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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2011 15:01:41 GMT -5
if you catch a mouse, say in a live trap, or your ferrets find a mouse in your hours and catch it, do you let them eat it.
i'm asking because yesterday we had caught a mouse in a live trap and I'm thinking of feeding it to my girls if they can kill it.
what are your opinions on this?
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Post by Heather on Feb 1, 2011 15:06:47 GMT -5
If you know that there are no chance of poisons then go for it (if you're comfortable). My guys eat wild mice that they catch all the time.
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2011 15:13:26 GMT -5
ok. i was just checking. it was yesterday, so i wanted to keep it for a day just to check it didn't die from something.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2011 15:45:40 GMT -5
Yeah, I agree with Heather. Let them have it. Have they ever hunted before?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2011 16:00:21 GMT -5
yes they have. they weren't that good though.
although last time they at least tried. this time i think it was more more to chase the mouse around the tub watching it go around and around.
the mouse got lucky. it escaped somehow. I'm still trying to figure it out.
i'm going to fire them as hunters lol.
i need a few more ferrets, see which ones are good hunters. lol
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Post by Heather on Feb 1, 2011 17:11:19 GMT -5
Wild mice provide a far greater challenge than the "raised" mice. They got to be as big as they are by being a "bit" smarter. Though, I question any mouse that takes up residence in a house full of ferrets  ciao |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2011 17:12:38 GMT -5
Hehe, not a very smart mousey. Natural selection at its best  |
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Post by bluemoose on Feb 1, 2011 17:13:21 GMT -5
Well it escaped didn't it? =P It can't be that stupid lol
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2011 17:15:25 GMT -5
Oh, I didn't read that it escaped Guess he/she's a smart mouse after all?  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2011 19:33:31 GMT -5
haha. well it jumped high and fast, it scooted under the door! it was a tiny crack too.
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Post by bluemoose on Feb 1, 2011 19:35:10 GMT -5
A mouse got away from me once but it didn't get away from Kiwi As soon as I dropped it I grabbed Kiwi and she brought the mouse back =P |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2011 19:38:02 GMT -5
i guess mine don't get the "hunt" part. seeing as all belle did was watch it run circles around the tub, while she tried to chew the stopper. pebbles did just about the same. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2011 19:50:47 GMT -5
Maybe they didn't realize it was food? I haven't given my Fuzz live prey yet, not sure I can stomach it, we'll see. The dogs I give quail too but I stay just long enough to make sure they dispached it quickly... If you were concerned about what ickies the mouse might have you could always dispatch it yourself and freeze it for a couple of weeks.
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Post by wtferret on Feb 1, 2011 22:35:28 GMT -5
My Matilda is quite the hunter killer lol it's funny she will kill one then beg for another while Emily is happy to sneak up and steal Tildas first kill. After they have each had one they'll follow me around begging for an hour or so.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2011 23:07:29 GMT -5
As long as it wasn't caught in a poison trap, which it wasn't, or you don't keep rat or other rodent poisons around that wild vermin can get into I say it's fine. Same logic as people getting a barn cat because they have a mouse problem.
I had the opportunity to rear wild mice once (they were near rat poison) and they were frankly not tame-able little deer mice. Ended up setting them all free. If I had a wild mouse problem I would do one of two things - live trap, then release many miles away, or live trap and feed them to my cats/ferret. Wild mice can pose health problems to the domesticated Fancy Mice I have been keeping for awhile now, and if they worm their way in, can and do impregnate domesticated mice.
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