants cheek rubs constantly). She's certainly faster and more active, but she mostly acts like a mouse. She eats, she drinks, she chews, she runs in a wheel, she nests up with her tankmates, she makes nests and digs doesn't mind being handled/enjoys playtime and basically acts like a pet rodent. I'm really not sure how the offspring of wild/domestic mice could be expected to be frantic and miserable all the time in comparison.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Treat the wild buck for parasites and be prepared for offspring that are likely to levitate right out of sight at about week five or so.


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