Before I get into the story of the new orphaned white footed mouse I'm taking care of I wanted to write about releasing my first two orphaned deer mice.

 

When they were definitely older than four weeks and were eating solid foods, hiding from me all of the time, and had started to lose fur because they were over-grooming from either boredom or stress from being in captivity I knew it was time to release them.  It was tugging at me to do it because I know they're pretty low on the food chain and it's getting colder outside but I knew it was best for them. 

 

A rehabber suggested releasing them in a bird house and then going back for it later when it was empty and they had moved on so I could reuse it for the next release.  I didn't want to buy one since money is tight so at first I thought I had a brilliant idea to buy a craft birdhouse for a dollar.  The mice had other ideas about that one.  They wanted nothing to do with that little house.

 

I ended up nailing three scrap 2' x 4's together to make a triangular-shaped tunnel and then blocked most of each end with a smalls scrap of wood so the mice could get in and out but it wasn't wide open for larger animals.  Sealed the seams to help keep them dry.

 

I filled it up with warm bedding that would dry fast and some cheerios, oats, a mouse block, and a few nuts to get them started.  They willingly climbed right into that house!  

 

I read that when you release them they have to get to know their environment to be able to survive so they will have to acclimate, map it out, and get used to it.  I wanted to give them a head start but figured they would be making their own nest somewhere else. At least this would give them a chance.

 

                           

 

I put their house in the woods of a local park that was away from neighborhoods and businesses but there was an abandoned structure very near that looked like a good spot for them to possibly hide out for the winter.  Set the house up near fallen trees and cinder blocks on the forest floor, set a block on top of the house so it wouldn't roll down the hill, and sprinkled some food around near by for them to find. 

 

That bird house they wanted nothing to do with got filled with a cache of nuts and set nearby so they could have a head start for a winter food stash.  Probably needlessly I set a little lid of water out in case they got thirsty, though I imagine a dew drop would have lasted them all day.  Made me feel better.  What can I say. *Shrug.*

 

 

 

And then I walked away.

Looking at these pictures I realize I should have laid some brush over the house for cover.  I'll go back and do that if they are still there and remember to do that next time. 

Update:  I went back to check the house thinking if they were still there I would put some more food out and some cover.  The bedding had been pulled out of the house by an animal.  Maybe a raccoon, maybe a squirrel...I don't know.  I thought the length of the house would be good but I didn't think about how the bedding could be grabbed.  If I ever do that again now I know.  Smaller exit holes, bedding that can't be grabbed.  The separate house with the food in it was empty and the bird house hole had dirt all around it where some dirty paws had reached in and grabbed all of the nuts and cheerios out. 

Just in case the mice were around I put some more food out before I left.