16 wild house mice...

[kup]

And they're gone.

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by kup

I haven't "taken them from the wild" instead of buying pet mice. They were a pest in my house and they now have a better life being cared for. They've now spent longer being pampered than their natural average life span! They even look for the cage and go back in when I let them out now!

I understand the breeding risk but as stated when overpopulated mice can choose to not breed.

Perhaps they can choose not to breed.. But this would likely be down to stress caused by over population. Stress caused by starvation and or disease (and being closely linked genetically, disease could become a real problem). So in order for your females to stop breeding you'd need an awful lot of very unhappy animals and I'm sure this wouldn't be what you'd want......

I'd suggest perhaps letting all but 2 or 3 go (several miles away)and make sure the remaining ones are the same sex or at least in different cages so you can control the breeding. They'd have so much more space to behave naturally and could spend time on their own if they wanted, they wouldn't have other mice to fight with for food or bedding etc.... Mice don't generally live in huge family groups for long if they can avoid it.

Plus I know I'm not a mouse.... but I'd certainly prefer a life rooting around in a hedgerow eating berries and insects and grasses, climbing up shrubs, dashing through the undergrowth etc (even with the dangers) than cramped in a cage with lots of unavoidable relatives with the same sort of day every day.

[SheffieldLass]

Originally Posted by kup

And they're gone.

You chose probably a good time to release them, now the weather is milder. If you'd released them to a site they did not know whilst the snow was around they'd probably have had a very difficult time. And if you'd released them outside into your garden they'd have popped straight back into your house .

And good for you that you didn't set traps that kill ... that is what most people seem to do.