|
Post by harrisi on Jan 31, 2009 12:14:39 GMT -5
What age do you kill the mice? I was just wondering, because some of the people who buy mice from us ask for "large" mice so I have to keep them until they are 5-9 months old wich is a pain because for if they would switch to rats then I would only need to keep the rats until they are like 3 weeks old to get the same size animals AND they are cheaper to raise as they would hardly be eating any food at all. To be honest I am thinking about giving up on mouse breeding as they cost soo much, they stink, they pee everywhere, they bite more, they arnt as good mothers and they are difficult to house. Where as rats are perfect
|
|
|
Post by nwheather on Jan 31, 2009 13:08:13 GMT -5
Oh, so sorry to hear that you'r having a rough time with mice. =-( I haven't goten to that point yet. I was planning on various stages. My oldest litter is 11 days old. I wouls see where rats would be easier, I thought about it, but decided not to.
|
|
|
Post by harrisi on Jan 31, 2009 13:19:51 GMT -5
Thanks. I never thought about the different stages, but the people who buy them use them for snakes so they are always the same size, come here every week for mice and I have never let them down, have always planned litters to make sure I have enough adult mice for them and often throw in a few extra mice for free but now they are complaining. Gah.
|
|
|
Post by nwheather on Jan 31, 2009 13:53:36 GMT -5
That bites =-( Well, if rats will work bette for you, I say go for it! I may try it again, but not anytime soon.
|
|
|
Post by josiesmom on Jan 31, 2009 18:04:04 GMT -5
Well I only use the mice I breed for my own ferrets and snake. Hv en't got a "breeding operation" but it would seem to me that while the size of a young rat and an adultmice are about equal - their bone density and maturity are NOT. The adult mice offer better calcium/phosphorous and other minerals than the young rats. Since most feeder mice sold in the states are just juveniles, I can understand the demand for actual adult mice. An adult mouse is easier for a ferret to dispatch (unless they are exceptional predators) than an adult rat for those that offer live prey. And an adult mouse is easier to serve as one meal, whereas a rat might make up several meals. Some animals just prefer the taste of mice to rats too.
I don't have a problem with mice being poor mothers, nor do mine bite. I house my colony indoors- in my bathroom and don't have an issue with odor - if there was an odor, beleive me, my landlord who lives upstairs would have something to say about it!
What do you use for bedding? I use a mix of Cell sorb (similar to yesterdays news, but better), feline pine ( I suppose wood stove pellets would substitute), some aspen shreds and shredded paper.
I am using 22qt sterlite bins. They get 2 cups of cell sorb, 2 cups of pine pellets, 2 handfuls of aspen shreds and a handful of paper shreds. the mice rearrange their bedding to suit themselves. the pine pellets tend to disintegrate and become sawdust which will settle to the base of the bin. The cell sorb absorbs odors, the aspen shreds they like to keep on top for traveling over and the paper shreds they use for their nests. I keep three or four mice per bin depending on their buddy system. The mice are kept as groups through their breeding service and a bin will have as many as three litters at one time!
All the mice contribute to the care of the pups, I've only had a couple instances of cannibalization and that didn't entail the entire litter, just a couple pups. My average litter size is 10 to 12 pups.
Are you offering your mice meat and bones for protein sources?
Cheers, kim
|
|
|
Post by harrisi on Jan 31, 2009 19:01:20 GMT -5
That was just a for instance about the size thing, its like some people feed snakes 2 adult mice yet the equivelant in rats both in nutrition and meal is much cheaper and easier (yeah, I am lazy lol). They dont really bite from being picked up, but I just have to be more wary about handling them. They are handled pretty much daily from birth and they are treated like pets. The smell is nothing to do with the bedding, but I guess its because I am breeding on a large scale, male mice stink terribly. The problem isnt canabalization either - they just dont seem to be as caring to the litters as the rats and dont tend to care for each others/accept fosters. The mice get meat and bones daily.
|
|