How old

[tai_pan1]

How old do my mice need to be to be weaned? I have a female who is getting ready to deliver her second litter, but the first litter is still nursing. They were born on Jan 5th. I would like to remove her from the cage so that the male does not get her pregnant again (give her a break), but I'm not sure if the first litter is ok to be removed from her. Any help would be appreciated.

Mike

[Lisa]

why not just remove the male from the cage? mice need about 3 weeks before being weened off.

[Kyle Barker]

I wait till they are 15 grams, and no less than 20 days.

[tai_pan1]

I'm not removing the male because I have a 1.3 colony that he is servicing. I also only have two more tanks, one for the hoppers when weaned and one to give the female a break one at a time.

[vanderkm]

If they were born on Jan 5, it should be fine to remove the mom from them - easier on the weanlings if they stay in the original cage and mom is removed - they will be more used to where to find food and water. Most 3 week olds are plenty big enough to get by on their own, but if it was a big litter and the mice are small for their age, it is helpful to offer some easy food for them. I use large flake oatmeal, cheerios or bread for the first week if I have smaller than normal babies in a group. Also important to make sure they can easily reach the water tube - critical that they can get to water when they are weaned.

mary v.