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[Lime Green Mouse]

I was wondering, how do you guys cull your pinks?  I know how to humanely euthanize adults, but there's a lot less out there on young mice.   

[LittleSqueaksAdmin]

I use the freezer. Stick them in a tupperware dish and put them in there.

[WillowDragon]

Yup thats what I do too.  But it only works 'humanely' on mice *before* the fur comes in properly.

Willow xx

[Toast]

I probably won't cull. My heart is to soft (I cried for nearly an hour when I saw a cat had been hit.

[WillowDragon]

Culling is not easy, and it never will be for me.  But it is something you definately need to consider when breeding.  Even if you not culling for colour or type, you should consider culling for gender, because male mice can be very hard to sell, and house too if they all need seperate tanks.

Willow xx

[Lime Green Mouse]

I probably won't cull. My heart is to soft (I cried for nearly an hour when I saw a cat had been hit.

I still cry every time I cull anyone, but it will make things a lot easier for your surviving mice and for you.  If you do succeed in breeding without ever culling, I would have a lot of respect for you!  That would be a LOT of cages.  Just be sure you have the time to properly care for that many mouskers.  :p  Plus, there are almost always situations where culling is a lot more merciful than letting them live (if they're sick or dying), where one needs to know how to do so kindly and quickly.

[moustress]

There are two old meeces who are going tonight; old and dotty, one with a tumor and another, her cagemate, is just plain old and failing in general. It would be cruel to do one without the other.

Some males go to the kill can as well. I always have room for the girls. Almost always; every now and then there's a female who can't get along, displays violent .or destructive behaviors. I try to used behavior mod techniques as much as possible.

[Toast]

I actually will probably culling most of the males. I don't have hundreds of cages.

[WillowDragon]

I do my culling in stages, depending on the size of the litter... one the first day 1 I cull any runts or sickly undeveloped pinkies, on day 3 I cull any unwanted males and on day 6 or 7 I cull any others that I feel aren't developing well or aren't thriving.
In general I don't cull for colour, but once I start my lilac lines I will be.

Willow xx

[Sarodentry]

Would it be a wrong way of culling if I used the culled pinky's as snake food? I mean they are going to be dieing so would that matter really? My Mice wont be bred for snake food but for showing however from my point of view if they are going to die/ or already be dead is there a harm in feeding the mice to the snake? If that makes since...

[Windy Hill]

I put my pinkies in the freezer and then I give them to someone with a snake. I dont give live mice away as food.

[Lime Green Mouse]

Would it be a wrong way of culling if I used the culled pinky's as snake food? I mean they are going to be dieing so would that matter really? My Mice wont be bred for snake food but for showing however from my point of view if they are going to die/ or already be dead is there a harm in feeding the mice to the snake? If that makes since...

As someone who breeds for feeders as well as pets, I can say from my perspective that no, there's nothing wrong with using dead pinkies as snake food.  *Do* make sure they are really dead first, though, as nothing is less pleasant than a mouse you thought was dead waking up.

Interesting tidbit - snakes that kill by constriction (not venom) actually kill the mice very quickly.  Rather than suffocating it, like previously thought, it turns out they cut off blood flow to the brain which kills the mouse in a matter of seconds - faster than many methods of euthanasia.  I still don't do it and don't recommend it because it's still unnecessarily terrifying to the mouse and poses several risks for the snake, but just sayin'.  On the other hand, none of my snakes have ever tried to suffocate a pinky...so I still advocating feeding frozen.