I am trying to breed mice, i have had 5 litters, and each time the mother ate the babies? Please help.?

Question

I started with 5 females, 1 male...The mice always have clean bedding, changed every 5 days, food is always there and their water is always full. I do not know what i should be doing differently. I have provided them additional bedding for having the babies, the longest i have had babies is 3 days before the mother ate those.

Answer 1

Separate the pregnant mom into her own cage several days prior to giving birth. Continue to provide extra bedding in the nursery cage.

Keep the male away from the nursery cage.

You may want to get new females, some women are just not good mothers.

Good luck with your breeding, it's always tricky.

Answer 2

I have bred hundreds of mice, and always left the females and males in the tank. They are good about helping take care of each others babies, and the male is gentle too. Do you have a large tank? Make sure it's at least a 30 gallon with that many mice. An exercise wheel is important for them to exercise on--it keeps them healthier. Feed a mixture of rodent block and good quality hamster food. Use only Aspen or care fresh type litters. Make sure they are in a quiet place--loud noise is stressful. Also, make sure cage is well ventilated and they are not overheating. I always handled my pinkies and mothers to clean the cages and they never cannibalized. Is it always the same mother? I'd remove her from the breeding stock. Some other tips can be found here:

http://ko.cwru.edu/services/musfrming.html#cnbl

Answer 3

Sorry to be blunt, but if you keep having the mother eat the babies that a light should go off that you shouldn't be breeding. Mothers eat babies for various reasons, including stress, illness, age(of the mother).

There could be something medically wrong(possible genetically) with the mother or father. The mother knows this (instinct) and eats the babies.

If there is too much stress(the mother is being bothered by you, other mothers, or the father) she could feel threatened and eat the babies. Multiple litter(one right after the other-even if she ate them) will cause stress and strain on her body and she may feel as if she cannot care for them.

The age of the mothers could play a part. Young mothers do not always know what they are doing.

Breeding is more than putting a male and female together. Breeders are aware of genetics, health, etc, they breed to better the animal(health wise, colors, etc), not just to produce babies.

I suggest getting another hobby, animals are not toys for your boredom/entertainment. Do a lot more research, work with actual breeders in your area, and put off breeding until you know what you are doing.

Answer 4

Truthfully, mice do that. I don't think anyone knows why and there really isn't anything you can do about it. You can try to breed different females and find one that doesn't do it so much. My brother bred mice and sometimes they ate em' and sometimes they didn't. Some females are better mothers than others. If you have them all in one cage I would definitely change it to one female per cage when she is pregnant, just her. Other than that, I don't think it is anything you are doing wrong, it just the nature of the little beasts. You might want to try breeding rats. My daughter had rats and bred them, and they never ate any babies, ever. Good Luck.

Answer 5

Well if the mothers are in a cage with a male/ the father then that will most likely cause it. If a males scent is in the cage, or near the cage this could also cause it. If you are touching the babies or watching her too closley this as well could cause it. My recomendations to you is to do none of the above, and before you breed again get some more information of breeding mice.

Answer 6

Stress of all the other mice in the cage will do this. I used to raise mice for my snakes. This happened alot to me also but some females are just more irritable then others. Some would not do this to there own babies. I usually fed the females that killed frequently. Also mice will kill there young if they are sick. The males will kill babies also and other females. The best thing to do is put her in a tank by herself when shes close to having babies.

Answer 7

Are they all in the cage together ?
Mice ( and other rodents) will eat their babie if they don't feel safe. Try separating the breeding females and keep the male separate.When the litter is born do not disturb. add food/ water as necessary but do nothing else.


Used to breed rats

Answer 8

separate the females at about 18 days pregnant and put the male separate also as sometimes they will eat their babies also until the babies are eating solids keep your hands away from them don't touch them or the mum or they might reject the babies and when the die she will eat them. make sure there is plenty of bedding. also if the babies are sick they will eat them as well(i guess its to put them outta there misery)
i never had trouble with my mice we had 4 to begin with all females or so we thought turns out we had 2 males and 2 females no wonder they were fighting but we always had them out and in our pockets or on our lap

if the mums aren't comfortable with you they wont want you touching the bubs.
good luck.

Answer 9

EVERY 5 DAYS???? that is wayyyyyyy to much, you should only clean them out maybe 1 time every month. BUt since you have 6 mice i would suggest maybe 2 times a month, but no more.

You need to leave the mice alone, if they have babies, leave them in a quiet place, and try covering up part of the cage where they are with the babies with a light towel.Put extra food in there, and water, so you dont have to go in there to give more food, make sure your mice like you, and that you can hold them.

I hope this helps!

Answer 10

Are you moving the pregnant mother to a new cage before she gives birth? Sometimes this helps because the other mice around her might either cause her stress or actually cause harm to her litter.

EDIT: this might help too http://www.pets4u.co.za/CareSheets/detail.asp?id=51