vkp23
Going Natural
Posts: 192
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Post by vkp23 on Jan 9, 2011 6:50:57 GMT -5
I'm considering breeding mic or rats for ferret food. I have bred rats before but not mice. I was wondering, are mice like rats in that if they are handled a lot from the time right before they open their eyes they are nice? Hand raised rats are SUPER sweet but mill rats who are not given human interaction are mean as all get out. Are mice the same? What I was considering doing was getting a female and a male mouse and let them breed. Then only keep the nicest of females and get a new male. What are your thoughts on this? Also, I considered rats but I'm worried since I really love rats as pets I would have a hard time gassing the babies. Not as adults any way. Would a weaned rat pup be the same size as a grown mouse?
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taratee
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Posts: 255
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Post by taratee on Jan 9, 2011 11:32:32 GMT -5
rat pups until they are just past weaning are about the same size as mice but i will warn you thats when the rats are the cutest ive never gotten mice to breed, but maybe im just a big fail at life lol. having bread rats i understand where youre coming from and i dont think i could personally breed rats for the ferrets
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Post by bluemoose on Jan 9, 2011 14:25:28 GMT -5
Mice are very easy to breed. They don't really get mean if you don't handle them- just skitterish. I have been bitten by mice before but honestly it's more surprising than anything. It really doesn't hurt. But yes, if you handle then often they are quite tame. I use these cages for breeding mine www.critter-cages.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=40 They're a little pricey but well worth it in the long run. Mice are messy little things and will mess in their food and water if given the chance. When they have a water bottle and their food is above their head it's impossible for them to make a mess of things. The cages are also super easy to clean because they're plastic. I may one day breed rats but they're so cute I think I'd have a hard time feeding them off. One of the things I like about mice is they can be fed live because most ferrets are adept killers. Adult rats are of course dangerous to feed live which would mean I had to kill them myself. And the problem with only feeding young rats (or any animal) is they're not as nutrient rich as adults.
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vkp23
Going Natural
Posts: 192
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Post by vkp23 on Jan 10, 2011 9:28:16 GMT -5
Yeah having had (and bred) rats as pets I don't think I could do it for food. I DID have one mouse once but he was so mean. Forget playing with him. I got bit so many times. I really am only concerned about my breeding stock being tame. The feeders I don't really care if they are tame or not since they will be fed to the ferrets any way. I have a 20 gal tank that is currently empty so that would be a start on the materials I would need. I'm not sure when I would start doing this. I have to get my ferrets switched to raw first before I even think about breeding mice. But any help or ides any one has is greatly needed! And Thank you!
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Post by sherrylynne on Jan 10, 2011 9:56:57 GMT -5
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Post by goingpostal on Jan 11, 2011 12:12:45 GMT -5
I don't handle my mice a huge amount, I try to if I am planning on holding back for breeders but like bluemoose said, they tend to just be skittish and jumpy if not handled a lot. I've never had one break skin although I've been startled by a nipper. With a really jumpy or nippy one there's some natural selection going on, they jump or I drop them, my cat is always underfoot. Rats the problem with breeding is they take so long to hit a large size, it's impratical to house and feed them for months on end. Only really worth it for pinkies to weanlings unless you are running a huge setup of them. I still wouldn't mind breeding some if I could find any but I'd buy the larger sizes frozen.
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