wild mouse brothers living together

Question
Hi, I have three field mice I found prior to eyes openning that I have been hand raising.  They are close to 4 weeks old now and of course eating on their own.  I am torn on releasing them because they have been hand raised.  One of them is the runt and I do not think he would make it on his own so I was going to keep him.  But my gutt tells me the others would not survive either and I should keep them as well. So this weekend, I checked their gender and they are all males.  Can male sibling mice who have been raised together, live together indefinately?  Could they survive now in the wild?  If I kept one would he die from lonliness?  Right now, they eat, sleep and play together on their wheel constantly.  Thank you very much for your time and help.

Answer
Dear Malissa,

You are certainly right that the little runt wouldn't survive very long in the wild.  The  others too have been socialized by humans and not by other mice, so they don't know what to do to survive the best.  

Sibling male mice raised together and never separated can *sometimes* stay together.  Other times they eventually begin to fight. Fights are only serious if someone is bleeding.  Chasing and squeaking are harmless.

One male alone needs lots of love from you.  He would grieve the loss of his brothers but certainly survive, being so young. A single mouse should be given quality people-time for at least an hour a day.  

In terms of keeping wild mice in general, my rule is if the mouse goes nuts and tries to jump out of the cage constantly, it will be happier set free.  Some mice stay calm with humans and others just stay or become wild.  In that case, although you know it will lower their life expectancy, it is their quality of life which matters.  

I hope this information helps you to make your decision.  Best of luck to all!

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha