mice with dad

Question
QUESTION: Heylo,

my mouse (who we think is about 4months old) had a litter 3 1/2 weeks ago, she did very well- no deaths and they're all getting on really well now, however i have a question: When can i move the males into their seperate cage? and when i do, should i move some old bedding with them? or just clean the cage out completely? and can they go in with their dad? We've found homes for two of the pups but are keeping three, so in total we will have three males and two females.

If we wish to breed the females presumably it would be better for the babies if we get a new male to breed with?

Any info would be appreciated.

Kind regards,
Rachel

ANSWER: Hi Rachel,

The boys can be moved out into their own cages somewhere between 4 and 8 weeks.  The closer to 8 weeks you get, the more likely they are to get either their mother or sisters pregnant.  You don't need to add any old bedding - they'll be more than happy to re-scent any new cage without any stress or anything.  They shouldn't be housed with their father, though, as he won't recognize them and is likely to be very aggressive towards them.  Definitely keep an eye on them growing up, too, as even though males from the same litter can get along they don't every time and they might need their own individual cages eventually.

Who you breed with the females depends on what you know about them and their siblings and parents.  If you don't know if your parent mice carry any harmful recessive genes, or if you don't know their parents (which might tell you if they carry any genes that cause problems in old age), then I would not risk it.  If you feel it is safe, however, I would recommend sibling to sibling as this is a lower-risk inbreeding than offspring to parent.  If you do decide to use a completely unrelated male for one of the offspring females, you should still watch him for a while before breeding to make sure he's healthy and has the personality you want to pass on.  :)

Here's a great site on inbreeding, linebreeding, and outcrossing to help you decide should you decide to breed the females later on:  http://carawatha.tripod.com/inbreeding.htm

Congrats on the pups!  :)
-Tam

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hey,
Thanks very much for your help.
Just wanted to ask another quickie.. Our daddy mouse has met the pups and seems to get along with them well, we've never left them alone with Dad, but they've been in a little play area with him and they seem to be okay.. Will this not be the case in the long run?
Rachel

Answer
Hey,

Unfortunately, when it goes bad it can go bad very quickly, and it usually is an issue of territory.  He might not have bullied them if they were in an unscented zone.  If you want, you can leave them together for a period of a few days during which you can keep a constant ear turned toward them - squeaks mean dominance battles.  This will probably be more of an issue when they start to grow up more, but it totally depends on the dad.  You will always have to watch for injuries or squeaking though - I have had brothers grow up together for four months and then suddenly found one of them dead (I didn't hear the squeaking).  :(

Every mouse is different, though, so if you'd like to try, go for it.  They definitely have a chance of getting along.  I would just advise keeping an extra couple of cages for in case you suddenly need to separate them some day.  Honestly, my males prefer having their own space to pee all over anyways.  ;)

-Tam