Housing mice
For exhibition and breeding
When rearing litters mice tend to feel safer and more secure in smaller spaces. This does not mean that you should overcrowd your mice, but it does mean that you will use a different set-up to those who solely keep non-breeding pets. The typical breeding box for a UK fancier is around 18 x 12 inches. This has a nest area filled with hay, shredded paper or whatever bedding is provided and will house either a breeding trio (a buck and two does) that have been mated, or a doe/pair of does and their offspring. Since litters are reduced there will be adequate space for the growing babies until they are weaned.
Exhibitors also tend to keep something called a running on box (or boxes). This is a larger enclosure used to hold does from several litters who are weaned but still too young to breed. This allows the fancier to see which mice are the best once they have begun to mature; for example to choose the best colour/tan, type, size or any other aspect that is being selected for.
The material that your breeding boxes are made of is your choice. Traditionally wooden boxes are used for mice, made from good quality plywood and partially painted inside to protect the wood from soaking up the moisture produced by the mice. With the availability of commercial plastic tanks, lab cages and plastic storage boxes that can be modified for mice, a growing number of fanciers are using plastic. This is lighter and easier to clean. Plastic boxes can be modified fairly easily using a dremel type tool, 6mm wire mesh (hardware cloth in the US) and cable ties. A large rectangle is cut out of the lid and covered with wire mesh. Smaller, higher up 'windows' can also be cut out of one or more sides of the box if desired.
Mice are transported to shows in maxey cages (designed by the founder of the NMC, Walter Maxey). These are small wooden boxes with a slanted metal grill to the front, painted specifically in middle Brunswick green outside and signal red inside. Each maxey holds a single mouse. Maxeys are the only permissable cage for showing mice, and exhibitors can make their own, buy them through the club or other fanciers, or sometimes hire them at shows. It is not uncommon for exhibitors to have over 20 maxeys, and some have many more.
When rearing litters mice tend to feel safer and more secure in smaller spaces. This does not mean that you should overcrowd your mice, but it does mean that you will use a different set-up to those who solely keep non-breeding pets. The typical breeding box for a UK fancier is around 18 x 12 inches. This has a nest area filled with hay, shredded paper or whatever bedding is provided and will house either a breeding trio (a buck and two does) that have been mated, or a doe/pair of does and their offspring. Since litters are reduced there will be adequate space for the growing babies until they are weaned.
Exhibitors also tend to keep something called a running on box (or boxes). This is a larger enclosure used to hold does from several litters who are weaned but still too young to breed. This allows the fancier to see which mice are the best once they have begun to mature; for example to choose the best colour/tan, type, size or any other aspect that is being selected for.
The material that your breeding boxes are made of is your choice. Traditionally wooden boxes are used for mice, made from good quality plywood and partially painted inside to protect the wood from soaking up the moisture produced by the mice. With the availability of commercial plastic tanks, lab cages and plastic storage boxes that can be modified for mice, a growing number of fanciers are using plastic. This is lighter and easier to clean. Plastic boxes can be modified fairly easily using a dremel type tool, 6mm wire mesh (hardware cloth in the US) and cable ties. A large rectangle is cut out of the lid and covered with wire mesh. Smaller, higher up 'windows' can also be cut out of one or more sides of the box if desired.
Mice are transported to shows in maxey cages (designed by the founder of the NMC, Walter Maxey). These are small wooden boxes with a slanted metal grill to the front, painted specifically in middle Brunswick green outside and signal red inside. Each maxey holds a single mouse. Maxeys are the only permissable cage for showing mice, and exhibitors can make their own, buy them through the club or other fanciers, or sometimes hire them at shows. It is not uncommon for exhibitors to have over 20 maxeys, and some have many more.