Orphaned Baby mice?

[evilater]

Hello,
I have found 5 baby mice in the shed where I work, it is in a school so poison 'had' to be put down. This has killed the mother leaving the (approx) 2 week old babies alone and defenceless.
I work with children and they had such amazing reactions to finding them that they made a home for them.
I have now got them and am currently caring for them, with an idea to be able to take them to school for the children to see in the holiday club.
They are eating food i put in for them, they move about although mostly sleep, i have been given a proper mouse cage for them. Have de-flead them.

Please does anyone have any advice for me? or comments about what should happen to them, ie kept or released.
I have contacted a local wildlife rescue centre but have not had a reply yet.

Thanks
Eve

[healfdan]

Eve
I see there is no rush from fellow members to answer your cry for help. Had you found a young badger or a litter of two week old water voles, you would have been inundated with suggestions and guaranteed a return call from the local rescue centre. But mice, not at all popular.
Mice develop fast and in three to four weeks these youngsters become independent. Not a good idea to keep any wild creature in captivity but as you have so far shown compassion, you have only one option and that is to release them back into the wild. Try and find an open space with adequate cover, preferably some distance from residential properties and of course the school. This will give them a 50/50 chance of survivng, for at least a few days. Incidentally, it doesn't matter if they are wood mice or house mice both will adapt to their new surroundings. Best not involve the children.
Healfdan

[Miss Caretaker]

Hi, I also work in a school and I agree with Healfdan, it would be best to release them away from the school where nature can take its own course. I hate it when the children come across an injured animal/bird as they always want to 'nurse' it back to health which is lovely in it's way but the animal has almost always no chance of survival. On Wednesday they found a grey squirrel which had managed to break it's back. It's rear legs were bloody where it had been dragging them around and the chidren were determined to nurse it! Unfortunately I had to put it out of it's misery (I never had that in my job description ) which was horrid and the children believe that it passed away peacefully in it's sleep... It's lovely to have all this wildlife in our grounds but it does cause a few problems too!
Jo

[evilater]

Hello, and thankyou so much for your replys, yes no-one is that bothered by mice, the majority seeing them as pests.
I did consider keeping them as they are all doing well; but then remembered that i dont actually agree to keeping animal in cages!!!
so today having seen the mice scouraging for food in the box that has been their home for the last week, and seeming as though they can fend for themselves, I took them to a nice spot out of town. they have fields and shelter and hopefully food sources, it is actually much nicer than the school shed!!!
I took some photos so the children can see where they are free now.

Like you have both said... it is now down to nature to decide their fate.

[Dogghound]

You did the best thing, its never a good thing to take any wild animal into captivity. What made you think that were immature? At two weeks they would still be fully dependent on milk from their mother and would not eat solids.