# What are your "Breeding Ethics"?



## love2read (Aug 30, 2011)

I see such a wide range of "ethics" on the boards and was curious to see each individual breeder's set of ethics and rules that they follow. I would love if you guys would participate in filling out a questionnaire! :mrgreen:

1) What is your MAX number of mice you'd ever want to have?
2) How big are your cages(including retirement, breeding, and male cages)?
3) What age do you normally breed your females?
4) What's the youngest you breed your females(not including "oops" litters)?
5) At what age do you retire your females?
6) What age do you normally wean bubs?
7) What is the youngest age you would wean a bub?
8) Do you cull litters? If so, what number of bubs do you normally keep your litters at?
9) Do you breed/sell/use mice as feeders?
10) What are your customer limitations(age, experience, breeder/pet-only, etc..)?
11) Do you require contracts to be signed when you sell your mice?
12) What diet do you feed?
13) On average, how long after giving birth do you wait to re-breed your does?

That's all can think of at the moment. I look forward to learning everyone's views on breeding and mouse care!


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## candycorn (Oct 31, 2011)

1) What is your MAX number of mice you'd ever want to have? Right now I can't imagine having more than 50.
2) How big are your cages(including retirement, breeding, and male cages)? 5 gallon tanks for most boys. 10 and 20 gallon tanks for the ladies. I keep 3 girls in a 10, 7 or 8 in a 20. 
3) What's the youngest you breed your females(not including "oops" litters)? 4 months
4) At what age do you retire your females? after 1 or 2 litters. I can see myself going to 3 litters if I have an amazing doe.
5) What age do you normally wean bubs? 4 weeks - sell at 5
6) What is the youngest age you would wean a bub? 4 weeks
7) Do you cull litters? If so, what number of bubs do you normally keep your litters at? I am starting to. I want it well under 10 with six as a goal. 
8) Do you breed feeders? no
9) Do you sell mice as feeders? If so, do you sell them live or already euthanized? no - but I keep snakes so my culled rodents do go to food. I feed frozen/thawed.
10) What are your customer limitations(age, experience, breeder/pet-only, etc..)? under 18 needs parental permission and parents willing to take care of them. I welcome new keepers if they seem knowledgeable and willing to learn and ask questions. Everyone has to start somewhere and owning a mouse or 3 is far easier than a puppy. I think "most" people can handle it with a little research. 
11) Do you require contracts to be signed when you sell your mice? no
12) What diet do you feed? Native Earth and some seed mix as a treat. Milkbones and dog kibble and yogurt treats too!
13) On average, how long after giving birth do you wait to re-breed your does? A full month at least!


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## love2read (Aug 30, 2011)

Here's mine:

1) What is your MAX number of mice you'd ever want to have? 100, but I try to stay under 50.
2) How big are your cages(including retirement, breeding, and male cages)? Colony Cages: 24 long X 18 wide and Breeding/Male cages: approx. 16 long X 10 wide. I will occasionally use shoe-box sized containers for temporary housing of single mice when I'm all out of breeder cages. 
3) What age do you normally breed your females? 12 weeks
3) What's the youngest you breed your females(not including "oops" litters)? 8 weeks
4) At what age do you retire your females?I haven't had to retire any females yet, but I plan on retiring them around the 1 year mark.
5) What age do you normally wean bubs?6 weeks
6) What is the youngest age you would wean a bub?4 weeks
7) Do you cull litters? If so, what number of bubs do you normally keep your litters at?Yes. 6.
8) Do you breed/sell/use feeders? I started out breeding mice for fun and sold any babies I didn't keep to a local pet store. Now 90% of my bubs are sold as pets/breeders, but I still have a couple pet-store mice I'm crossing to my show lines and whichever bubs I don't keep or sell I'll take to the pet store or donate them to a local wildlife rehabber, but I no longer intentionally breed for feeders and try to sell them to pet/breeder homes first.
9) What are your customer limitations(age, experience, breeder/pet-only, etc..)? I prefer that a customer already has mice, but I'm willing to sell them mice if they can show me that they've done their homework and will care for them properly. I won't sell to anyone under 18. If someone under 18 wants mice then one of their parents will need to contact me and buy the mice themselves. 
10) Do you require contracts to be signed when you sell your mice? No.
11) What diet do you feed?I feed a mix of high-quality dog food, grains, cereal, and pig feed. I'm currently throwing some lab blocks into the mix because they were given to me in trade for mice, but I'm not crazy about them and neither are my mice.


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## love2read (Aug 30, 2011)

I combined questions 8 and 9 and added in "What age do you normally breed your females?".


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

> 1) What is your MAX number of mice you'd ever want to have?


I'm not sure. Including ASFs I max out around 100, then I'll sell and cull, and get back down to between 70 and 50.



> 2) How big are your cages(including retirement, breeding, and male cages)?


I use lab cages, standard mouse sized. For ASFs I use 10 gallon tanks, and for retired mice, and pet mice i use 5 gallon tanks.



> 3) What age do you normally breed your females?


12-16 weeks.



> 4) What's the youngest you breed your females(not including "oops" litters)?


8 weeks.



> 5) At what age do you retire your females?


I don't go by age, I go by health of the mouse. If a mouse is healthy and strong, and a good mother, I have no reason to retire her.



> 6) What age do you normally wean bubs?


5-6 weeks.



> 7) What is the youngest age you would wean a bub?


4 weeks only in an emergency or a very special circumstance.



> 8) Do you cull litters? If so, what number of bubs do you normally keep your litters at?


4-6 depending on how many good mice are in the litter. If there are only 4 good mice, there's no reason to keep 6 in the litter.



> 9) Do you breed/sell/use mice as feeders?


I sell pre-killed and frozen mice for feeders, and I sell ASFs for feeder breeders to select few people. I do not sell live mice for feeders, and do not agree with live feeding.



> 10) What are your customer limitations(age, experience, breeder/pet-only, etc..)?


I do not sell to young children. I do not sell to young teens without parental consent. I sell mice for $5 to breeders I know, and $10 to breeders or keepers I am not familiar with.



> 11) Do you require contracts to be signed when you sell your mice?


I do not.



> 12) What diet do you feed?


I feed home-made mouse mix. Rolled oats, quick oats, barley, cheerios, puffed rice, white millet, pumpkin seeds, sweet horse feed, holistic dog food.


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## Velvet_Meece (Apr 20, 2009)

love2read said:


> 1) What is your MAX number of mice you'd ever want to have? There's no limit on what i want or would have if i could, lols. But if you mean how many have i got room for long term then about 80.
> 2) How big are your cages(including retirement, breeding, and male cages)? never measures but i think 24 x 18 for colonies and i have some that are about a ft sq. and some slightly smaller all used mainly for single males, never permanent though.
> 3) What age do you normally breed your females? Tend to go by size more than age, but obviously nothing under 12 weeks.
> 4) What's the youngest you breed your females(not including "oops" litters)? See above
> ...


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

1) What is your MAX number of mice you'd ever want to have? It's about number of cages for me; 20 mice in 20 cages is the same amount of work as 80 mice in 20 cages. No more than 30 cages, but I prefer to keep around 20 cages of mice. I keep up to 10 cages per variety. Although if I wasn't working full time I'd have time to look after a lot more than that. So really, my maximum number is the amount of cages I have time to clean out twice a week.
2) How big are your cages(including retirement, breeding, and male cages)? Littering cages for kittens aged 0-2 weeks = 45cm x 15cm. Buck cages and nursery cages for kittens aged 2-5 weeks = 40cm x 29cm. Running on cages for large groups of does = 40cm x 60cm.
3) What age do you normally breed your females? It's not about age for me, it's about size and fitness. Some mice I breed at three months, others I wait a bit longer.
4) What's the youngest you breed your females(not including "oops" litters)? As above.
5) At what age do you retire your females? Again, it's not about age. If a doe is good, she'll have litters as long as she remains in top condition.
6) What age do you normally wean bubs? One calender month/30 days.
7) What is the youngest age you would wean a bub? As above
8) Do you cull litters? If so, what number of bubs do you normally keep your litters at? 4 to 6.
9) Do you breed/sell/use mice as feeders? Yes.
10) What are your customer limitations(age, experience, breeder/pet-only, etc..)? I don't sell mice as pets, I'm fed up of timewasters. I will give mice to breeders, if I have enough spare, but I don't charge.
11) Do you require contracts to be signed when you sell your mice? No.
12) What diet do you feed? Vitalin Original working dog museli.


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## GypsyTails (Jul 14, 2010)

1) What is your MAX number of mice you'd ever want to have? I can handle about 100 in a pinch, but with my current job I prefer around 50 adults.
2) How big are your cages(including retirement, breeding, and male cages)?I use lab cages- standard mouse size and what I call lab cubes, 16 quart storage bins converted for cages, 5.5 gallon, 10 gallon, 15 gallon and 20 gallon aquariums.
3) What age do you normally breed your females?I usually breed them first at around 3-4 months old, but I have started later. It all depends on the vigor of the doe.
4) What's the youngest you breed your females(not including "oops" litters)? 3 months is my youngest age.
5) At what age do you retire your females?It all depends on the doe. Some have one litter and are retired, others I have bred up to 3 times.
6) What age do you normally wean bubs?4-5 weeks of age.
7) What is the youngest age you would wean a bub?3 and 1/2 weeks if their development allowed.
8) Do you cull litters? If so, what number of bubs do you normally keep your litters at?Yes, 4-6 is preferable but I have kept 8.
9) Do you breed/sell/use mice as feeders? NO.
10) What are your customer limitations(age, experience, breeder/pet-only, etc..)?Um, common sense.
11) Do you require contracts to be signed when you sell your mice?Very rarely, but I do have a pet only contract I use on occasion.
12) What diet do you feed?Harlan lab block and a home mix made of oats, bird seed mix and high quality puppy food. Treats are whole grain cereals, pasta, rice, seeds or dried fruit.


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

1) What is your MAX number of mice you'd ever want to have?
i couldnt amigin me having more than 40, currently have 19

2) How big are your cages(including retirement, breeding, and male cages)?
not sure on size, will have to measuer them.

3) What age do you normally breed your females? 
usualy 12-16weeks but if they dont look up to it yet ill waite longer.

4) What's the youngest you breed your females(not including "oops" litters)? 
12weeks

5) At what age do you retire your females?
Depends on there condition and what else i have. If younger girls come along who are better ill retire the older girls. If i dont think they are in good enought condition then i wont breed them. just had a girl putdown due to fading health at 9months old but her litter sister is going strong still (but she is now retired as she is a poor mum)

6) What age do you normally wean bubs?
Buck leave mums at 5weeks 6 at latest. Does stay with mum unless i split them up when its breeding time.

7) What is the youngest age you would wean a bub?
4 weeks

8) Do you cull litters? If so, what number of bubs do you normally keep your litters at?
Yes on day 1. I dont have a set number, normaly im after does so all the bucks will go, sometimes that will leave only 1-3. If there are loads of does i keep the 4-5 best looking ones.

9) Do you breed/sell/use mice as feeders?
Yes, my excess pinkies and older mice who dont meet the grade are culled and frozen and given to my friend for food.

10) What are your customer limitations(age, experience, breeder/pet-only, etc..)?
Ive given a few mice to people i know as pets, if they live at home with parents they must get there parents permission. If they have not kept mice befor i tell them everything they want to know about how to look after them. I wouldnt mind mine going to a breeder.

11) Do you require contracts to be signed when you sell your mice?
No

12) What diet do you feed?
Hamster mix, and add millit every so often, mums also get dog biskets and meal worms.

13) after the last litter is around 8weeks at the earliest, but depends on the condition of the doe, if i think she could do with a rest ill waite. Also depends on if i need anymore babies and if im planning on entering her in a show.


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## love2read (Aug 30, 2011)

Wow! Lots of responses! Thank you all for participating! Keep em coming! :mrgreen:

BTW, I added one more question: 13) On average, how long after giving birth do you wait to re-breed your does?


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## WillowDragon (Jan 7, 2009)

1) What is your MAX number of mice you'd ever want to have? I dont put a number on it, as many as I can comfortably take care of.

2) How big are your cages(including retirement, breeding, and male cages)? Males and single mums get 9L RUBs, Does littering two or threes, groups of does (around 6) and growing on younsters get 18L RUBs, I do have a few 60L RUBs but dont use them very often.

3) What age do you normally breed your females? Depending on whether they are shown, 12 to 16 weeks normally, sometimes a little older.

4) What's the youngest you breed your females(not including "oops" litters)? 8 to 10 weeks

5) At what age do you retire your females? I dont. If they produce good young, are good mums and stay fit.

6) What age do you normally wean bubs? 4 weeks

7) What is the youngest age you would wean a bub? 4 weeks

8) Do you cull litters? If so, what number of bubs do you normally keep your litters at? Depends on the variety, selfs i reduce down to 4 does, 1 buck (If there are that many does in a litter), I have just started with a marked vareity, so will have to do it differently, though i still wouldnt feel comfortable leaving a mum with anymore than 8 babies for very long.

9) Do you breed/sell/use mice as feeders? I have done.

10) What are your customer limitations(age, experience, breeder/pet-only, etc..)? I have pet homed before, and would again, but generally only to friends and family.

11) Do you require contracts to be signed when you sell your mice? Hahaa... ummm. No.

12) What diet do you feed? Oats, wild bird seed, kitten kibble and vitalin dog muesli

13) On average, how long after giving birth do you wait to re-breed your does? Depends entirely on the doe, but i dont back to back.


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## m137b (Sep 22, 2010)

1) What is your MAX number of mice you'd ever want to have? Don't have one. I've got 50 cages now, have had upwards of 75, just depends on what I need 
2) How big are your cages(including retirement, breeding, and male cages)? I have 2 sizes, 12x16x8 for breedings/litters/single bucks, and 24x18x16 for non-breeding groups
3) What age do you normally breed your females?For the first breeding 3 months, not later than 6 months
4) What's the youngest you breed your females(not including "oops" litters)?2 months, but only with the brindles
5) At what age do you retire your females? No specific age, whenever they no longer maintain breeding condition on normal feed 
6) What age do you normally wean bubs? Bucks 1 month, Does after that
7) What is the youngest age you would wean a bub?1 month
8) Do you cull litters? If so, what number of bubs do you normally keep your litters at?Yes, 1-8 pups, just depends on what's in the litter and how good the doe's milk output is.
9) Do you breed/sell/use mice as feeders?No, not the mice
10) What are your customer limitations(age, experience, breeder/pet-only, etc..)?No pets. I will sell to breeders.
11) Do you require contracts to be signed when you sell your mice?No. Contracts are pointless
12) What diet do you feed?Lab block
13)On average, how long after giving birth do you wait to re-breed your does? At least 6 weeks, or whenever I wean their female pups.


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

1) For me, my maximum is a matter of cages, not mice. Right now, I've got space for ten of varying sizes. I'm hoping to be able to expand by early summertime, as the mini chickens are moving out of the animal room and into the garage.
2) My cages are three 5.5s, six 10s, and one 20 (meaning three buck tanks, six doe-and-litter tanks or small groups of does tanks, and one grow-out tank for young does living in a group).
3) When I had brindles, they started breeding at 8wks, but all other varieties start at 12 or 13 weeks, depending on their size and condition.
4) I really don't breed before 12 weeks. I figure that harming my does is harming myself.
5) My does are breed three times usually, but it really depends on the doe. And really only my original pet store does couldn't make it through multiple litters.
6) I remove bucks at 28 days, and does at five or six weeks usually.
7) Unless something crazy happened (like a doe harming her weeks-old litter or dying), I really don't wean before 28 days.
8) I cull litters, but how much by really depends on the doe. My bigger, healthier does might have 8-10, while others I reduce to 4-5.
9) I do sell/cull as feeders, and have always. I'm separating into producing a feeder line.
10) My only customer limitation is to make certain that the new owner has an understanding of mouse care. If they're insistent on the wrong kind of cage, or on feeding cheese as a main diet, or something else ridiculous, we're done.
11) Contracts are ridiculous.
12) I feed oats, wheat, barley, millet, safflower, and Diamond brand puppy chow.
13) Usually a month after weaning, I'll re-breed, but some does put condition on faster, and some slower.


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## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

1) What is your MAX number of mice you'd ever want to have?  60 permanent and 60 transit (I.E selling from breeding etc) this number may change later though, that's just the limit given to me in my current rental place. 
2) How big are your cages(including retirement, breeding, and male cages)?  breeding boxes; 14l, 43l or 45l, male cages; 5l, 7l, 12l, or 14l, other; 12l, 14l, 43l, 45l or 90l. -everything gets switched around a lot :lol: errmm like 19 or so boxes.
3) What age do you normally breed your females?  14 weeks - year
4) What's the youngest you breed your females(not including "oops" litters)?  14 weeks 
5) At what age do you retire your females?  12-14 months
6) What age do you normally wean bubs?  4 weeks 2-3 days 
7) What is the youngest age you would wean a bub?  3 1/2-4 weeks
8) Do you cull litters? If so, what number of bubs do you normally keep your litters at?  4-6 per doe, 4 for show, 5 or 6 for pet
9) Do you breed/sell/use mice as feeders?  only if I'm desperate, but then I'm better culling for my own snake food at that point .. Culled pinks go as snake food.
10) What are your customer limitations(age, experience, breeder/pet-only, etc..)? none, though show mice will be primarily for NMC members, and if I feel a person doesn't care for their mice correctly I reserve the right to not sell to them. 
11) Do you require contracts to be signed when you sell your mice?  no, but I keep in contact with a lot of people I sell too. 
12) What diet do you feed?  my own mix; oats, barley, flakes peas, maize, cat kibble, seeds. treats/other: mealworms, ryvita, fresh fruit/veg, baby fruit/veg puree, lactol, hay and what ever I find in stores etc. 
13) On average, how long after giving birth do you wait to re-breed your does?  12-14 weeks.

hope this helps? :lol:


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## tinyhartmouseries (Dec 30, 2010)

1) What is your MAX number of mice you'd ever want to have?
* I really like having around 50*.
2) How big are your cages(including retirement, breeding, and male cages)?
*girl bins have the floor space of a 10/20 gal...males have 5gal, breeding mommas go in a ten gal, retirement home is a large 30 gal tank on it's side.*
3) What age do you normally breed your females?
* I try to start them between 4-6 months.*
4) What's the youngest you breed your females(not including "oops" litters)?
* 3 months.*
5) At what age do you retire your females?
*10 months-a year*
6) What age do you normally wean bubs?
*4 weeks*
7) What is the youngest age you would wean a bub?
*4 weeks*
8) Do you cull litters? If so, what number of bubs do you normally keep your litters at?
*yes, 4-6*
9) Do you breed/sell/use mice as feeders?
*only culled pinkies*
10) What are your customer limitations(age, experience, breeder/pet-only, etc..)?
*I like to adopt to mature adults. I will adopt to new breeders with counseling. I prefer show/pet breeders only.*
11) Do you require contracts to be signed when you sell your mice?
* No. I include a return contract and a copy of a basic set of ethics I prefer*
12) What diet do you feed?
*Mazuri*
13) On average, how long after giving birth do you wait to re-breed your does?
*3-4 weeks *


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## Shadowrunner (Sep 26, 2011)

1) What is your MAX number of mice you'd ever want to have?
However many I handle comfortably on my own. I don't have a solid number, but I like to keep around 50 at least.

2) How big are your cages(including retirement, breeding, and male cages)?
I don't have a specific size. I use larger converted sterylite containers.

3) What age do you normally breed your females?
4 months - 8 months ( I am willing to go a little longer if I have a gene I need and the doe is fit)

4) What's the youngest you breed your females(not including "oops" litters)?
3 months, but that's not very often.

5) At what age do you retire your females?
8 months typically, but it depends on the doe.

6) What age do you normally wean bubs?
4 weeks for males. the does stay with mom in a community cage into adulthood, so whenever mom decides.

7) What is the youngest age you would wean a bub?
4 weeks.

8) Do you cull litters? If so, what number of bubs do you normally keep your litters at?
yes. 6-8. If I have more than that and I don't want to cull I will foster some to another mom with a smaller litter.

9) Do you breed/sell/use mice as feeders?
No but I do give the culls to the local wild life center for their owls,falcons and hawks.

10) What are your customer limitations(age, experience, breeder/pet-only, etc..)?
There are a lot of factors I consider but it all boils down to weather or not I can trust them to take care of the mouse.

11) Do you require contracts to be signed when you sell your mice? Absolutely not.

12) What diet do you feed?
Oh geez. A mix I make myself from rolled oats, mixed seed, millet, good quality dog food, barrley and a few other things.
They also get eggs and KMR bread weekly (daily for nursing does)

13) On average, how long after giving birth do you wait to re-breed your does?
A month from the day boys are weaned. But I often give them a few extra weeks.


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## Autumn2005 (Apr 21, 2010)

1) What is your MAX number of mice you'd ever want to have?
*At one point I had over 150, but that was an accident. I feel 30 or less is too low for me, I'm more comfortable in the 60-70 range. MAX number... probably 100-150.*

2) How big are your cages(including retirement, breeding, and male cages)?
*Males, breeding pairs and moms with new litters in 5.5L boxes, moms with older babies and maturing does (already weaned but too young to breed) in 20L, large groups of does (8+) in 10gal tanks or bigger. The biggest I have right now are a couple 64qts. However I just got some 10"x19" lab cages, so I'm experimenting with spacing there.*

3) What age do you normally breed your females?
*12 weeks*

4) What's the youngest you breed your females(not including "oops" litters)?
*10-12 weeks*

5) At what age do you retire your females?
*When I no longer need them for breeding (replacing with better stock), or health declines.*

6) What age do you normally wean bubs?
*Bucks 4 weeks, does 6+ weeks*

7) What is the youngest age you would wean a bub?
*4 weeks*

8) Do you cull litters? If so, what number of bubs do you normally keep your litters at?
*Yes I cull, but I don't have a specific number. I cull extra males before weaning, and then take longer to decide what girls to keep. I feed snakes, so my male culls go to my small snakes, and the female culls I raise to adult size before feeding.*

9) Do you breed/sell/use mice as feeders?
*Umm... yes. See above.*

10) What are your customer limitations(age, experience, breeder/pet-only, etc..)?
*I've only sold 1 pair of mice... there is no market in my area. But I will freely share mice with other breeders.*

11) Do you require contracts to be signed when you sell your mice?
*No.*

12) What diet do you feed?
*Lab blocks, with mealworms/crickets, bread with peanut butter, bird seed/grain mixture as suppliments*

13) On average, how long after giving birth do you wait to re-breed your does?
*2-3 months.*


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## sys15 (Nov 26, 2011)

1) What is your MAX number of mice you'd ever want to have?
want to have? ever? that could be a really big number if we aren't limiting the discussion to Mus musculus. for now, 40-50 is about right.

2) How big are your cages (including retirement, breeding, and male cages)?
7"x11" lab cages.

3) What age do you normally breed your females?
i don't keep birth date records, but i breed as early as they appear ready. probably around 8 weeks for most.

4) What's the youngest you breed your females(not including "oops" litters)?
see above.

5) At what age do you retire your females?
whenever i no longer wish to have more offspring from her, it could be after 1 litter, it could be after 10.

6) What age do you normally wean bubs?
i hate the word "bub", it feels made up. probably around 3.5 weeks, but as mentioned, i don't record birth dates.

7) What is the youngest age you would wean a bub?
3.5 weeks as per above, unless i had some strong reason to accelerate.

8) Do you cull litters? If so, what number of bubs do you normally keep your litters at?
yes, 2-8 depending on the reason i wanted the litter/trait i'm selecting for. in rare cases, i'll keep an entire litter, but usually only by giving the mother the assistance of another lactating female.

9) Do you breed/sell/use mice as feeders?
no, no, yes.

10) What are your customer limitations(age, experience, breeder/pet-only, etc..)?
none.

11) Do you require contracts to be signed when you sell your mice?
no.

12) What diet do you feed?
dog food, grain based stale human foods, sunflower seeds

13) On average, how long after giving birth do you wait to re-breed your does?
usually immediately.


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

ive edited my post to include the new question.


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

1) What is your MAX number of mice you'd ever want to have?
I only have 34, with 7 on my soon to be culled list, which is probably my most amount of mice since starting in September. My goal is to keep in around 50-75 once I get my numbers up.

2) How big are your cages(including retirement, breeding, and male cages)?
My current set up has two 5.5 gals, four 10 gals, and three storage bins that are around the size of a 20 gal. 5.5's are for the males when not breeding, 10 gals are for littering, and the 20 gal's I have a male and 5ish females currently in each. I haven't gotten to retirement yet, and am buying/upgrading cages as I go along.

3) What age do you normally breed your females?
I'm doing 8 weeks, but I probably will give this more time when I have more numbers to work with.

4) What's the youngest you breed your females (not including "oops" litters)?
8 weeks.

5) At what age do you retire your females?
I don't know yet, none of my does are there. I'm probably going to base it on condition.

6) What age do you normally wean bubs?
I separate males at 4.5 weeks, females stay with the mom until 6 weeks or later depending on if I need to move mice around.

7) What is the youngest age you would wean a bub?
4 weeks.

8) Do you cull litters? If so, what number of bubs do you normally keep your litters at?
Yes. Day two I like to cull to ten, and work it down with the goal of six over the next couple days/as pigment comes in.

9) Do you breed/sell/use mice as feeders?
No, yes, no? I don't have a feeder line, but it is an idea I'm toying with. I sell my culls to a housemate and am only starting to branch out to other local snake keepers. I also donate to a local Raptor Rescue (Thanks to Shadowrunner's suggestion when I started!). I do not own any snakes.

10) What are your customer limitations (age, experience, breeder/pet-only, etc..)?
I have only supplied my bf with a trio; I'm not big enough to sell pets yet, only frozen culls. This is where common sense of the customer and the willingness to learn becomes the deciding factor, as well as age/parental consent.

11) Do you require contracts to be signed when you sell your mice?
No, but I have idea's for care sheets.

12) What diet do you feed?
The Native Earth (HT) from petfooddirect. I like to supplement my nursing females with oatmeal laden with peanut butter.

13) On average, how long after giving birth do you wait to re-breed your does?
I've been aiming for 6 weeks, but this also depends on the condition of the doe.


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## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

Frizzle said:


> 12) What diet do you feed?
> The Native Earth (HT) from petfooddirect. I like to supplement my nursing females with oatmeal laden with peanut butter.


I'm curious, I have always been told that peanuts are really bad and fattening for mice, even for nursing does, how do your mice get on with it?


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

Peanuts were discussed here a while back:
http://www.fancymicebreeders.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=9251&hilit=peanuts&start=10

I've been using it _because_ of its fattening abbilities; one particular doe did put weight on so she got rationed differently (less peanut butter, the same amount of everything else). As mentioned in that thread, I had to use pb for baiting live traps for school, and those rodents never looked the worse for wear.


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## MoonfallTheFox (Nov 12, 2011)

I don't breed but someday I would like to, or at least have more mice so I'll answer anyhoo. (mods remove if you don't think non-breeders should be answering.)

1) What is your MAX number of mice you'd ever want to have? Probably 20-30, depending what other animals I had at the time.
2) How big are your cages(including retirement, breeding, and male cages)? I keep my does in a 20 gallon and my buck in a kritter keeper, which I believe is a medium or large size one.
3) What age do you normally breed your females? I would probably breed at around 4 months.
4) What's the youngest you breed your females(not including "oops" litters)? 3 months at earliest if I were breeding, unless I had a doe who was super fit or something.
5) At what age do you retire your females? I would retire at eight months, or when the doe seems tired/ready to stop/or I have the gene I want from her. I would rather loose a certain gene than hurt a female.
6) What age do you normally wean bubs? 4 weeks would be ideal for the bucks, the does get to be with mom another week.
7) What is the youngest age you would wean a bub? 3.5 weeks in an emergency.
8) Do you cull litters? If so, what number of bubs do you normally keep your litters at? I would cull, yes, and 6-8. Maybe a couple more, knowing me I'd have trouble culling.
9) Do you breed/sell/use mice as feeders? If I bred I would use culled babies to feed my snake. Adults who passed on would be buried/cremated/taxidermy/something else more respectful. My mice are pets at this point and any breeding mouse would be considered a pet first, breeder later. They would be handled as such after death.
10) What are your customer limitations(age, experience, breeder/pet-only, etc..)? I would be very picky, probably only sell mice to close friends.
11) Do you require contracts to be signed when you sell your mice? No, but since they'd be going to friends that wouldn't matter anyway. The general public is just not trustworthy with animals, IMO.
12) What diet do you feed? HT 2014
13) On average, how long after giving birth do you wait to re-breed your does? I would wait probably a month, if I didn't get what I needed from the first litter.


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