sarah
New Member
Posts: 4 
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Post by sarah on Nov 5, 2013 9:20:13 GMT 10
I got my three girls off my friend whose partner breeds. The day after I picked them up I texted her to see if she had found out what their birth dates were, And she told me them and that she thought Piper my white and black girl had been paired with a male and was most likely pregnant! Pipers DOB is 28/8th and my friend said she should have babies by the 19th of November if she is pregnant. What do I do? Should I leave Piper in with the 2 other girls? If she does have babies will the other girls hurt them? or should I separate her to have the babies by herself? Thank you for any advice you are able to give  |
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Post by MojoMouse on Nov 5, 2013 11:01:23 GMT 10
A lot of breeders have a pregnant doe with one or a couple of other females, and there are no problems as long as the females have been living together for a while. Ideally, the other does help looking after the babies.
In my experience, however, I've preferred to separate the pregnant doe about a week before she's due, and make sure she has a lot of nesting material so she can build a nice safe nest as her instincts kick in with the approaching birth.
The reason I separate the pregnant doe is that sometimes the other does spend too much time sitting on the babies to care for them and keep them warm, so the mother doesn't get a chance to feed them. This doesn't happen often, just occasionally.
The exception to separating the mother is when I have a doe that's proven herself to be a good nanny. Does like this help the mother, but allow her to feed the babies.
I'm sure, though, that if you decide to leave them together, things will be ok. Mice are naturally communal animals.
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Post by mousekateers on Nov 13, 2013 22:24:53 GMT 10
I usually have a nanny with my pregnant does but as Cathie has suggested they can on rare occasion take over. I haven't seen this happen with my mice on a regular basis but if I do notice that the mum isn't maternal or spending enough time with the pups and they look small or undernourished I will remove the nanny and encourage the doe to take control of her own litter.
There are a number of things you need to consider. 1. is that she was only 2 months old when she was mated. 2. being that young she may not be that maternal, or she might be a natural. 3. being young it's harder to predict litter size but it's generally bigger in a younger mouse in my experience, so she may need those nannies to help her.
It's hard to say exactly how things will go. Her breeder should know his own mice and be able to give you advice.
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