# What age would you normaly sell baby mice?



## PPVallhunds

Reasontly ive noticed a lot of people selling mice who are 4 weeks old which to me just seems to young. I take out males at 4-5 weeks old and normaly leave the girls with mum untill i want to rebreed her but i wouldnt normaly let one go to a new home untill 7-8 weeks as the way i see it i wouldnt enter one in a show untill 7 weeks and i feel they need time to ajust to being away from there mother and on only food and water and mature a bit more befor the stress of being sent off to a compleatly new enviroment. 
Some photos iv seen on adds with no mention of age and say ready now the babies look tiny and dont even look 4 weeks (i know they could just be small i supose but look like mine do when they only just opened there eyes) and know of someone who brought some mice and after a few days one suddenly died and they were 4 weeks when they got them.

I can understand in some sucanstances like if they were going to someone who didnt live close so would be unable to get them at another time (thinking more of breeders in america being spread out with possibley day(s) worth of travel rather than a few hours), or if something happened that left the baby on its own. I have once given away a 4week baby as the mother had died and i had no one to foster him and he had a home waiting for him so i let him go early and didnt charge for him, but to routienly sell them at 4 weeks just seems too young.

So what does everyone else think? would you adgree or dissagree?? and what age would you normaly sell mice at???


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## southerngirl061

I don't breed yet, but I would say about 6/7 weeks


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## Doveflight

Lots of people sell at 4-5 weeks so ithink its fine


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## besty74

I think its okay with bucks to go earlier, i take bucks out at 4 weeks, keep them at least 3 days but usually a week then sell them on to new homes, so they are usually 5 weeks at least when rehomed, this has always worked well for me.
The does i leave with the mums until 5 weeks, then keep 3 days minimum, but usually a week, then rehome/sell at 6 weeks or older, again this has always worked for me.
If your mice are all good chunky show types then the pet type babies would look small to you, i have both types and still cannot believe the size difference!!


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## We Love Mouse

I usually separate bucks from their mum/sister when they are 4.5-5 weeks old, does will be left with their mum until they're rehome. The youngest I'd sell them is around 5 weeks old, but I prefer to sell them later as they slow down with age (younger ones are more jumpy and less hand tame than older ones, which is not what people would like for pet) and could get more benefit of staying with their mum longer. 
However with the others, they usually sells baby mice/hamsters at 3-4 weeks, which to me, seems to be a bit too young.


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## Cordane

Bucks are weaned at 4 weeks and generally stay with me till 6 weeks, Females I keep with Mum till 7 weeks and only after that do I advertise them.


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## PPVallhunds

besty74 said:


> If your mice are all good chunky show types then the pet type babies would look small to you, i have both types and still cannot believe the size difference!!


No i have both types, the first mice i started with were tiny lol 25 grams as adults! but now got them up to 40g-50g.

I supose at least at 5-6 weeks they have a week to get use to the change befor going, but surley the ones that are sold at 4 weeks are taken straight from the litter with no time to ajust?

and *We Love Mouse* Some sell at 3weeks! speachless.


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## Cordane

PPVallhunds said:


> besty74 said:
> 
> 
> 
> If your mice are all good chunky show types then the pet type babies would look small to you, i have both types and still cannot believe the size difference!!
> 
> 
> 
> No i have both types, the first mice i started with were tiny lol 25 grams as adults! but now got them up to 40g-50g.
> 
> and *We Love Mouse* Some sell at 3weeks! speachless.
Click to expand...

Like the person I got mine from! 
My last litter was 30g and some over at 4 weeks, My two stud boys are both around 40g so any doe I put with them can be no less than 30g though the boys seem to be really gentlemen. Ok, I lie. The 2 year old is a gentlemen. When I put in a girl, he comes out of his house and sits in the far end of the tank to let the girl explore, he says a quick hello when she passes and she will go into the house, the only time he goes in the house is once she comes to get him. 
His son just wants to get to it as soon as the girls in the tank though he is still young.


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## besty74

PPVallhunds said:


> No i have both types, the first mice i started with were tiny lol 25 grams as adults! but now got them up to 40g-50g.


thats great, how long has that taken you?


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## PPVallhunds

what a gentlman Cordane, my siam buck uses a very diffrrent aproach lol

I started breeding 2 years ago but it only took a few gens and i bit of new blood (just more pet types) to get it up.


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## Cordane

PPVallhunds said:


> what a gentlman Cordane, my siam buck uses a very diffrrent aproach lol


I think its just because he is over 2 years old, though thinking about it, he has always been a bit of a gentlemen. He is such a weird little mouse. Off topic from baby mice but when I clean tanks, I usually put the mice in an empty plastic tub or one of those excercise balls and they'll all happily climb off my hand int the plastic tub or ball but then there is Basil. He will cling to your hand and even when you manage to get him off your hand, before you pull away, he will be clinging on to some part of your hand. There has been the odd time where he will give me an annoyed nip when I'm trying to get him off my hand. Then one day, I found the one place he would willingly go - down my top. I always wear singlets under my top and this day I was wearing a low cut top with a waist belt and he climbed in between the top and my singlet, curled up into a ball, looked up at me then had a little old mans nap. He was quite content there while I was cleaning his cage in the sink, every now and then he would have a peak at what I was doing and go back down my top.

Sorry to go off topic.


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## PPVallhunds

arh a loverly story.


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## love2read

I prefer to wait until my babies are at least 6 weeks old, but on special occasions, like when people are driving across the country to acquire new mice, I will let them go at 4/5 weeks.

I separate male bucks at 4 weeks and have never had any issues, so I'm not too worried when I send home a baby at 4 weeks. I certainly prefer to see them older when they go though.


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## Fantasia Mousery

I wean at 4 weeks, though females sometimes stay with their mom still.
I keep them all till they're 5-6 weeks before they go to new homes.


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## Louise Bygrave

I am a breeder and although I will advertise mice when they are 4 weeks old with pics etc, I do not actually sell them until they are a min of 6 weeks old. It will also depends on the litter of mice. Some litters grow bigger and quicker than others and are weaned quite soon, I've found others where the babies are quite small and still suckling at the age of 6 weeks. It is best to leave them as long as possible though, as if any are weaker than others it will become more obvious as they mature whereas selling at 4 -6 weeks doesn't give you much of an idea how healthy they will turn out. It is best to play it by ear but no younger than six weeks. People coming for cute pets often see the younger babies and try to persuade you to sell them but you must explain to them and stick to your guns and say no. Even then they will often go for the smallest mouse out the litter thinking it is sweet but you must explain it may mean it is not so healthy as the others. I always keep the runts of the litter for myself as they don't live as long.


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