# What do you do with extra males from litters?



## raisin

I recently started off and have had three litters so far. of the 21-ish babies total, all have their place/home except three PEW males. these guys are incredibly sweet- It's just that no body wants males. and if they do, they don't want PEW.

Right now, i am putting breeding on hold until i can do something with these guys. They are living in my room so i can give them each individual care as they are too old to live together, and it's kind of a hassle. but I don't have the heart to give them as snake food and giving them to a pet store is a poor option if i want them to have good lives. They are on craigslist and i plan to advertise these three boys in other places too.

So what do you small time breeders do with all your un-homed, extra males? Surely they don't live with your forever (unless you decide to keep them as personal pets ...but i have enough of those already).


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## RodentsNCats

I know several breeders do cull mice they can't find homes for, but both my friend and I have kept the ones we didn't find homes for.


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## SarahC

If you want to breed regularly and you think it's unethical to sell to pet shops I'm afraid culling will be the only option in the long run.Best bet is to find an ethical use for culls such as a wildlife rescue.I provide a friend with culls for their birds of prey,feed my own pet crow with them and also feed the local foxes.None are wasted.


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## PPVallhunds

compleatly agree with Sarah. 
before i started cullng i had to only breed one litter then nothing for ages untill i had either found homes (which as u have found out can be hard to impossible) or my older ones had died off.
now i cull and my extra mice are used as good healthy food for snakes and big lizards. The way i look at it is my mice had a good life, a quick humane end and will go on to keep another alive. every one of mine one of the replitles eats is one less sold of the mass factory bred mice dealers sell.


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## WoodWitch

......And my pussy cat gets fed on an entirely fresh culled mouse diet. Not a scrap is wasted, he's in excellent health and I feel good about raising my own food for him.


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## pauly

My ferrets love them.


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## WoodWitch

That's great PaulY, I didn't realise Ferrets can eat them. Do they JUST eat them (my cat thrives on mice alone) or they need other food also? And what size mice do they eat, just pinks or larger mice?


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## pauly

I give them a dried cat biscuit & a little tinned cat food as well. They only eat baby mice up to about ten days old, for some reason they won't touch older ones, pity.


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## WoodWitch

Ah, thanks Pauly, interesting subject for me. Sorry for hijacking the theme of the thread by getting excited about animals that can feed on mice, but it is a popular (and sensible) choice with those that breed. You cannot really rely on sales or pet shops to take your surplus, so breeding mice should only be done if you can realistically deal with whatever the litter may present.


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## PPVallhunds

A friend's ferret ate her adult chickens once. It escaped and broke into there pen for a midnight snack


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## WoodWitch

Oh dear. That was a non-fussy (and really rather naughty) ferret then! ops


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## raisin

While I would rather have them living, I will consider giving away any new newborn males as food perhaps. It would be for the best I guess. There are no shortage of snakes that I know, but people wanting males... well. It seems really weird because I allowed for them to be conceived and let them come into this world with a purpose other than being eaten- then to turn around and let them get eaten. I was going to be on my moral high horse, but I guess having a ton of homeless males is no better. I suppose there is comfort in knowing I raised them nicely though.


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## SarahC

It is a difficult issue when you are both responsible and care about animals.I'm horrified by people letting their spare animals go to livestock auction, chiefly rabbits and birds. Something I'd never do .


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## PPVallhunds

The way I look at it is that being food is not just a means to an end but a way if keeping another animal alive, and a better end (when done humanity) than some wild, feeder or pet mice get.


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## Ruth

How do those that feed mice to their cats go about it ? I'd imagine my cat would leave bits of mouse all about the place :/


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## WoodWitch

Here, rather than hijack this thread with the finer points of a mouse diet for cats, have a look at the thread I posted on it 
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=10188&hilit=+cat+diet


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## Honeyrobber72

My males become snake food if I let them get bigger than pinkies. Bearded dragon gets a few pinkies. But when trying to improve mass produced mice from pet store most males get to become adults. Btw I have a thread in the wanted forum. Being raised on farm and raising my own food gives me no moral problem raising healthy mice to feed to my friends snake. Just make sure they are put down properly. I raised rabbits for pets and food. You have to mentally separate them from the start. That has been my issue with mice. I have to try to pet/tame each male before knowing which way they are going to go.


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## Miceandmore64

All the mice I don't keep I sell to a pet store. They will take everything I've got. I have only done this once so far but they loved the tameness and colours so much they asked me to be their supplier. Now I can breed on a bigger scale and not worry about over'stocking


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## EdgewoodMousery

Unless I need males all my litters are culled to females only. If I need males then I cull to keep either all males or 2 or 3 males. I hardly ever have older males I don't need, and if I do I keep retired bucks or rehome them. If I can't rehome then I cull. I don't like culling adults so I try to keep it to a minimum.


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## EdgewoodMousery

Unless I need males all my litters are culled to females only. If I need males then I cull to keep either all males or 2 or 3 males. I hardly ever have older males I don't need, and if I do I keep retired bucks or rehome them. If I can't rehome then I cull. I don't like culling adults so I try to keep it to a minimum.


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## reeserueryn

Yea I'm getting a corn snake specifically for this reason... Sounds awful but only way I'll ever get to good quality mice.


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## raisin

reeserueryn said:


> Yea I'm getting a corn snake specifically for this reason... Sounds awful but only way I'll ever get to good quality mice.


wouldn't it make more sense to give the culls to a friend with a snake, or a herp rescue? Then you aren't stuck with an animal that you only want for one reason.


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## reeserueryn

I don't know anyone on a regular basis with a snake or anything of the matter. I've wanted a snake for about as long as I can remember but could never afford maintenance and now I have the mice. I'm more focused on breeding thats why the snake would be for that reason instead of vice versa but I still will enjoy the snake.


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