mommy mouse eats babies, doesnt nurse

Question
hi, my mouse just had5 healthy babys early this morning.she ate the heads off of two,so i put in another room where she wouldnt be threatend, as well as the problem of eating her babys,(there are only 3 left!) she hasnt began lactating yet,what is the most common time for her to begin lactating??? thanks, please answer soon!!!

Answer
Dear Lydia,

This is her first litter, right?  First time mother mice sometimes get confused and don't know what to do when they have babies.  Sometimes they just eat them.  They also eat some or all of the babies if they are aware that there is something wrong with them.  There could be some genetic defect.  She also might have eaten them because they simply died on their own.  This is to avoid spoiling the nest.

It is more unusual and very serious for her not to lactate.  She should have started immediately after the birth.  If the babies are not getting any milk they will die.  The only option to save the babies would be to hand raise them, which is a huge job and with such tiny babies often unsuccessful.  It could be that she is lactating but doesn't know how to  nurse, in which case the babies will probably figure that out before she does.  

I described how to hand raise a baby mouse in this post:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2009/1/Rescued-Tiny-Baby-Mouse.htm

I would not recommend breeding this mouse again.